Painting question

[David Kerber]

My 13 yo daughter decided she wants my beater road bike
because it rides so much easier and faster than her *mart
MTB. The only problem is she doesn't like the color, so I
offered to spray paint it for her. I know the drill about
putting very thin coats on at a time, but don't know for
sure what I need to do to prep the previous paint for the
new colors to stick.

The old paint is still in pretty good shape, so will sanding
it to roughen the surface be enough for the spray paint
(Rustoleum or other paint which says it's for metal
surfaces) to stick properly? I don't expect the new paint to
be as tough as a professional job or a powder coat, but I'm
not paying for a pro job either; I just don't want it to
flake off under normal use.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return
address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Dan Daniel]

On Sat, 29 May 2004 21:27:43 -0400, David Kerber
<ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:

>My 13 yo daughter decided she wants my beater road bike
>because it rides so much easier and faster than her *mart
>MTB. The only problem is she doesn't like the color, so I
>offered to spray paint it for her. I know the drill about
>putting very thin coats on at a time, but don't know for
>sure what I need to do to prep the previous paint for the
>new colors to stick.
>
>The old paint is still in pretty good shape, so will
>sanding it to roughen the surface be enough for the spray
>paint (Rustoleum or other paint which says it's for metal
>surfaces) to stick properly? I don't expect the new paint
>to be as tough as a professional job or a powder coat, but
>I'm not paying for a pro job either; I just don't want it
>to flake off under normal use.

Part of this depends on what the present surface is. If it
is a polyurethane, it will be very difficult to get anything
to stick. If it's a lacquer or acrylic enamel, pretty easy.

Start sanding and see what happens. If it sands easily, then
you are in luck, Use 180 or so to break the surface, then go
over it with 280. If it seems impossible or very slow to
sand, you have problems.

Pretend it's ok- sand, then USE A PRIMER!!! Lightly sand
this, and maybe apply another coat of primer. Then the
final color.

And then you wait. And wait. And wait.... the longer you can
wait before rebuilding the bike, the better. If you can put
it in a warm area, like a water heater closet, so much the
better (but not inside the house proper- the odors can be
bad for the first few days).

.

 

[Q.]

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My 13 yo daughter decided she wants my beater road bike
> because it rides so much easier and faster than her *mart
> MTB. The only problem is she doesn't like the color, so I
> offered to spray paint it for her. I know the drill about
> putting very thin coats on at a time, but don't know for
> sure what I need to do to prep the previous paint for the
> new colors to stick.
>
> The old paint is still in pretty good shape, so will
> sanding it to roughen the surface be enough for the spray
> paint (Rustoleum or other paint which says it's for metal
> surfaces) to stick properly? I don't expect the new paint
> to be as tough as a professional job or a powder coat, but
> I'm not paying for a pro job either; I just don't want it
> to flake off under normal use.

Primer without a doubt. Prep is the majority of the work.
Once you paint it leave it in direct sunlight for a few days
if you can ... bake that stuff on.

Back in the days when I used to paint cars all the time I
would do the prep work and most of the masking then drive
the car over to Earl Scheib. Back then the cheep paint job
was $99. Not sure what it would be today, but you might be
able to get a local body shop to throw some extra paint on
the bike when they're painting a car. Ask around, and make a
list of colors your daughter wouldn't mind ... so the next
time the body shop paints a car red, they do your bike at
the same time for an extra $30 or whatever.

C.Q.C.

 

[Phil Brown]

Have it sandblasted before painting or take it to a
powdercoater. Phil Brown

 

[A Muzi]

David Kerber wrote:

> My 13 yo daughter decided she wants my beater road bike
> because it rides so much easier and faster than her *mart
> MTB. The only problem is she doesn't like the color, so I
> offered to spray paint it for her. I know the drill about
> putting very thin coats on at a time, but don't know for
> sure what I need to do to prep the previous paint for the
> new colors to stick.
>
> The old paint is still in pretty good shape, so will
> sanding it to roughen the surface be enough for the spray
> paint (Rustoleum or other paint which says it's for metal
> surfaces) to stick properly? I don't expect the new paint
> to be as tough as a professional job or a powder coat, but
> I'm not paying for a pro job either; I just don't want it
> to flake off under normal use.
>
Skip as many steps as you think you must but here are the
basics: http://www.yellowjersey.org/paint_repair.html

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

 

[A Muzi]

Phil Brown wrote:

> Have it sandblasted before painting or take it to a
> powdercoater. Phil Brown

Although a lot of people do strip bikes, in the auto body
world factory paint is just scuffed out and any damaged
areas attended to.

It's unlikely a home painter could beat the factory primer
and metal prep on most bikes.

Of course if it is mostly rust or the paint's peeling off in
sheets, do strip, clean, etch, primer and paint it.
--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

 

[Emily]

> Skip as many steps as you think you must but here are the
> basics:
> http://www.yellowjersey.org/paint_repair.html
>
> --
> Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
> April, 1971

Andrew,

I can't get to your site; it times out in both Mozilla and
IE. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Emily]

"Emily" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Skip as many steps as you think you must but here are
> > the basics:
> > http://www.yellowjersey.org/paint_repair.html
> >
> > --
> > Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
> > April, 1971
>
> Andrew,
>
> I can't get to your site; it times out in both Mozilla and
> IE. Any ideas?
>
> Thanks!

It's working for me now....nevermind! Thanks - this is
exactly the information I was looking for as I recently put
a nasty scratch in my chainstay and need to touch it up. My
bike is carbon fiber - do you have any tips for touching
that up that might differ from a steel or aluminum bike?

Thanks! Emily

 

[A Muzi]

>>Skip as many steps as you think you must but here are the
>>basics: http://www.yellowjersey.org/paint_repair.html
>>Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
>>April, 1971

Emily wrote:
> I can't get to your site; it times out in both Mozilla and
> IE. Any ideas?

Me neither. Our servers in Milwaukee have been in
conniptions during this weekend's thunderstorms. Try
again please.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971