Oleg_M

Hello!

Here is a wish! xD

According to sheldonbrown.com/centurion.html I have a 1970s Centurion LeMans. I love its frame a lot but, as you can see on pictures, right now it is not in a perfect condition. Ideally I'd like to paint in the same style as the last picture taken from simplicityvintagecycles.com.
The bike has high-tensile steel frame (Which I guess is a usual steel).

The goal is to paint it so that it won't come off in the next few months. I've read several articles but I steel feel I have a mess in my mind. Like do I need to remove the original paint or not. How many different paints to use.
Any advice is welcome! Maybe some old good thread covering those aspects?

Also I'm in Toronto. There was an option about contacting local automobile paint shops and give them prepared frame so they would just paint it in solid color. Any experience with that?

Thanks,
Oleg

rosefarts

I repainted and old Peugeot in my garage once. A dude rode by and showed me his bike whick he'd paid to have powder coated. There was no question that his job was superior in thickness and durability over my rattle can job.

Mine was pretty good though. I had a ton of time and let it sit for many months before building it back up. I'm told that spray paint hardens extremely slow. It was actually gorgeous from about 12 feet away, once you got closer you could see the imperfections.

If I were you, I'd strip the entire frame bare and fine someone to powder coat it. Pick a different color than chrome for the brazes though. That's an electrical and acid? process and each part needs dipped into the unholy mix. I think it would look very nice two toned with no chrome to complicate matters.

Andrew R Stewart 

Unless you have access to real spray painting equipment and the skills to prep well then apply well pretty much any job you do without a lot of experimentation will likely be a pretty poor paint job. Nothing ruins a date's initial appeal then more a bad clothing day.


Really if you want a nice looking result that also stands up to time begin practicing now and in a few go rounds you'll likely understand why pro painters get the bucks they do. If your goal is to slow down rust and have a less ratty look then just consider a powder coat job (just choose a shop that already does bikes). Andy

Oleg_M

Thanks for the answers! Yes, the more I think about it the more I lean towards a paint shop. I'm sure that I have enough patience to do a careful job but It is true - I have neither experience nor equipment.

alcjphil

At best, the Centurian Le Mans was a very very basic entry level bike back in the day. Making one look like that last photo in the array is putting lipstick on a pig. They were nice bikes for beginner cyclists back then, but not worth an effort today making one look like a high end frame like the one in the last photo

HillRider

Yes, I have to agree with that assessment. It's an entry level frame with low level components. And, yes, "high tensile" is the most basic type of steel tubing used in bike manufacture so the frame will be much heavier than one made of higher quality tubing.

I wouldn't put a great amount of time or money into trying to make it look beautiful. If you really want to refinish it, powder coating is the way to go and the powder coater can also do the prep work to remove the old paint and any surface rust. Try to find one that has some experience with bicycle frames as coating tubes is different from flat surfaces.

BTW, you will have to completely, and I mean completely, strip the frame before it is powder coated or painted. If you don't have the tools and experience to do that, add the cost of having it done and later reassembled by a bike shop to your project cost. You will probably want to upgrade some of the components also so this will further increase the cost.

Be sure it's worth it to you because this project can very soon approach the cost a newer, more modern and higher quality bike.

daveed

I agree that you should have that bike powder-coated. I was lucky with a recent LeMans build, using existing parts from my bits box and polishing compound. The rear brake placement has been fixed.

shelbyfv

I have read that "1 Shot" sign painters enamel applied with a brush can give a good finish. Apparently early autos were painted that way. It's different from paint you get in a spray can, lots of bad stuff in it that helps durability, flow and drying time. Home I'd be tempted to try it if I had your frame. Good oxalic acid bath first, of course. Good luck!

_ForceD_

Go with powder coating. For the $150 it cost I am completely satisfied with the result. It's more durable than paint. You might be able to get it done for less in your area. If you want original decals...search around on the web. You can probably find them, or have them recreated.

But if you do go powder coat...make sure you go over every nook and crannie of the frame with the person doing it. Otherwise you'll end up with things like shifter lugs, bearing race seating (on the fork), etc...getting coated.

Dan

squirtdad

Based on painting 2 frames, one with rattle can and one with automotive, I add my +1 to powder coating

even using rattle can is more expensive than you would think...if you do it right, it can produce a beautiful job, but is not as durable as automotive paint

Automotive paint is more expensive

but if you want do do it this is what you need and how I did it........there are more expert out there than me

1. get a good respirator that is 35 to 50 bucks right there

2. other things you need brushes, rags, sand paper, maybe steel wool, gloves, acetone or pre paint cleaner, tack rags

2. take all the parts off of the frame, best to take bottom bracket and headset and badge off...but you can do masking

3. strip all the paint from the frame, best done with chemical stripper

4. sand/smooth any rust spots etc any left over paint or rough spots will show in finish

5. clean with paint degreaser/acetone and handle frame /fork with gloves only

6. Coat with acid etc primer, let dry

7 tack rag wipe

8. coat with sandable primer

9. sand smooth, if it goes through to acid etch coat, recoat and sand lighter

10. tack rag wipe

11. 2-4 color coats, watching application temp and recoat times (may be trick in toronto in the winter) thin coats from a good distance away, lots of over spray so you go through more paint than you think you would

12 2-3 clear coats again watching application temp and recoat times

sch

Google powdercoating in your area and look for coaters that do motorcycle stuff. The range of paint quality and character in
powder coating has expanded enormously in the past 10 yrs, metallics, transparent coatings and color ranges is very
large. Main drawback from decal POV is most decals will have to go on top of the paint.

Nooner

If the OP's bike is functioning well I'd save a few bucks and forego the paint job.
She's got patina!