Mad Honk 

Delbiker,
This thread really got sidetracked or even hijacked! My powder coat guys have a dark chrome finish that looks quite nice, and would be pretty close to your bare frame look. I would check with your coater and see if they have that chrome color available. You will have great frame protection and the good looks of chrome. Smiles, MH

BicycleBicycle

I also love the look of raw frames.
I considered doing exactly that to one of my frames not very long ago.
However, a typical rattlecan clear coat is for sure going to wear off in certain areas and still rust.

Keep in mind that most factory clear coats are actually a clear powder coat.
If you find the right place, and you live near a semi-industrial area, you may be able to get your frame powder coated for 100 something bucks.
You may also be able to purchase the media on your own and offer to provide the media to the shop. It depends on how flexible they are.
I have been buying a lot of used bikes, but 100 something bucks has never been worth an aesthetic upgrade for me.
It would be different if it was a very sick frame.

Powder coating is really, really good stuff. It's actually an ionized media that gets "attached" to your frame and then baked.
The result is a thick "candy coat" that is EXTREMELY resistant to scratching and is totally non-permeable. They make awesome colors with it because you can mix medias and make all kinds of cool effects.
If anything you do to your bike manages to take the powder coat off, you're probably taking some of the metal of the frame off with it.
It's that good.
It also has less of an environmental impact due to the lack of solvents (your frame is actually electrified and the media sticks because it is ionized).

However, if you have an aluminum frame, you will probably be done with the bike by the time it shows any serious rust. Even withotu any coating at all.

tcs

Alex Moulton Bikes have made small numbers of stainless models for a couple of decades. But the 'production' bike that comes to mind is the humble little DaHon Classic Stainless folding bike of the 1980s & 90s. Anything but a novelty, it was built in quantity as a serious travel bike intended for the yachting crowd.

BTW, Brompton offers a factory 'clear lacquer' finish on their steel bikes.

delbiker1 

I have talked to the gentleman that powder coated a steel frame/fork for me back in April. If I go that route, it will be a single stage, one color. I really do not want to put much money into this project. I am not in a hurry and will give it some more thought. I still may prime and spray paint it myself. A perfectly fine looking end result is not a goal for this.