kokol

How do I go about painting a bike with a glossy professional sheen but without paying a pro to do it? Basically DIY.

DrIsotope

Painting is 90% prep work. The last 10% of the job is the easiest to mess up.

So you'd like a breakdown of prep and application for a professional-grade paint finish? Do you have a few hours?

Maelochs

I use paint.

ls01

If you want a nice finish, with long lasting results. You will need to use a catalyzed paint. Some thing that hardens not dries. Regular spray paint wont hold up. It scratches easy and some of the solvents we use to clean chains and bearings will eat the finish right off. Problem is that will make it expensive. If you know someone in the auto body repair field you may want to talk to them about it.

3alarmer 

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...take it to Tijuana.

kokol

I dont get what youre trying to say.

I actually asked an auto body shop. Theyre expensive. Was looking for a DIY for a bike I had in mind.

Maelochs

DrIsotope was saying that just explaining everything that goes into prepping a frame for pro-grade painting will take a couple hours ... hours better spent on Google.

He is also saying that prepping is Really important ... the frame needs to be completely sanded so it presents an even surface, and completely free of dust and grease. Then it needs to be primed and sanded and maybe primed and sanded again ... auto body people use two colors of primer so if they sand down far enough they see the undercolor and know they either sanded in a low spot of found a high spot ... and then fix it.

Then the actual color has to be laid on ... perfectly smoothly and in just the right thickness, no drips or runs ... then resprayed while wet which might be even more difficult because of the tendency for drips if there is even slightly too much paint anywhere. Then it needs to be wet-sanded, then clear-coated ... again with coats of exactly the perfect thickness.

And painting tubes or just narrow and complex shapes like the oddly shaped tubes of a CF bike is a Lot harder because it is so easy to get too much paint or too little in some of the harder-to-reach angles. Painting a big, flat panel is a lot easier (which is why the auto body people weren't cheap.)

Some finishes then need to be heated or baked to get really hard.

If you want you can do the work. The prep is mostly just labor .... not too hard to strip the frame to a bare surface and sand it, and primer is easier to spray well because it is flat (in finish) and if it runs or drips, you can just sand it down and respray in parts.

Laying on the color is sort of a "If you mess up you start over" proposition---sand it back to primer. And if you get the prepped, primed frame perfectly covered in color ... you can still mess up the clear coat. That is what (I think) he means by "The last 10% of the job is the easiest to mess up."

But ... it isn't rocket science. If you take care and have patience and a painting booth (some prefer to paint outside, so that the wind can naturally alter the paint application and add bits of leaf and grass, for that all-natural appeal) you can do a decent job yourself.

Might be good to practice on some broomsticks or something, though. Saw them at angles, make a triangle, screw them together, and hang them up and shoot away, see how it goes.

Lots of people have done decent paint jobs at home with rented equipment. If you are picturing wild multi-color fades and such .... go ahead, it's your bike and your money. A simple single color could come out okay.

If you want hot-rod show-car quality ... pay the guys who do that.

Basically, once you get the pressure and the paint flow adjusted, spray in a continuous motion 12-18 inches from the piece, and respray a second coat before the paint dries. What could possibly go wrong?

Dean V

It won't be cheaper for one frame. The paint is expensive plus you will need fillers, range of sandpapers, compressor, air brush.
Basically if you want to do multiple bikes or just want to learn how and do a project, go ahead.
If you just want to save money on the one bike DIY isn't going to work.
Best option may be to do all the prep work and then give it to a pro for putting the paint on.

shelbyfv

Powder coat

dvdslw

^^This^^

Powder coating is the way to go for sure, no other finish will last longer and be as durable in the long run. Most powder coating shops will actually charge less for their service than an auto body shop will, at least that's my experience with them. I would call a few to see what they charge to strip and powder coat your frame, you might be surprised?

I think the last time I priced it out it was around $100-$125 for the sand/media blasting and powder coat. Have you added up the cost of a rattle can job? Several cans of paint, primer, sandpaper, chemical stripper, surface prep solvent, tape, etc... not to mention your time from trial and error and later realizing that the rattle can finish didn't hold up and is faded a short time after completion. Might actually cost more to do it yourself?

big chainring 

I've had good results with gloss enamel paints like Rustoleum. Brushed on in thin coats with a soft artists brush.

rpenmanparker 

Powder coat +2. That is the low cost way to get a nice finish. No decals possible except on the outside surface. No clear coat. But I don't think you were planning of that stuff anyway. And no carbon frames unfortunately. But if it is metal, powder coat is by far the best bet. Tough as nails, nice look, usually pretty quick turnaround.

TimothyH

Powder coat +3

Clear powders are available.
$140 for what you see below. This is a two part "Illusion" powder with clear top coat.






-Tim-

Abe_Froman

I've done it once. It wasn't the most complicated thing in the world...but took a LONG time. It ended up looking 'decent.' Certainly better than before I was done with it. But I wouldn't be under any illusions it will look like new, no matter how careful you are. Even if you're very experienced...I'm not sure if it will look like new...maybe close.

If you've got a nasty frame you want to improve to respectability, and have $40 and a full day to devote to it...have at it. Personally...if I have a project bike I want paint done on...I'll pay the $100-200 and have it done right, and avoid the mess.

Maelochs

bad plan .... do it his way and you miss out on the feeling of spending all the money and all the time to do it yourself .... only to realize after you are done that it just isn't good enough and you have to pay to have the pros do it anyway.

Follow Mr. Froman's advice and you will lose important opportunities to waste big chunks of time and money.

rgconner

If you live in/near a larger city, see if they have a "Maker Space".

Often there are people there that will show you how to do things and they will have most/all of the big equipment you need available for a one time or monthly fee.

_ForceD_

Put me in the powder coat group. I got it for $150 and that included sandblasting. But there is/should still be some prep work by the frame owner. The powder coater may not know which holes, threads, braze-ons, etc. need to be kept free of coating. I thought I did a good job of prep on my frame. But, I didn't even think of the front/rear dropouts...which I wanted coated, but just not so thick. On the rear dropouts the axle wouldn't fit and I had to sand it down just a little bit. Otherwise I was very satisfied with the results.

Dan

duane041

Before I even get into what you'll need as far as the materials for a professional looking job, let's have a look at what you'll need to keep yourself from some serious nervous system damage, plus the proper stuff to get the paint onto the bike:
-Proper spray respirator (full face is best)
-Paint suit
-Nitrile gloves
-A PLACE TO DO IT
-Proper ventilation (and no, a box fan won't cut it).
-A compressor capable of at least 50cf (if using an HVLP gun)
-Air hose
-In line filtering
-An HVLP spray gun (for final clear coat)
-Lacquer thinner for cleanup

You get the idea. It's a ton of stuff in the long run. Then you've still gotta get proper primer (with catalyst), proper base coat color (with correct reducer), then a clear coat (with a catalyst). Lots of money to be spent for just one job, as none of this stuff is sold in anything less than a quart (color is, you can get that in half pints). You won't need that much, but that's what you'll have to buy.

And remember that the catalysts all contain isocyanates. These are the curing compounds, and are deadly in large amounts. Small amounts are bad, too, as the human body cannot get rid of iso-based compounds once they get into your lungs or on your skin. You see, isos need moisture to cure, and since we humans are mostly water, the compounds really like us and don't let go.

My advice is to either go the powder coat option of just have it professionally done.

BillyD

Powder coating seems to be the way to go.

bbattle

Check with the Classic and Vintage forum. Several members with lots of experience there.

Powdercoating is cheap, durable and looks good but is thick and can obscure/gloss over lug lines and fine details. Not recommended for expensive frames which demand proper restoration.

I've rattle canned a few bikes and if you do the proper prep work and layer it on gradually, it can look good. Needs to "bake" or set for a whiile to harden the paint. Not as good as a professional job which requires more equipment, booth, etc.


rattle can


rattle can


rattle can


Professional (Bilenky)


Professional (Dr. Deltron)

psiphi

If you decide to go for the rattlecan spray makeover, you could try spray.bike paints. https://spray.bike/ They are designed for home spray jobs and they even have a spray on putty for smoothing over rough parts on the original paint. They also have several kinds of clear coat options. It won't be as good as powdercoating, but you might have fun with it. Their instagram has some good inspiration. https://www.instagram.com/spray.bike/

I have no idea how durable it is though.

Maelochs

Thanks for that link. I want to do a camo paint job on a bike and apparently no one wants to mess with it for less than twice the cost of the bike. I will check out spraybike and hopefully find what I need.

Colnago Mixte

Have you played around with Plastidip at all? They make several camo colors. https://www.amazon.com/camo-plasti-d...20plasti%20dip

Check out my camo Trek 930 Singletrack painted with tan camo Plastidip:

B. Carfree

I used to think that until I chatted with the people at R+E in Seattle. They build a lot of custom steel frames. As a result, they are the go-to place for repairs and painting of steel frames. They contend that while powder coat looks fine, it doesn't actually protect the steel. They told me that they have seen a lot of rust damage that clearly resulted from moisture penetrating the powder coat.

The only thing I have that was powder coated is a bike trailer. If it is typical, I'd say that powder coating isn't very durable compared to paint. The slightest rubbing of any object just takes it right off.

Colnago Mixte

Thanks for the warning B. Carfree, I always wondered how you could touch up scratches on powdercoat.

Here's my Rustoleum Gloss Black Trek 930 with Velocals. I think you can get decent results with a spray can if you keep it simple, and don't expect it to look like an professional auto paint job. Rattlecan paint jobs, IMO, don't look any better or worse than a professional paint job, just DIFFERENT.