Dylansbob 

I've kinda poked around the different forums and it seems C&V might be the best place for a thread to get some traction. I know a few people have done restorations with it ( randyjawa, I'm looking at you) and I've seen a few of the cool videos with wild masking trcks. I'm in my 40s, so the wild 80s schemes are appealing to me.

My wife had noticed I kept looking at the colors (Yea, color swatches!) on their site and has decided that doing a husband/wife paint job would be fun. As luck would have it, I also have a cheap modern frameset on it's way. We've looked a lot at fades, after selling a cool Klein last year, I've been showing her their different versions, with the linear being a strong candidate. I've also wondered about doing a random art design, ala Warhol's M1 or a Pegerotti.

mpetry912 

hard to imagine that anybody would top the work of Brian Baylis, the "manic master".

Some of his color choices were over the top. however, his paint technique was extraordinary

Fredo76

I am interested in pictures of your '75 Colin Laing, especially since I may have mitered the tubes and filed the lugs on it!

I just powder-coated the frame I built while I was his part-time apprentice:



'76 Fredo Speciale, ala Colin Laing

I went for the simplicity in fashion a decade earlier. My concession to modernity is the white band.

oneclick 

I have a tip I (sort-of) stole from the spray cans; I drop a clean ball-bearing into the tiny cans of paint I get at the hobby stores, then they mix better when you shake them.

Miele Man

I got bit with the Italian bug back in 2001. I bought 9-Speed Campagnolo Veloce and Mirage components. The only Mirage components I got (because they were a lot less $ and were basically the same as the Veloce ones) were the Ergo shifters/brake levers and the front Derailleur. The hubs were 36 spokes Veloce laced to Evolution rims.

The frameset is Tange Infinity. I spray painted the frame using Krylon paints. Green, white and red. I bought an original (not reproduction) MIELE decal set online.



Cheers

markwesti

I found out that if painting neon , you must first paint a base cote . I my case I needed a white base coat . Also when clear coating vinyl decals , spray very light coats and let dry in between coats . Vinyl decals melt easy . This Baylis paint job came to me but could not be saved . So I copied it .
DSCF2462 by mark westi, on Flickr
IMG_0026 by mark westi, on Flickr
IMG_0004 by mark westi, on Flickr

mstateglfr 

I have used spray.bike on 3 bikes.
- an 89 Tange 1 frame that has been hooked to my trainer multiple winters and has seen road miles here and there. It has since been powdercoated an awesome purple.
- a 24" wheel MTB that my youngest uses as a 1x9 all arounder.
- an Ironman that I refurbished with a teen I know to make an updated STI shifting road bike.

Some thoughts
- cover anything that you dont want the paint to stick to. Since it dries so quickly, as it falls it dries, but if it falls on other tubes, it can dry there and make the texture feel a bit like a work tennis ball. This is especially important when spraying one tube that is above another tube since the paint falls and dries.
- after spraying, let it dry and lightly rub/polish with some wax paper. This is part of the directions, but I dont see many people do it on youtube. The light rubbing helps compact the paint and smooth it out.
- maybe a light wet sand with 1200 grit or something would smooth out the paint even more as it is isnt as smooth as wet paint.
- prep is everything. Legitimately, it makes all the difference. smooth out any gouges, remove any rust, etc etc.
- the fluorescent colors are not smooth. They say this, but just be aware. It took a few tries to get some smooth pain with the fluro paint.
- watch and other videos from this guy. He is goofy, but that specific video uses spray cans since he was asked to do a 'home diy' paint.
- use 2k clear spray for the best clear coat. spray.bike clearcoat has held up fine on my kid's bike, but it isnt nearly as glossy.
- look into montana paint too as I have read it is similar to spray.bike and there more colors.
- the paint has lasted- my kid's MTB is scratched, but its a kid's bike and an MTB so that is to be expected. It was a home project for her to build the bike and it was well worth the money.

Dylansbob 

That's what I'm thinking for our first project, as a 2 or 3 color fade should be pretty forgiving. For your splatter, is that just spraying into a cap and tossing onto the frame?

mstateglfr 

The splatter was red spray paint. It is better to use than spray.bike for splatter since it stays wet when sprayed. The kid did that splatter on his own- he took a brush and flicked it on the frame as well as rubbed bristles with his thumb to get a different size of paint onto the frame.

Korina

Here's an excellent how-to.

gaucho777 

Are you looking for any spray can examples or just spray.bike examples? I’ve painted a few frames DIY style using automotive paint in cans but no experience with spray.bike.

You don’t want the paint going on too cold, especially this time of year. Pick a warm day if possible. You can also soak the spray can in a warm pot of water.

Don’t strip the frame until you’re ready to paint. It’ll start developing surface rust as soon as the frame is naked even if it’s not visible. Rust never sleeps. And avoid touching the frame with bare hands until you lay down the primer.

Also, should be obvious, but wear good protective gear/masks.

I found this step-by-step description and slideshow from Joe Belk helpful when attempting my first paint job:
https://joebell.net/JB-method-RR-How...int-Bikes.html

Good luck. Have fun with it and don’t sweat the small blemishes.

PilotFishBob 

I do a lot of airbrush touch-ups using model enamels (Testors, Humbrol, etc). Mix various shades to match my target, this is my simple (and multipurpose) quick mixing rig, works great. I'm stealing the ball bearing idea floated above, that's a good one.

jrg1244

I completed a spray.bike project bike with my daughter this summer. We were both thrilled with the bike, in the end, but I didn’t love the spray.bike product. I think I could have ended up with a better product using standard spray paints and for quite a bit less cost. Maybe it was the paint colors I chose, maybe it was my technique, but I ended up with a bit of orange peel on the frame. This also includes the spray.bike glossy clear coat. All-in-all, it was a wonderful and fun project with my daughter and she gets to ride the fruits of our labor.

markwesti

@mstateglfr could you please tell how you did this .

mstateglfr 

it's just their flat black paint with the green keirin flake clearcoat.
https://spraybike.us/collections/all...ku-green-200ml
https://spraybike.us/collections/all...ckfriars-400ml

I would have used either more keirin flake clear or applied a straight clear atop the one can of keirin flake clear. More clear = glossing finish = the flake would pop more.