# Painting a frame



## Trek7000rider (Sep 7, 2008)

I have a 1998 Trek 7000, and would like to repaint it, give it a "fresh" look. Anyone know any good resources on how to go about doing this? some good instructions? tips? I dont want a shitty paint job that will chip terribly if i clip a rock or something, or else i would have done it already.

thanks


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

http://www.cycling-adventurer.net/how-to/paint-01.html


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## pixy (Nov 8, 2005)

I painted a 99 GF Katai that I rescued from the dumpster last year. It was really rewarding and came out pretty good. The steps I used are here:

http://pixyandabike.blogspot.com/2008/04/chasing-passion.html

or here:

http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5344


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## Trek7000rider (Sep 7, 2008)

^cool project. yours turned out great! Is the paint job as durable as a stock paint job? And does anyone know how to go about making a matte finish?


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

Hi going to resurrect an old thread, Iam going to repaint my frame but I intend to do it properly or at least as well as can be done using spray paint, I want my frame to glow in the dark I will be using Krylon glowz paint. I am looking for any advice in regards to good brands or specifics that I've missed. from what I've gathered online, the necessary steps will be as follows:
*
1. Strip the paint using a chemical strpper*, the brush on ones are better from what I hear.
any recommendations on brands of strippers, are the soy based ones applicable.

*2. Degrease the frame*I'm not exactly sure what I need for this.

*3. Prime the frame with an aluminum oxide primer* I'm not sure where to find this primer online, any help?

*4. lightly sand the primer* I'm not sure what grit, is 1200 acceptable. is this step necessary?

*5. Apply 3 coats of krylon*

*6. apply 2-3 coats of clear coat* I'm looking to strengthen the paint will the clear coat aid in the process?

Please let me know if I'm omitting anything or if you have any recommendations.

pictures of the pike are here: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=539559

any help is really appreciated.

Thanks


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

o.k I am going to be a buzz kill and state first that you should probably just get it professionally painted.

But to answer a few of your questions. First. The glow stuff has a very short life span. Might last a year if you are lucky. Probably less as the professional stuff doesn't even last that long.

1. Strippers. Depends. The nasty ones work best. but if you have the time a soy based may work, it may not. Depends on the exact finish you want to remove. Much of this stuff is available at the local automotive paint store. Buying this stuff online rarely makes sense as they have to charge fees to ship hazardous materials and you will pay a lot. Expect to pay 25 dollars or more for this componenet.

2. You need a wax and grease remover or waterborne wax and grease remover. 10-35 bucks

3. There should be something suitable at the auto paint store in a can. They have 2 part cans now. You break a seal, shake em up and have an hour or so to spray the material. Longer than that and it hardens up in the can. There are pure primers and then there are primer surfacers. If you have flaws you want to fix or want the smoothest finish possible. A primer surfacer is in order. 12 bucks minimum for this.

4. Sand with 320 wet for solid colors and 600 wet for metallics. Paint is a combination of chemical bond and mechanical bond. Sanding too fine will not give you the adhesion you want.

5. Apply until even and hiding. May only be two or may be 5 coats. Just depends. 

6. Clear will make your paint more lustrous and give a barrier for UV and chips and such. Realize that rattlecan paints are pretty weak on most things. Durability, UV resistance, chip resistance is way lower than quality two part catalyzed automotive coatings.

You can do an acceptable job with home brew components but it will cost more than you may think and it will not be as tough, long lasting or good looking as a pro job.

Another option is to get a cheap spray gun and real automotive paints and set up a homemade spray area. You would need to amortize this by painting more than just one bicycle frame but it can all be done on the cheap for a few hundred bucks. Oh, make sure you have a respirator and gloves at least.

All the best,

Dave Bohm
Bohemian Bicycles.


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

thanks alot dave I really appreciate the time you put into the post, I am currently in talks with a powdercoating company that has done a number of bikes. 

I'm starting to think that maybe a straight gloss clearcoat over the bare alu would look quite nice, do you know if I would still need the primer?

Thanks


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

1. Get in car with frame
2. Drive to local powder coater
3. Pick a color
4. Give 'em about $130
5. Wait a few days
6. Bring 'like new' bike home


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

I would just add that make sure your powder person understand they are working with heat-treated aluminum and need to use a low temp powder. Otherwise should come out great.

Dave


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

dbohemian said:


> 3. There should be something suitable at the auto paint store in a can. They have 2 part cans now. You break a seal, shake em up and have an hour or so to spray the material.


Really? That's cool. Do you have any links for more info?


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

pvd said:


> Really? That's cool. Do you have any links for more info?


I have seen them before, never used them. Here is a link.

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_2_part.cfm

Must be other suppliers too.

Dave


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## AlexJK (May 2, 2009)

strip the paint with this stuff called "Kleen Strip™ Aircraft Paint Remover"

IT IS NASTY STUFF!!! tripple layer on the nitrile gloves! it will remove the paint in about 20 minutes.

then wet sand the frame a bit with 400 grit

then choose the paint, you could go the rattle can route or the paint sprayer route but use enamel

prime with the appropriate primer and let it dry as per the instructions on the label, wet sand it with 400 grit.

apply 3-4 coats of your paint and let dry (don't touch because yes, it's wet)

apply 2-3 coats of clear and let it dry, then wax it with REAL car wax, not that meguire's or turtle wax crap, REAL carnuba pro stuff!

done



i've painted MANY ATV frames with this method all have stood up to many years of duning, mudding and general screwing around. it works


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

i'll update later, but because i do want it to glow it seems that powdercoating is the best option because the agent that glows can be purchased as a dry pigment that can hopefully be added to a non uV protectant clear coat over top of a basic white coat.


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

I'll respond to both posts above.

First, timms. You are right, The glow stuff is generally an additive that is applied in a clear carrier. I will say it again. It is a temporary effect. You might get a year out of it. I have heard as short as 3 months. I think a lot has to do with application and the time out in the sun. 

AlexJK. I am a professional painter, so just a little clarification. 

Kleen Strip is a brand. Methylene Chloride is the active ingredient. Any stripper with this chemical well eat paint well.

And it will eat through even that many gloves. I have some solvent resistant buytl rubber gloves. Thick as hell. Entirely nasty, The part I hate the most about painting is stripping.

Sanding grit depends on the finish to go over the top. 400grit dry will show plenty of sanding scratches if metallics or pearls are used.

It is not a good idea to apply wax until the paint has completely cured for at least two weeks, maybe even a month. Wax can trap solvents trying to escape the paint during cure and lead to blushing, blooming and all sorts of stuff. I agree though, when the time comes, use a good quality pure wax. Great advice.

Dave Bohm
Bohemian Bicycles


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## Nickle (Aug 23, 2006)

I stripped and painted one of my frames with great success. I essentially followed Dave Bohm's suggestions, although I didn't have his words advice when I painted my frame. I'd listen to him as his techniques echo the ones I would suggest after my own trial and error experience. The only difference is that I sanded the whole frame rather than using a chemical stripper. Man, was that a mistake. It takes sooooo much work to strip a frame by sanding it. I'll use a chemical stripper or have a professional sand blaster work the frame when I do it again.

Here are the results. Not perfect, but this was the first frame I ever painted so I'm quite happy with the results.

Nissan 350Z La Mans Sunset


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

thanks alot, this is the pigment I was looking at http://glowinc.com/detail.aspx?ID=42

they claim "All of our products can be recharged millions of times. If properly sealed, they will loose 5% of the glow over 10 years."

sounds a little too good to be true even to an amateur like me.

I hate to say it, but I think you might be right, this seems like quite the undertaking. I'm not sure whether it's worth it.


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

timms said:


> thanks alot, this is the pigment I was looking at http://glowinc.com/detail.aspx?ID=42
> 
> they claim "All of our products can be recharged millions of times. If properly sealed, they will loose 5% of the glow over 10 years."
> 
> ...


That is a cool link timms. Heck, I don't know for sure. Products are always getting better and there are so many variables. So maybe it will hang in there for a long time. Some of the small concerns I would have is how much of the powder do I add? spraying super evenly so I get no streaking or mottling of the glow effect and you are probably going to need layers of clear over your glo-paint to protect it from the elements. No biggie. Just a bit more work.

Really though. It will probably be cool no matter what, even if it is not perfect and you can always find your way in the garage at night by your glowing bike.

Dave Bohm


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

the blotching did occur to me, there is a site that I believe it sponsored by the pigment company called glowforum. 

The powdercoating company that I was in talks with backed out of painting using the glow in the dark stuff, for their own reasons.

the glow inc company also carries glow in the dark paint but I would be almost impossible to get it over the border plus it's super expensive.

The only option that seems to remain would be buying an airbrush machine and try to paint it myself. I'm going to do more research, but I'm assuming that I cant use the powdered pigment through an airbrush machine.


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## AlexJK (May 2, 2009)

dbohemian said:


> I'll respond to both posts above.
> 
> First, timms. You are right, The glow stuff is generally an additive that is applied in a clear carrier. I will say it again. It is a temporary effect. You might get a year out of it. I have heard as short as 3 months. I think a lot has to do with application and the time out in the sun.
> 
> ...


Thanks!

thats good advice too, letting it cure before waxing, thanks!

i've actually never seen scratches caused by the 400 grit, but i only do it on the bare metal before primer and lightly on the primer before color so thats probably why.

i've been trying to get ahold of some of those gloves! theyre damn expensive though!

and If it contains methylene chloride, how come it doesn't strip powdercoat all that well?
I used to use gasket remover to strip powdercoat, which has methylene chloride in it... took the PC right off! not the same with the aircraft stuff... 
lower concentration maybe? 

Also, to anyone who might want to know, Powdercoat is actually a plastic material, it's a bit heavier than paint too.


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

timms said:


> The only option that seems to remain would be buying an airbrush machine and try to paint it myself. I'm going to do more research, but I'm assuming that I cant use the powdered pigment through an airbrush machine.


Timms. You do have another option. Send it to a pro......

Velocolour is in you neck of the woods eh?

http://www.velocolour.com/

I have heard good things about him, so worth a call.

No, an airbrush won't really work. Great for details, but if you want to drive yourself mad, then absolutely get an airbrush and paint a frame. You need a clear carrier for the powdered additive. Those with mixing banks....(I have one) can mix it either with the base color or an intercoat clear. The effect is probably different, as I have not used it myself. Like all things, painting is not "hard" but there are a ton of details and it is hard to disseminate years of knowledge over the net.

Dave Bohm


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## dbohemian (Mar 25, 2007)

Nickle. You did really well with that paint job. It just takes care and one can do a good job. 

Dave Bohm


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

thanks for the links, I'll give them a shout tomorrow.


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## toppyjai (Jun 12, 2009)

my 2000 rockhopper fsr just a facelift.


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## nogod (May 30, 2009)

timms said:


> thanks alot, this is the pigment I was looking at http://glowinc.com/detail.aspx?ID=42
> 
> they claim "All of our products can be recharged millions of times. If properly sealed, they will loose 5% of the glow over 10 years."
> 
> ...


lol just get glow in the dark grips lol and i saw some tires that glow in the dark to dont know if they make larger then 20" ones though


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

well, I wrote that a few days ago, after a few more days research I'm well on the way to getting this project done. It's not just about the actual project, its about the learnibg experience.


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## nogod (May 30, 2009)

cool keep us posted my wife is into glow in the dark stuff would be cool to paint stuff haha


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## ppeg34 (Jul 15, 2009)

*4th post from top*



dbohemian said:


> 1. Strippers. Depends. The nasty ones work best. but if you have the time a soy based may work...


heh


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## timms (Feb 15, 2007)

I stripped the frame on thursday, It wasn't that bad, bought an aerosol sprayer from canadian tire. $10 bucks and it did the whole frame. just hooked the frame up to my sand outside on a sunny day, put some plastic below and let her rip. steel wool cleaned it up.


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## Mongoose Pilot (Jun 30, 2009)

*Custom Work*

I have done it all. I was a Certified Automotive Refinisher for 15 years and apply my experience to refinishing bike frames and parts. Check out my thread here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=547300

Any surface can be painted and cured to a very hard and durable finish. PM me if you are interested in custom airbrushing, design or decal work for your rig.


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

Mongoose Pilot said:


> PM me if you are interested in custom airbrushing, design or decal work for your rig.


Did you read this?


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## Mongoose Pilot (Jun 30, 2009)

*Yep*



unterhausen said:


> Did you read this?


It's something I do on the side and is not affiliated with any company or product.


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