# painting a bike frame



## trailriderjim (Oct 19, 2010)

I have painted a few cars & trucks in my days,but never a bike frame, what suggestions do you have for me in regards to paint and Frame prep work . Can a person media blast the frame, or other methods preferred ? Thanks ,Jim


----------



## davesauvageau (Jan 8, 2010)

I have painted and powdercoated a few frames. I think it is always good to start with bare steel. I use a sandblaster for paint and have powdercoated parts dipped because sand blasting does not take off powder well. When I had my last frame coated, I sandblasted it and cleaned it with alcohol. You can also use a chemical aerosol stripper. The paint stripper works very well too, but is very messy. Here is a pic of a frame I did a while ago.


----------



## trailriderjim (Oct 19, 2010)

davesauvageau said:


> I have painted and powdercoated a few frames. I think it is always good to start with bare steel. I use a sandblaster for paint and have powdercoated parts dipped because sand blasting does not take off powder well. When I had my last frame coated, I sandblasted it and cleaned it with alcohol. You can also use a chemical aerosol stripper. The paint stripper works very well too, but is very messy. Here is a pic of a frame I did a while ago.


Sweet! nice job on the custom paint/pattern combo. thanks for the tips,Jim


----------



## VT_SNGLTRK (Apr 2, 2004)

*Stripping powdercoat?*

Davesauvageau, What do you mean you have powdercoated parts "dipped"? I was thinking of finding a local person to strip down my Santa Cruz. Thought it could be sandblasted. Thank you.


----------



## painterdude (Mar 14, 2005)

do not sandblast bike frames. it will warp the tubing. take it to a plastic media blaster. sand is for blasting thick metal.


----------



## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

When he means dipped he is speaking of chemical removal of paint.

This is my preferred method of paint removal followed by a light garnet sand blast of knooks and crannies and any lugs. Tubes get hand prepped for the top coats to follow.

Painterdude...

Yes, heavy media blasting can warp panels on cars....but anyone doing that kind of heavy handed work on bike frames has a bigger issues than warpage. By then they have probably taken a substantial amount of metal with it. 

I personally cannot recommend taking a thin walled bike frame to any commercial blasting place. They just don't really have any comprehension of what they are dealing with. You can do a fine job with aircraft stripper and good ol fashion scrubbing, which is the safest course of action.


----------



## painterdude (Mar 14, 2005)

using silica sand even in little blast cabinets can damage a frame. plastic media is the best way by far. I use that method on all the custom cycles i've done over the years.


----------



## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

painterdude said:


> using silica sand even in little blast cabinets can damage a frame. plastic media is the best way by far. I use that method on all the custom cycles i've done over the years.


Media used in a blast cabinet is an education all its own. I agree. Never use silica in a cabinet. I think we all use the term (sand) when in fact most of it is not actually silica. Silica breaks down quickly and the bi-products are hazardous (silicosis).

The only thing I use my cabinet for is creating a tooth. I don't typically use it for removing paint. A framebuilder also uses a cabinet for removing brazing flash so plastic won't work in that case. You would need two cabinets so the tried and true can do double duty.

I use a Garnet "sand" and or aluminum oxides also work well for all around use. Plastic media is the way to go for paint removal but like I said, most of us don't remove paint like that, it just takes way too long. Nobody wants to stand at the cabinet for an hour with the compressor running trying to get every nook and cranny of a fancy lugged bike.

I will say that I learned this from Doug Fattic, Joe Bell and Brian Baylis and in our world those are some heavy hitters.


----------



## Smokebikes (Feb 2, 2008)

"Doug Fattic, Joe Bell and Brian Baylis and in our world those are some heavy hitters."..............True-dat! :thumbsup:


----------



## trailriderjim (Oct 19, 2010)

Smokebikes said:


> "Doug Fattic, Joe Bell and Brian Baylis and in our world those are some heavy hitters."..............True-dat! :thumbsup:


has anyone ever used soda-bicarbonate as a option to metalic / plastic bead media. As I have read, the enviromental & Health issues would be considerably less. I also have read that thin gauge will not dent or deform from soda bicarbonate.. who knows, not me., thanks,Jim


----------



## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

trailriderjim said:


> has anyone ever used soda-bicarbonate as a option to metalic / plastic bead media. As I have read, the enviromental & Health issues would be considerably less. I also have read that thin gauge will not dent or deform from soda bicarbonate.. who knows, not me., thanks,Jim


Soda can do a great job but.....Always a but.  Soda is slow for paint removal and the biggest issue is that you have to neutralize all the sodium bicarbonate otherwise it will interfere with the adhesion of primers. I.e you have to scrub the heck out of the frame with soap and water and make sure you get every bit otherwise you will have an adhesion issue. Then you might have flash rust problem etc.

Heck, there is even dry ice blasting but the short of it is, there is no miracle, stick a frame in a cabinet and be done in 5 minute material. Wish there was. Stripping and prepping a previously painted frame is the worst part of a painters job no doubt.


----------



## dwain (Jan 3, 2010)

I just cleared my bike this evening and I started by sanding the factory clear coat with 600, then started painting base and graphics. .


----------



## brado1 (Oct 5, 2004)

dwain said:


> I just cleared my bike this evening and I started by sanding the factory clear coat with 600, then started painting base and graphics. .
> View attachment 580374


show the whole bike :thumbsup:

P L E A S E !


----------



## dwain (Jan 3, 2010)

here ya go brado1, sorry not the best photo. It is an old schwinn rocket that I have but thought I would liven it up a little with a custom paint job.


----------



## brado1 (Oct 5, 2004)

dwain said:


> here ya go brado1, sorry not the best photo. It is an old schwinn rocket that I have but thought I would liven it up a little with a custom paint job.
> View attachment 580536


that is very cool. nicely done!


----------

