# Best custom painters?



## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Also, affordable ones?

I'm looking to get a cross check in a little bit, and I'd love to get it painted like Blue Lug does for their bikes.

I just can't seem to find a reputable bike painter in North America. the results Google provide mostly make me nervous.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

Agwan said:


> Also, affordable ones?
> 
> I'm looking to get a cross check in a little bit, and I'd love to get it painted like Blue Lug does for their bikes.
> 
> I just can't seem to find a reputable bike painter in North America. the results Google provide mostly make me nervous.


Eric at Colorworks in Eugene is very good.
http://www.colorworksbikepainting.com

He painted most of the English Cycles bikes that were at the Handmade show among others.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

these sites frustrate me, they all smack of that horrid attitude on the Rivendell site. the "Maybe if you're a good boy I MIGHT let you give me a ton of money"

list prices and services available. It's custom work, so make it clear those prices are rough estimates. We do it in the automotive industry, its not too hard to do it for bikes.

I see seepage in his masking. but all in all he is okay. I really wish I had the space to just paint the thing myself.

Sorry if that is hostile. but... ugh. I get so tired of how commerce works in bikeworld


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

Agwan said:


> these sites frustrate me, they all smack of that horrid attitude on the Rivendell site. the "Maybe if you're a good boy I MIGHT let you give me a ton of money"
> 
> list prices and services available. It's custom work, so make it clear those prices are rough estimates. We do it in the automotive industry, its not too hard to do it for bikes.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you are the only one that can satisfy you.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

yeah. My girlfriend finds it frustrating.

...Ba-Dum-Tish.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

Paint it yourself. That way you get it as you want it.


I bought an airbrush and spray gun, I'll do it myself. The paintjob will get very expensive though, I'm guesstimating like 800-1k€ in paint alone. Having it done the way I had envisioned by someone else?? I don't even wanna know whats that would cost.. Definitely can't afford it.


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

Joe Bell on the west coast is about as good as it gets (think Richard Sachs, Kirk bikes etc), and Spectrum Powder Works in CO do amazing work as well. COAT in Portland, who does many Vanilla bikes also does beautiful work.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I am just looking for bright freaking red powdercoat on a new bike. I wish I could afford a powdercoat set up. and that I had space for painting supplies.


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## TrailMaker (Sep 16, 2007)

Hey;

Purely as an addendum to this topic, the average person has no idea of the cost of materials. It is getting astronomical. I just bought a pint of a dark blue poly (dark colors are usually the cheaper ones). $68... for a PINT! That's only the base color. Add the primer, catalyst, reducer, clear, catalyst... It'$ really in$ane to paint $omething the$e day$, and that is only ONE COLOR! Fortunately I am passing the cost along on this one. People used to flip when I quoted them $400 minimum to paint a helmet. "Go out and price the materials yourself" opened their eyes wide.

You don't even want to know what a pint of red costs! :eekster:


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I do know! its horrible, which is kind of why I want someone who can buy in bulk and knows how to not waste the stuff because he's really familiar with his spray gun to do it!

If I do it myself, buying just enough to paint MINE and also all the little things people don't realize you need to paint something, It's gonna cost even more... and again, I have no place to paint it.

that being said, I do wonder about how much powdercoat costs as a medium.


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

top coat colors are rarely used on more than one bike since no two people want the same colors.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

If what you want is a one-color powdercoat, there are a zillion places that can do it, probably including places that are local to you. Ask on your regional forum, maybe?

-Walt


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

you're in my region until I move! WHO DO YOU RECOMMEND IN UTAH?!?


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

Walt has mentioned the powder coater he uses on his blog. Shouldn't be hard to find


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

I RECOMMEND POWDERWORKS OF UTAH IN WEST VALLEY CITY!!!!!!!!

Tell 'em Walt sent you.

-W


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## wreckedrex (May 2, 2007)

TrailMaker said:


> Hey;
> 
> Purely as an addendum to this topic, the average person has no idea of the cost of materials. It is getting astronomical. I just bought a pint of a dark blue poly (dark colors are usually the cheaper ones). $68... for a PINT! That's only the base color. Add the primer, catalyst, reducer, clear, catalyst... It'$ really in$ane to paint $omething the$e day$, and that is only ONE COLOR! Fortunately I am passing the cost along on this one. People used to flip when I quoted them $400 minimum to paint a helmet. "Go out and price the materials yourself" opened their eyes wide.
> 
> You don't even want to know what a pint of red costs! :eekster:


I worked as an estimator in a body shop 10+ years ago and the material costs were pretty nuts then, can't imagine what they're like now.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

walt said:


> i recommend powderworks of utah in west valley city!!!!!!!!
> 
> tell 'em walt sent you.
> 
> -w


okay! Awesome-cool-great!


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

Paint is ultra expensive. 

for my paintjob which was to be 3 colors, it would work something like this: epoxy primer (thinner/hardener/paint), 2 different colors on tiop of that, white and black, (and those are paint/thinner/hardener too) and on top of that the 3 actual "colors" were to be applied. And that would have been like silver as a base coat, then some metallic flake stuff in like 3-5 layers, and a candy one top of that in 5-6 layers, with intermediate clear coats, a special clear only used for that. and then 2 other super special "colors" with similar buildup. So at any given part of the frame it would be like 10-15 different layers of paint in one way or another, 3 different ones... 

I have the patience (the skill, i dont know, probably not) for that but Its very tempting to just send it away and tell em paint it black... and be done with it. Or rattlecans!!


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I know how to paint. I have the experience and skill. what I don't have is the space and the resources. nor do I want to learn the quirks of a new gun right now.


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## Francis Buxton (Apr 2, 2004)

A friend used Class Act Paint (Class Act Powder Coating Inc. :: Finest Quality Coating Services) for a bike I bought used from him. Single color powder with no masked panels was like $150. It looks pretty good, and it's holding up pretty well. They are the only painter that Specialized will let you use and keep your warranty intact, so they can't be that bad.

If all you want is single color with no fancy masking, that should open your doors to more people. Sure, you don't want drips/runs or thin spots, but the fancy masking is what seems to kill people. Spectrum does a pretty good job with the fancy stuff, but expect to get into the $800 range quickly.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

specialized.. see sig


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Specialized, Doesn't.

gotta love the graphic design on that site though!


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## syklystt (Mar 31, 2010)

I do airbrush art for fun and this guy is the person I always reccomend:
https://www.facebook.com/darin.wheeler
he has been painting frames for a long time and has a great reputation....personal custom to team frames....great guy and great artist.


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## Deru (Jan 4, 2008)

In my painting job I almost use only brushes, the spray gun it is used only in the clear coat. If you know anybody that can do the top coat for you, no problems with space and equipment. Painting with brushes you don't need much space, only patience and patience and a lot of time. I use cashew-based paints.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Deru said:


> In my painting job I almost use only brushes, the spray gun it is used only in the clear coat. If you know anybody that can do the top coat for you, no problems with space and equipment. Painting with brushes you don't need much space, only patience and patience and a lot of time. I use cashew-based paints.


I prefer almond base coats with a pistachio clear.


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## CBookman (Sep 9, 2008)

Agwan said:


> I'm looking to get a cross check in a little bit, and I'd love to get it painted like Blue Lug does for their bikes.
> 
> I just can't seem to find a *reputable bike painter* in North America. the results Google provide mostly make me nervous....I am just looking for *bright freaking red powdercoat* on a new bike. I wish I could afford a powdercoat set up. and that I had space for painting supplies.


So, do you want paint or powder?

There are likely powder coaters in your area that can do a bike frame in any of several thousand colors. Get a phone book, the ones I found were old school and took cash only. Last one I had done was $150 with media blasting, but that was a couple years ago, and it was a custom color. It wasn't perfect, but on a frame that I paid $175 for, I wasn't going to dump tons into it either. If you want it perfect, expect to pay for it. That said, I wouldn't put big money into a finish on a Surly, but it's your wallet not mine.


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## crazy8 (Apr 21, 2009)

*Considered Ceramic?*

Have you considered a ceramic coating?


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## Deru (Jan 4, 2008)

Hand paint(brush and some others tools), cashew-based paint, mother of pearl, powder(gold, silver, pearl), bi-component top clear coat.
Custom Paint - Bamboo bike - a set on Flickr


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## Eric Malcolm (Dec 18, 2011)

Cool, very unique.

Eric


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## Deru (Jan 4, 2008)

Eric Malcolm said:


> Cool, very unique.
> 
> Eric


Thank you Eric!


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## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

TrailMaker said:


> Hey;
> 
> Purely as an addendum to this topic, the average person has no idea of the cost of materials. It is getting astronomical. I just bought a pint of a dark blue poly (dark colors are usually the cheaper ones). $68... for a PINT! That's only the base color. Add the primer, catalyst, reducer, clear, catalyst... It'$ really in$ane to paint $omething the$e day$, and that is only ONE COLOR! Fortunately I am passing the cost along on this one. People used to flip when I quoted them $400 minimum to paint a helmet. "Go out and price the materials yourself" opened their eyes wide.
> 
> You don't even want to know what a pint of red costs! :eekster:


I'm doing a steel frame of mine now, 3 coats of epoxy primer sealer, then color coating it with an oil-based enamel, and finishing with clear.

I lucked out and got the epoxy and catalyst free from a relative that paints cars. I priced automotive top coat, and the best price I found (non-lacquer) was $40/quart. So I hit up the local Tractor Supply for some implement paint and catalyst. It was $13 a quart IIRC. Tractor, Truck, & Implement - Majic Paints I was going to paint it black, but the free epoxy was black so I switched to Massey red to give me contrasting colors to make missed or thin spots more obvious.

Also, I bead blasted the frame to bare metal in my Harbor Freight budget blaster, so there's other expenses besides just the paint materials. I used glass beads so it took almost forever to get it good and clean, but aluminum oxide was 3x the price, so screw that. I rigged up an extension on the cabinet so the frame would fit, using duct tape, cardboard, and a trash bag.


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## Eric Malcolm (Dec 18, 2011)

You Blasted the head cups, BB and seat stem as well!!!! WoW.

Eric


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## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

Yeah I would've just taken the non-metal parts off but it wouldn't fit in the blast cab until I stripped it to the frame. :eekster:

The headset cup and BB are junk parts just stuck in there to keep paint out of the BB threads and headtube That seatpost is bent and used to hold the frame in my stand. There are screws in all the tapped frame holes too.


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## afwalker (Apr 26, 2012)

Great idea on the blast cabinet extension, I'll be doing that myself thanks to this idea I've used that paint before and liked it, didn't know they had a catalyst either.
cheers
andy walker


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## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

^ I'm glad that blast cabinet mod helps. 

The only bad thing I've heard about the paint is that it is slow to dry. I was going to start the color coat last night, but the temps fell into the the 50s so I'm holding out for warmer weather and/or spraying during the day so it's warm. The epoxy coat will be out of the recoat period then so I have to scuff up the surface before painting, but the primer kind of needed to be sanded smooth anyway so I figured better safe than sorry.


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## afwalker (Apr 26, 2012)

Yes un catalyzed it's very slow. I've used it for jigs and fixtures and tables, sprays fine when reduced, great for the price.







all the blue bits are majic
cheers
andy


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

I had my chromag steel frame painted like a month ago. I did all the prep and my dad sprayed it. etch primer, no sanding, epoxy primer, sanded, orange polyurethane top coat. Its the best painted thing/object I have seen in several years, its smooth like a fukn mirror, a 1/8 wavelength quality mirror 
But I cut no corners and did everything myself, for myself, so I expected this result. Maybe I can find a camera this weekend to show it off.


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## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

It's Massey-Ferguson red now. Pretty close to the original WTB color in real life. You'd never tell it from the photos though.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

It looks really orange from here.


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## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

Yeah it does. There's a halogen light shining on it from above, I guess that and the flash is the cause. The real color is


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

I snapped some pics of my frame before I put all the parts on. 
And these are the best ones really showing off the mirror like quality of the surface. This is the best paint i have seen in a long long time.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

moar! this is polyurethane solid. No clear coat. And epoxy as primer, and under that etch primer.
This was sprayed with a SATA non hvlp gun. Its a high(ish) pressure gun. all pics are clickable twice for best resolution.


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## cannondave (Mar 3, 2014)

Holy crap..!!! Now that's orange...


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