Tbone5

I've repainted several bikes, but have been disappointed with the durability of rattle can paint. Decided to take the plunge and try Eastwood's 2K Aero-Spray and thought I'd share first impressions.

Have three frames (Cannodale 3.0, Gitane Super Corsa, and Moto Grand Jubile) whose original paint was gone. Repainted with Rustolum and Dupli-Color. Followed up with several clear coats from respective brands. Not long after that all three had chips.

Lightly sanded with 2000 and gave'em a single coat of Eastwood's 2 part aero-spray clear today. They will need a second coat, but visually very nice..pictures don't do justice to the results. Too early to tell about how well things will hold up, but very impressed with visual results so far. Will up date with before and after pics when the job is done.

3speedslow

Pls keep us posted.

NYMXer

I'm a big fan of powder coating but still paint a few select things so I'm going to look into this, thanks.
Today's paint tends to really suck but maybe this could be worth trying.

Sammie1

First time cyclist, long time auto improver.
Do update how it goes.
I've had really good luck with finding rattle can paint in a color I like in semi-gloss, satin, etc. Then getting the clear wheel paint and spraying that over it.

oddjob2

The hardest of widely available rattle can paint believe it or not, is Ace Hardware house brand.

Wileyone 

This stuff is excellent. But you must Time your project well because once the hardener Bladder is broken the shelf life is 48 Hours.

RobbieTunes

Great work.

Lascauxcaveman 

Subscribed.

cs1

@NYMXer EPA rules have inadvertently made paint not quite as good. But the trade off is we can breathe the air.

Bruce27

Looks really nice. Your Reynolds decal looks like one of the really thin water transfer decals. I've been wanting to clear coat over mine but still haven't decided what to use. Did you put the Eastwood's clear over the decal or apply the decal afterwards?

NYMXer

It's a good trade off. It is easier to live with rust than no oxygen.

cs1

Agreed! I'm not a chemist. But removing certain solvents from mix improved the atmosphere but decreased the hardness.

markk900

Very interested in this as well. Curious which Dupilcolor/Rustoleum you used for the color coat - used the Canadian equivalent (Tremclad) and loved the results but had the same problem with extremely easy chipping. This sounds like a great solution, however, the Eastwood site (if I can even get it here in Canada) states Aero-spray should not be used over single part air dried finishes, and the Q&A says not to use it over enamel.

So far what you have done looks amazing....so please do a follow up!

Tbone5

Decals were not water transfers, but I did wet the frame to allow me to move them arround when appling. Really more of a peel and place variety that I purchased from cyclomondo. They were designed to clear coated over, which I did.

rjhammett

I have had good luck with Rustoleum Wheel Paint. The colors are very limited but it is pretty tough stuff if you let it cure a good long time.

allend

As Wileyone, I've used SprayMax 2K products and I agree - great results. Must be similar to Eastwood product.
Spraymax: 2K Clear Glamour
Here are a couple pics of Claud Butler after touch up and couple coats of SprayMax 2K glamour clear coat.

Wileyone 

I think the key to "rattle can" painting is prep and drying time. I use an old wooden wardrobe app 5 ft long 3 ft wide and 6 ft high. I heat it with old school 100 watt light bulbs. Temp inside the cab gets to 90 degrees. After spraying the frame and letting it sit for a couple of hours (dry to the touch) I place it in the Cabinet.

busdriver1959

I used the 2k clear rattlecan stuff for my cyclocross bike a couple of years ago. It has been very durable and I just bought some more for another frame. Don't forget to use a good mask for yourself when using this stuff. Apparently some nastiness there if you breathe it.

delicious

Wow! Fantastic job. How did you get the touch-up to look so nice?

tyler_fred

I've used the Spraymax 2K on two bikes. If applied correctly, it wil flow out to a slick, super glossy finish. I'm thinking of spraying a third bike this year.

RosyRambler

Beautiful job allend! It looks like a full repaint. How did you remove the rust spots, if you don't mind sharing.

allend

Thanks delicious!

SEE: https://www.flickr.com/photos/767624...7648723035788/

Hoss Cartright

typically a first light coat of clear, don't try to make it slick. Let that dry to hand-slick. Then you can start to pour on the clear. It will melt into the first coat. If you go too heavy at first, your runs come from gravity pulling the paint as it easily slides away from the undercoat. that first dryish light coat of clear gives the following coats something to adhere to.

If it has hardener, it is going to be most likely "acrylic urethane" or "polyurethane" and this is why it will be much harder when cured. Hardeners have isocyanates and this is nasty stuff. You not only need a mask, but you need one with charcoal canisters to trap the harmful chemicals as well as fine outer resin traps, and a good seal to your face so there is no leakage.

Basically your difference here is that most rattle-can paint (bug-bomb as the old timers would say) dries by evaporation of solvents. The problem is that thre is not a chemical reaction of the materials. You are left with the pigments without the solvents that were the medium to carry it and spread it out. Basically, this means that it never really "cures"
For example, no matter how long you let it dry, paint thinner will easily damage it, or brake fluid, ar anything that is a "solvent"
Catalyst or hardener changes the paint resin/pigment material into something that cannot be redissolved into a liquid form. This is why the 48 hours life once it is mixed. (Which is actually a long period.) Automobile paints when activated have a life of only a few hours before they begin to gel. Once opened and exposed to air, hardener is done, the remaining material leftover is not usable. It might look OK, but it is a recipe for disaster if you try to use it on another job at a later date.. This is why they now make very small cans of hardener (one use amounts) so that you can make a small repair on something and touch-up the clear and not waste a whole can of hardener because of spoilage.

Anyhoo, I've done several frames and buried water-transfer decals in the clear as well. Using a dry-look base coat. (Which is typical as you want to put only as much color as is necessary to get coverage "hide", then it is the clear that makes the gloss. When you are clearing over water transfers you have to be careful of two things.
1) It is very easy to pull a run on a decal as they have less stiction than the base color.
2) It is easy for the clear to attack a water transfer and cause it too crinkle.

So, again, that first coat should be kind of light and dry, and allowed to dry to hand-slick. This is best. this way the stickers are also covered with a clear coat to protect them and add some stiction for the following wet coats of clear.

The most common mistakes are getting in a hurry, (not waiting enough time between coats) and making the first coat too heavy.

A couple of ones that I have done.

allend

RosyRambler,
Thanks. I'll add one needs a touch of the OCD!
Some may criticize what I did instead of simply cleaning and waxing. However I do plan to use this '68 Claud Butler and wanted to preserve the original finish yet give it added protection. Truthfully would have been less work to fully strip and repaint.
You can follow what I did on Flick album with explanation of rust removal.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/767624...57648723035788

RosyRambler

I just checked out your Flickr page. Well done. But I can't decide if you have better taste in purple bikes or purple cars.