TiHabanero

Just sprayed my daughters bike with rattlecan paint. Thinking the next paint job will be with a brush. Is there a method to getting a super smooth finish using a brush? Thin the paint? Special paint?

HTupolev

Painting a Bicycle

jgwilliams

It's how coachwork used to be done in olden days and they got beautiful results. It is a lot of work, though, if you want good results: paint - sand - paint - sand - etc.

Retro Grouch 

I think that it has more to do with technique than anything else. Round tubing with lots of funny little corners isn't the easiest thing to paint with a rattle can.

TiHabanero

HTupolev, thanks for the link.

xetaprime

Google 'Rustoleum paint Job'. Tons of info for smooth finish that looks like you've clear coated. Also check Youtube. Most used rollers but I've used a small brush and if you follow the tips, the paint self levels and looks great. Paint mixed with mineral spirits to a milk-like consistency.

big chainring 

I have brush painted many bikes. I use a 1/2 inch nylon artist brush and Rustoleum paint. I sand the original finish of the bike and paint right over it. Rustoleum is pretty thin right out of the can. I use it unthinned. Two qualities that make Rustoleum the goto paint...levels beautifully and drys fast. 2 or 3 thin coats looks great. Indoors in winter I can reassemble the bike after a couple days dry time. In summer months drying takes longer with the high humidity. Old painters trick...If the paint seems soft after a couple days drying, "shock" the paint with a cold damp rag. Just lightly rub the tubes with a really cold rag. It shock hardens the paint .

Colnago Mixte

With Rustoleum, I think using primer is a waste of time, especially if you are gonna be sanding between coats. Imagine spending weeks painting, waiting, adding more coats, and sanding until you have the perfect paint job.

Then, you give the top tube one last buffing ... and you sand through to the primer. Back to square one. Don't be that guy, I've been there and it's no fun at all.

We're not talking Du Pont Emron here, it's closer to shoe polish or a felt tip pen. Rustoleum is really intended to be a covering over bare metal that prevents rust. It can be made to look like real professional paint with some effort, for a while, but it's not intended to last indefinitely. It's just a kludge.

big chainring 

Rustoleum wouldnt still be around if it wasnt a high quality paint. But yeah after 25 years you might need to recoat.

mixteup

Here is a link to a PDF on brush-painting machinery - Of ALL kinds.
The info in here is absolutely spot on - I've followed this and gotten brush paint jobs that flowed out perfectly, looking like they were glazed or something -
I really recommend it.
Also, check out some web articles on using the "Majik" hardener from Tractor Supply with Rustoleum paint :

High Quality Brush Painting - VintageMachinery.org Knowledge Base (Wiki)

TiHabanero

The reason for going to brush on paint is durability. The spray on is so very thin and I want something more durable. Could powdercoat, but that is not in the spirit of things for me.

fietsbob

go for a fancy artist job , use a lot of colors
and even the touchup jobs will blend in..

jackson pollock type

Colnago Mixte

I think I talked about this already in another thread, but when using the spray on Rustoleum and similar rattlecan paints, I've tried really really hard to get it to have an "enameled" look, but consumer grade rattlecan paint can't really give you that enameled look, it just ends up running and / or taking forever to dry.

The brush-on stuff is a very different animal, you actually can get a very good enameled look, and it's fun to play around with mixing colors, and experimenting with different amounts of dilution.

Matschwab

great link!

Colnago Mixte

When I was scouring the Rustoleum fan sites a few years back, a lot of people claimed they got excellent results using boat paint, this brand specifically:





They said it was more durable and overall better quality paint than Rustoleum, which is not all all difficult to believe, given how much more expensive it is. They thinned it down with mineral spirits, just like Rustoleum, IIRC.

TiHabanero

Colnago Mixte, that is a great idea. Can be mixed to make the color desired, too. What is needed to make orange? Yo, Eddy!

Colnago Mixte

Yellow + Red, I would think.

big chainring 

Just sanded and put first coat of Valspar gloss on my bus yesterday. Second coat goes on today. All brushed with 3" and 1" brushs

Colnago Mixte

That's absolutely gorgeous. Someone tell me how that same paint would not look awesome on a bike? I don't know how someone could not be amazed by a paint job like that, but a duly-appointed representative of the all-powerful spray painting / industrial complex will surely have something bad to say.

mixteup

I believe boat paint doesn't have to meet the same environmental specs as consumer-type paint, like Rustoleum, etc.
That's why it usually has better performance.

Cheaper than Interlux :
https://www.jamestowndistributors.co...Container64351

Colnago Mixte

I would imagine that to be true. But what I know for certain is that any paint that get applied to a boat, that sits on salt water all day long, and gets exposed not only to massive direct UV rays, but also all the refection off the water, had damn well better be some really tough paint. You would think that kind of paint would be overkill for a bicycle, but bikes go through a lot too, and with any kind of paint you need every advantage you can get against the elements.

Litespud