SchwingBikes

u235

You can just wing it and paint or watch some spray painting or general painting vids on YouTube. You can get a great job from a can but it's not as simple as picking up the can and spraying. Read the can for temps and recoat times, it varies widely on the brand or specialty and it matters. A solvent cleaned lint free surface and even application of paint is the key. No reason to go bare metal but you did already so....

This guy does a lot of guitars but has a lot of detailed general spray painting videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/BradAngove

Planemaker

Back in the day after I had stripped the bike, I took it to a body shop and had them paint it.

I'm wondering if one can have them powder coated

Kedosto

General Geoff

Coat the bare steel in a light oil or even WD40 to prevent flash rusting, and take it to Arcane Moto in Brooklyn. They should be able to do a clear powder coat, it will be a much more durable finish than ordinary paint.

jade408

dedhed

https://www.google.com/search?ei=UBl...71.W9DY95fRycE

Skipjacks

Couple of things...

Be patient between the coats if you're doing it in winter. Give it a full day between coats. It's excessive but worth it in colder conditions.

Give it a few weeks to fully cure. It will be dry to the touch 2 hours after your last coat. You will be able to handle it safely without leaving any finger prints. But it wont' be ready to use. The paint will be soft and prone to scratching. Once the paint it full cured (assuming you applied it properly and used the correct paint) it will be a very durable coating. A clear coat, 2 or 3 coats worth, will add more protection to the paint job. Give the clear coat the same 2 week cure time.

The first time I did this (March time frame in the mid atlantic, so cool outside) I was discouraged by how soft the dry paint was and how easy it was to scratch. But after 3 weeks of leaving it alone and letting the paint really cure it's now a very durable finish.

TiHabanero

I live in West Michigan. Right now it is 20 degrees out there. Painted a fork 6 weeks ago. Temp was 35 degrees. The fork and spray paint in a rattle can (Rustoleum) were at room temp, roughly 65 degrees. Sprayed outside and immediately brought inside to dry. Wait time between coats was 3 hours. Three coats plus 3 clear coats. Not sure at 20 degrees how the paint will atomize, but at 35 degrees it was just fine provided it cured indoors.

bikeaddiction1

Having painted a couple of bike frames I have found that for me, my time is better spent on the other aspects of the rebuild. For me, it took a fair bit of time to do the prep, and number of coats for a good job. If you take it to a body shop or powder coat shop, their expertise and purpose built equipment will do a professional job. If you are willing to accept a color they are currently using on another project you should save money as they can do it at the same time with no special color set up.

However, that is just how I see it. If you enjoy doing it for yourself, or it is a frame you are trying to do on a tight budget and you have the time. then fill your boots and do it yourself.

By the way, what is the bike? I notice it has internal cable routing on the top tube.

bubish

If you do repaint it, you should mask off the head tube and bottom bracket.

ljsense

If you like the look of bare metal, one thing you might do is put cold blue on it -- which is a finish to touch up firearms. It creates a kind of rust to protect the steel, but instead of being orange-ish red, it's dark grey-ish. It looks especially cool with fillet brazing, because the brass stays brass. This is a delicate finish that offers very little protection to the metal, so I'd rub car wax or a really light coat of linseed or tung oil. You could spray a clearcoat, but that would diminish the effect I think you might be going for -- that very raw texture and appearance of bare metal.

Bluing is best applied hot -- that's how it goes on in a factory -- but the cold blue works. The color won't be totally uniform. Prep work makes a difference. The smoother the metal, the shinier the end finish will be.

Many examples online, here one:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reefflop/4726241300

adsjax

I've had success with boiled linseed oil on an old steel frame. It will need a few coats and occasional touch ups but the touch ups only involve wiping more oil on with a rag. Best of all, the oil is dirt cheap. Just be careful with the oily rags though, I've heard they can spontaneously combust so best to google about safe disposal first

Lemond1985

I've been experimenting this weekend with using this stuff I found at Walmart, on a set of bare metal forks:



It's designed for wood, I believe, not that I would ever let an inconvenient fact like that bother me. The fact that it's water-based worries me, since bare metal + water + oxygen = rust. I probably should have done an oxalic acid bath first, considering all the tiny scratches in the fork blades, any one of which could be harboring a speck of rust. And a speck of rust, underneath paint, has a tendency to spread exponentially over months and years.

I'm tempted to just leave the fork out in the rain now, and see what happens. That would certainly give the corrosion process a decent head start, and if it remains rust-free, I might consider painting a whole frame.



I'm not sure if the experiment will be successful or not, but if it is, this Minwax stuff is dirt cheap ($15/quart) and a quart could easily paint several bikes. The stuff adds a slight golden hue to bare steel, but it's essentially clear.

bakerjw

Well, were it me.

• I would paint it in a bare metal epoxy primer. I have some around for painting body panels on the Jag that I'm restoring.
• Lightly sand the primer and hit it with a build up primer. Again, I have some around.
• Lightly sand it and spray it with a durable single stage enamel with hardener.

Mind you all of these steps require an air sourced painting hood as the hardeners and other materials are very harmful.

Or I'd take to t local powder coater and have it powder coated.

SchwingBikes

this is an old sears free spirit. yes, it has internal cabling, but just for the rear brake

Retro Grouch 

Aha! So you don't want to spend very much money on it and you're not out anything if it turns out badly.

If it was my bike I'd just do it and learn through the process.

Lemond1985

Go for it. I always thought there should be a biathlon-style event for mountain bikes, where you carry a rifle (or bow) on your back, as you ride from station to station, shooting at targets and moving on to the next one. Would be a year-round sport, unlike the biathlon, which can only be done when there's snow on the ground.

DynoD500_SR20-d

Honestly if you like this look carry it to a powder coater and have them coat it this color or have it polished and powdercoated. Being that it is just a frame you have the advantage

78rr

good job

ArmChairRider

People paint their front doors of their homes with polyurethane. If it is facing the sun then the paint yellows, bubbles and cracks. Pain to sand off.

https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/choosing-best-outdoor-project-finish/

"
10. Clear finishes like spar varnish and exterior-grade polyurethane will break down in direct sunlight. Keep a close eye on the finish and recoat as soon as you see it starting to fade.
"

Lemond1985

Thanks for the info, I had never used polyurethane, before using it to paint my forks. I think / hope that three coats will probably seal the rust out OK, but the finish is a little rough, and places where the paint is too thick are sort of an orange-ish, yellow color, which looks a lot like rust, but evidently it isn't. Not 100% thrilled with the results, but I think I got my money's worth @ $15 a quart.

Maybe someone can recommend a more suitable product for painting bare steel with a clear finish. * crosses fingers * I sent away for some of this stuff, should arrive this week, I just don't know it it alone will be enough to protect the steel from rust, as spray-on paint generally goes on quite thin:

https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Chemical-.../dp/B0043B7UQY

Seems to get good reviews on Amazon, FWIW.

ArmChairRider

A two part spray can paint is a novel idea.
I done a search at that Amazon site for "bare metal" and came up with 4 reviews. One seemed to definitely talk about spraying a bare metal motorcycle gas tank with a favorable review. The review is back in 2016 so that might be a good sign. But he had comments below that he didn't answer (That might be a bad sign).
I'm pretty much resolved that I cannot paint unless I stick my fingers in it.
We got more offers from the neighbors in that area to do their doors. The prices they were willing to pay made me feel like I was robbing a bank. But as the hours wore on I came to realize that one couldn't pay me to do that again. haa haa
Had my wife's trike painted by equipment painters in the area.
Sky Blue. They done a fantastic job and it was less than $100. That was a long while back though and before powder coat was easily obtainable.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

02Giant 

This; https://www.kbs-coatings.com/DiamondFinish-Clear.html is an excellent product, it may be considered a bit pricey though. I use their thinner to spray the bulk packaged product. It is also available in a spray; https://www.kbs-coatings.com/Diamond...r-Aerosol.html
I have coated several under-hood parts on one of my vehicles, it has survived the harsh conditions without issue. I also used it for the clear coat, over the base color on one of my bike builds.

Lemond1985

I actually used some of that Diamond Finish on a frame and fork using a brush. I just used regular paint thinner to thin it out (may have been a mistake since the company sells their own thinner). Fork developed some rust spots after sitting outside through a couple rainstorms.

I think the problem was that I didn't have even coverage, but the rust was quite extensive. It's very difficult when using a brush to apply a clear product uniformly, or so I found. The paint is pretty expensive too @ $60 a quart. So I tried the Minwax Polyurethane stuff from Walmart as a cheaper substitute, and it performed, well, just like a you'd expect a cheap substitute to, not nearly as well.

Gonna try the 2k clear spray next and see what kind of luck I have with that. The Diamond Finish has been about the best thing I found so far, so I may wind up using that, I just need to figure out a better way to apply it, maybe with an airbrush or compressor, so it goes on evenly, with no drips or missed spots.