Andy_K 

1971 Mercian Vincitore DIY Paint Project

I'm honestly not sure how this is going to turn out -- almost certainly not as good as this frame deserves, but just as certainly good enough to ride it for a while until I'm ready to pay someone to do it right. In the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun with this project.

As purchased



After some minor Gugificazione and stripping the remnants of the original paint



I might not have even tried to paint this myself had others on this forum not convinced me that liquid mask (frisket) would make masking these lugs a manageable job. I'm not sure if I bought the wrong stuff or if I just lack the needed skills, but I couldn't make it work. The stuff I bought poured right off of the polished chrome like water on a greased griddle, and when I did manage to get some to stay on it dried clear and didn't want to cut cleanly. I quickly decided that I didn't have the patience for it and went back to good old masking tape. That ended up not being as bad as I thought, and I think I did a decent job with it. I used a chop stick to push the tape in around the lug edges and an X-Acto knife with a new blade to cut it. I had a bit of trouble around the very fine points, but I figure I can clean that up later.













My wife's Harley is in the shop this week, so I took advantage of the opportunity to claim a bit of garage floor space.



Channeling my inner Walter White, I was ready to go.

Andy_K 

The chrome on the fork crown has a black spot, but I figure that'll give it some character, so I decided to mask that off too. My old Spin Doctor workstand is still red from the last bike I painted. This is all I use it for now.



Auto-focus apparently thought the tent in the background was the interesting thing here, and I don't feel like taking another picture.



Moving on to the frame



Space is tight, but I'm able to get a bit of rotation to expose different angles.



I've got a couple of coats of primer on it now. Tommorow, I'll do a bit of sanding.




I really can't wait to see how the top color is going to look, but I want to give the primer at least a week to dry before I move on to that.

I'm doing all this with Rust-Oleum rattle can paint. I know a lot of people don't have a lot of respect for rattle can paint jobs, but I've done a few now and they're coming out better every time. I don't know how durable it will be, but I find the whole process to be extremely satisfying.

BTinNYC 

I'm also a (dingbat) rattle can bike painter. I strongly recommend the 2K primer (too late) and clear coat (not too late). Looks like a fun project!

Schweinhund

I've done some passable rattle can jobs, patience and prep are the key.
My best jobs were done with a local paint companies' custom mixed rattle cans with a close second by Cardinal Paint.
Good luck!

52telecaster

Awesome Andy! Looks like it'll be beautiful.

beicster 

My experience with rattle can is that if you are careful you can make it look nice. And, if you are patient, you get a reasonably resilient finish. It is not as tough as more expensive paint but it does the job.

Looking forward to the finished product.

plonz 

Maybe your wife said “hey while the Harley’s out, you should paint the garage”, not paint in the garage!

Kabuki12

Patience is key on the masking and it looks like you did good. It will be interesting to see how this comes out. Bicycle frames are tough to spray evenly , I only tried it once back in 1990 and I decided that painting was not my thing. I have seen some on this forum that have done a great job.

Pompiere

This is timely, as I am about to embark on a similar journey with my FW Evans frame. I especially liked the close-up pictures of the lug masking. My frame doesn't have chrome lugs, so I' planning to paint them a different color to make them stand out more. I only paid $40 for the bike, so I'm having a hard time justifying several times that for a pro paint job or powder coat. I did my Fuji a couple years ago, and I think it came out pretty good, but it was only one color. I have plenty of other bikes to ride, so I can take my time and work at my own pace. If I can get the paint done before the cold weather hits, I can let it cure all winter and put it back together for spring riding.


Late 1960s-early 1970s FW Evans

delbiker1 

Looking good. I had a Fuji Ace for a few years that wound up being a bike to experiment with. I learned a lot from messing with it, including painting and various different set ups. The third time I spray painted it, it came out quite nice, but not very durable. The frameset was given to me by a BF member, and was really a bit too big for me. And it is quite heavy, but a highly comfortable ride. A couple of weeks ago I gave it to my 74 year brother, who had not been on a bike in a number of years. He is getting use out of it just riding around his neighborhood, and a local mup, and says it is great to be on a bike again. He can tell the difference in his leg strength already. I got a lot out of that bike. Whatever dollars I put into it, I feel like I got value from it.

Roger M

Great work Andy!

In your painting experience, do you know if there's a particular masking tape(brand/type) that works better for stuff like this?

Mr. 66

Oh how fun, I do enjoy repaint, and yes I'm a little sick in the head. Lol

Interesting that the liquid mask had that much trouble, I've never tried the product.

Late to your game, another method to mask details is to cut thin strips of masking tape. The strips have enough give and take to bend and contort to the curves. It does take some fine cuts but not that much. Gives a fairly clean edge as long as one makes sure it is adhered.

The above is very similar to what I used to do when I was in the print industry. I used to mask light for, and when I was doing a lot of photographic transfer of images when doing my litho film assembly.

Andy_K 

I've been considering the 2K clear coat. One of the things about this process I don't fully understand is compatibility between different types of primer, paint, and clear. I know enough to know that they need to be compatible, but I don't know how to tell which ones will have problems. For that reason I've stuck to using a single brand. I haven't used clear coat on my past projects. For all but one of them I used the Rust-Oleum self-etching automotive primer with their Stops Rust Gloss Protective Enamel paint. That seemed to work OK, but I gave those bikes away before riding them long enough to judge the durability.

Is there a specific brand of 2K you'd recommend, and do you know if the 2k clear will work with the Rust-Oleum enamel paint?

Andy_K 

This is similar to my plan. I'm going to be away for about a week and a half starting next weekend, so if I can hold off on the color until I leave that should give the primer plenty of drying time. After I do the color coats, I'm planning to put the frame in the storage space above my garage for a couple of weeks before applying decals and clear coat. It gets pretty hot up there in the summer, so I'm hoping it will be a fair simulation of baking it.

Andy_K 

That's some fantastic history you've developed with that bike, especially now with your brother riding it.

I've painted three bikes before this. All of them were entries in the Clunker 100 Challenge, but they've been getting progressively better. The first was an entry-level boom-era Nishiki. Next was a mid-level Takara. Last was a mid-level Centurion. As mentioned above, I gave them all away. The Takara and the Centurion came out looking pretty good. The Nishiki...well, I learned a lot from the process.

Kilroy1988 

My basic understanding is that if you stick to enamels or lacquers or acrylics throughout the process, you should mostly be fine. The critical factor to avoid issues is to allow the different layers to dry thoroughly before applying the next.

According to this site:

Applying clear coat over enamel paint – A simple guide | 3DRIFIC

Spray Max 2k clear coats can be applied over mostly any kind of paint but particularly enamels.

-Gregory

BTinNYC 

I've used the Spray Max clear over many brands of regular spray paint and recently over spray.bike. I don't like the grainy nature of spray.bike, but that's me.

Note; Shooting the two part isocyanate 2K, you have to use a cartridge respirator, not a dust mask.

Work in process, waiting on a headset.

Andy_K 

I've tried a few different kinds.

For one project I used green Frog Tape, which I had on hand from having used it for painting walls in the house. It's good for masking the trim on walls. It left a lot of residue on the bike project I used it with, but other than that I think it was OK.

For my previous project I decided to try something different. I got 3M ScotchBlue™ Ultra Sharp Lines tape (#2098). This stuff kind of plastic and a bit tougher than the Frog Tape. It tears off the roll easily, but stretches a bit. I find that for relatively simple lines it's a great choice. I used it on the fork crown pictured below on the 1979 Centurion Elite that I painted last year and was very happy with it for that project. For the Vincitore I'm working on now, I couldn't get it to cut cleanly enough for the tight curves and fine points of the lugs, even with a very sharp blade.



When I was out getting some other supplies for the current project, I came across 3M Automotive Performance Masking Tape. The packaging said it was good for curved surfaces, so I thought I'd give it a try. You see from the pictures above that it worked well for conforming to the lug edges. It was mostly easy to cut, but on the fine points I kept getting a few fibers that didn't want to separate and essentially had to be scraped away from what I was leaving, sometimes pulling a bit off that I would have preferred to leave. I think for my case that's OK since I am masking chrome that I want to be bare in the end. I'll be able to polish off any minor overspray. If you were trying to mask a color to be kept it would be more of a problem. I haven't found a tape that is perfect for that.

Andy_K 

Thanks for that!

According to the linked article, "It is recommended to use a Rustoleum clear coat for optimal results since they are also an enamel blend. But other clear coats can be used if you know what you are doing." This is consistent with what I've been doing. I've stuck to a single brand because I don't know what I'm doing. I may try the Spray Max 2K for this project though because I want really good results that last as long as possible. That's assuming, of course, that I'm happy with how the color coats come out.

One other thing I'm concerned about with the clear coat is how I should manage the masking. I'm assuming I want to leave the masking on until after I'm done with the clear coat. Will I have any problems removing the masking tape after the clear coat is applied?

Andy_K 

I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to respirators. Is the one pictured in my first post sufficient, or do I need something more specific? It's a Harbor Freight cheapie, but they describe it as a cartridge respirator. If I buy quality replacement filters, will that do?

That Shogun looks fantastic, BTW.

Kilroy1988 

Well, right off the bat, having quite a bit of experience helping to lay down automotive primer, enamel paints and clear coats, I can say that I don't like the Rustoleum products at all - and in particular clear coats - because they don't harden nearly as well as traditional automotive paints. It's just a cheap product. I have a can of the Spray Max 2K clear that I intend to use later this week over a Pro-Miyata frame that just got a full makeover and am eager to try that out because of the built-in hardener. As pointed out above, a proper cartridge respirator will be necessary for that task. Unless if there's something wrong with your respirator or the cartridges are old, it looks sufficient for spraying the 2K.

On lugs as complicated as the Vincitore I would just leave on your first set of masking until the clear has been sprayed. Before removing the masking allow the paint to dry for a couple of days and also use a razor blade to go around the edges of all of the masking tape to separate it from the painted section. If enough layers of paint and clear are built up over the masking tape then it can pull up additional paint with it and really damage your paint job!

-Gregory

bulgie 

I have done little painting but I used to work alongside a few pro painters who did the frames I made for a couple decades. All my "knowledge", such as it is, is almost 30 years out of date, so someone correct me if this is no longer true.

For isocyanate, no cartridges are good enough, you need a supplied-air hood, with air pumped in from somewhere distant, outside the spray booth. The stuff is highly carcinogenic. You can't even take the lid off the can without your hood on and air pump running.

That's the advice for pros, though maybe as a hobbyist doing just one frame, you could get away with organic vapor cartridges. Not HEPA, which are only for particulates. HEPA over an organic vapor cartridge can be a good idea though.

Check the mask fit by covering the air inlets and trying to breathe in. If any air is getting in around the edges of the mask, no bueno. Beards are not allowed.

Mark B

RiddleOfSteel

I am working on stepping up my rattle can paint skillz as well. My most recent endeavor being a couple months ago. Bought a 60cm/biggest Specialized Tricross Sport Triple near the end of last year and after some component/setup testing went well, that was the green light needed to paint it and put gratuitously fancy parts on it. The aluminum frame had been stripped--pretty darn well I might add--by the previous previous owner, and looked dingy. I had plans to do a Cannondale-esque super buffing job, or at the very least, a masochistic multi-step wet sand effort, but the aluminum was having none of it. So paint it was. Picked up some "Pixie Dust" from the brand Color Shot. Lots of fun names that I appreciated, from a company that, through can shape and features, marketing/branding, and naming, is definitely not aimed at, well, guys.

I erroneously thought Pixie Dust was a pearlescent white, but it was actually pearlescent clear. I wanted a whimsical color full of sparkles to contrast with the Ultra Serious Fast Biker parts I was going to put on it and apparently failed at eyesight and reading comprehension. With the frame and fork all ready to go... Grabbed some matte black high-temp enamel paint from the shop/garage and said to myself, "Self, sparkly black will have to do." So I sprayed the black, then the Pixie Dust, and the frame turned forest green.... What is the world anymore??? Anyway, not all, or any, was lost! I had MASSIVE sparkles going on, and I knew that dark green with tan wall tires and black rims would look epic (from a prior build for someone else). I used 2k Clear's little brother, 1K Clear. Not as durable, but also not as nasty. Decals from eBay (definitely NOT Velocals in quality nor price) and away I went to build! Could I have stood to sand between coats, as well as cut and buff (or similar) the clear coat? Very much so. But, I wanted to build the darn thing and this is going to be a gravelly adventure bike.

Started with this:



Puzzled at the green, but hyped for the sparkly green and matching frame and fork (and stem, like all those fancy custom bikes get).



To this end result: 20.8 lbs of Um, Did You Put A Specialized "S" On That Carbon Bontrager XXX Stem???



48mm tires try in vain to fill the vast space between the fork blades.



Is this the cool guy bike pose? Anyway, all that to say, Andy, is that with more patience and planning than me, you can make it look actually legit, not fading in and out of smooth gloss and textured semi gloss finishing (tried hard to get the stuff to lay down well, but I painted it outside, 25 feet from where this photo was taken). Looking forward to seeing it progress! I also like the added braze-ons. I would have done the same.

mgopack42 

Hey Andy be sure to do your homework. there are many types of respirator cartridges, with different use cases. find the right one, and remember they dont last forever. I treat the chemical cartridges as one use only for safety (if you store then in a air tight bag, you should be good for one paint job). You DO NOT want the 2K clear hardening inside your lungs!

Velo Mule

I like automotive paints because I like shinny finishes. I also sometimes use Rustoleum. I don't remember if I have actually used automotive 2k Clear Coat over Rustoleum, however, I have used it over Koolest Kolors single part enamel and it worked well. I think if you let the Rustoleum or enamel paint dry enough, I waited about a week and then use the 2k clear coat you should be good. Of course, you will need a compressor and gun. I don't know if this is something that you have or would consider.

As for specific clear coat brands, everyone has their own opinions on these. I have been using a value brand that I get from my local auto supply shop. The results are good for the price. If you go to paint forums some people like my choice and some do not. The other issue is the gun. You can do a good job with a Harbor Freight gun. I have one. It doesn't put out the volume of paint, a wide spray pattern or atomize as good as the pro guns, but for a cheap gun on a bicycle frame where you don't need a wide pattern, it does good. I also have a more expensive gun, but it is not one of those high priced pro guns. I am not a pro, or even close. I paint in my driveway.

As you probably know already @Andy_K , prep work is the most important factor and be patient. If you go this route, spray on a cardboard box to get used to whatever gun you use and get it set up.

Here is my value paint collection. You may also notice a nozzle to the left of the primer activator. That is the bottle for the acetone for cleaning the gun and everything up.


I have also used Sherwin-Williams Fleetline clear coat with good results.

Watch some automotive painting videos for set up tip and application tips. I like Paint Society and the Gunman. Both are pros that understand painting for amateurs'. The Gunman paints in his garage and has to deal with real world issues. This video may be good for painting a bike frame.
Keep the pictures coming no mater how you paint the bike.