oneclick 

Has anyone painted a frame with hammertone or similar effect paint, what did you use, how did it turn out?

I read that hammertone works because of two incompatible solvents, which form the random cell structure as they dry at slightly different rates.

They also like to be applied on flat level surfaces, which bicycles aren't, and in thick coats, probably runny on a frame tube.

What I'm after is a metallic undercoat with some sort of pebbled or grainy look to it, not sparkly, over which will go a transparent colour coat.

Krov9

I'm interested, too.

​​​Hammerite claims that you can just apply it straight over rust - I doubt that. I think some early 90's bikes came stock with this kind of finish?

Edit: I assume you are looking for something similar to this

oneclick 

Not that dramatic - more like an orange-peel effect, more like this, except in silver:

tiger1964 

Original factory finish on the air cleaner housing on Sunbeam Tigers, I could ask the owners' group for feedback on sources and application if you like; that's not a perfectly flat surface, I found the following picture online (my car has the importer-installed chrome dress up kit including the air cleaner, so I never that to mess with it).

Krov9

A plenty of old stationary drills (what do you call them again), bench vices and the like used to come in that kind of finish

cheffyjay

i painted a stumpjumper with hammerite in the 1990s. I think my prep was lacking as it wasn't particularly durable. It didn't really achieve the hammered look either, but somewhat close to the image on hammerite wikipedia. sort of mottled. I let a co-worker borrow the bike and never saw it again, so I don't know how it held up long term.

big chainring 

Hamnertone requires a fairly heavy application to get the effect. A bicycle with its skinny tubes and angles requires multiple light coats to avoid drips and sags.

I sprayed an old Schwinn Continental frame with hammertone. The result was a sort of coarse spray finish with little of the hammertone effect.

JulesCW 

I used it on a set of early 1900s beefy double coat hooks -- they are cast metal and were rusted and pitted -- I stripped them and painted them with hammertone and it worked great -- the pebbly surface masking the pits, and they've been very durable for 6+ years.

I'm not sure I'd use it on a bike frame, though, as it is a fairly thick application, and if the frame has any fine details they'll be obscured, and it also has more depth/size than standard spray paint.

It is an interesting idea, but I'd try it on part of a junker frame first before applying it to anything I'd want to keep to be sure it worked and gave the look i wanted. Good luck!

TugaDude

Regarding the manufacturer's claims that the product can be applied directly over rust, well of course it can. So can any product. That doesn't mean it is going to be durable. There is rust and then there is rust. I have worked in the chemicals business for more than 30 years and I deal with corrosion on a regular basis. Having said that, there are some products that CAN be applied successfully over a corroded surface and become durable. The reason is that rusting stops the minute you remove something from the corrosion chain and in this instance it is oxygen. Remove oxygen and rusting or corrosion ceases. So if the coating is impermeable, no more rusting can happen, period. Now all that matters is how much rust was there and how tight to the host metal was that rust. Most of us can vouch for the fact that some rusted steel is very difficult to remove. If that's the case, then the coating will probably work OK. Any loose rust must, however, be removed. So just to be safe, a light cleaning of the rusted areas should take place.

Having said all of that, remember, manufacturer's claims are often to help promote sales. Spraying over a rusted surface is a lot more appealing than stripping down to white metal (the term for steel that has had all rust removed). If you have the time and the inclination, do yourself a favor and remove the rust!

ollo_ollo

I converted my 1966 Schwinn Super Sport to a modern cartridge bottom bracket with a triple crank. Crank arms were battered, scratched and gouged. Got some hammered copper paint advertised to "cover and hide flaws and imperfections", think it was Rustoleum (I'll check tomorrow). I'm pleased with how it turned out. Don

Hammered Copper On Battered Crank

Krov9

Here's an excellent example of a "hammered" finish, again a rougher one than what you look for. From what I've heard, DIY products such as Hammertone, Hammerite etc. give less drastic contrasts so that might indeed be what you're looking for.

bikecult.com > bikeworks nyc > archive bicycles > yamaguchi tt track

BicycleSafari

I just painted a metal sign, I made, with rustoleum's hammered brown paint. The first coat looked like garbage, but the second coat evened out the finish significantly. This was my first time working with it, so there are some less than ideal spots, but with a little practice you quickly get the feel for how thick your application needs to be for good results. The sign was bare steel and made out of square tube and sheet metal, and I had to paint it upright. It made it more of a challenge, but with that experience I would say a nice finish on a bicycle frame would be totally feasible after a little practice. I purchased a quart can and painted it on with a paint brush. It starts to set up really quickly, so trying to smooth out any spots after a couple of minutes is pretty difficult and can leave behind brush marks in the pigment pattern. Adding some xylol (or xylene) thinner would slow down the dry time, or possibly painting in cooler weather.

I will say this, even though I got a decent feel for how to use this product, I will probably be contracting out my paint work after this. I'm a metalworker, not a painter.