Frame painting advice reqd.

stirlinggaz · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Karma :

Hi all,
Due to this plague carry on, my plans of getting my frame & swingarm blasted (aqua or whatever) then getting them both powdercoated has been delayed indefinitely.

Meanwhile I'm thinking of painting them myself (cos financial reasons)
The surface rust I reckon I can remove with a flap disc on the angle grinder.
BUT paint. What type to use?
Ive done some spray painting before with aerosols & hvlp guns with decent results from both.
But that's mainly been on fairings with primer, paint with hardner finished with clearcoat.
I'm presuming a frame doesn't need that sort of treatment?
What kind of paint is recommended?
Enamel? Hammerite? Although I've heard its not as good as it used to be...
I'm guessing it needs to be hard wearing & dry to a tough finish unlike some aerosols which can dry a bit "sticky".

So, recommendations?

It's a steel frame & swingarm if that makes a difference.
Any advice most welcome.

cheers,
GAZ

jaffa90 · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Apr 2016 Karma :

Never done it!
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=330732

Robby · Dirty Old Man Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :

I recommend just getting them blasted and powder coated.

Cleaning them with a flap wheel takes ages. A home paint job will not give you the finish or durability of powder coat.

Blasting also does a good job of finding where it has rusted away so you can repair.

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

I did mine with skip paint (alkyd resin. Also sold as machine enamel or tractol.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dhxaK9W7sE1aiT6sQgTEqP0P8LhSvydzDq_CFzFMlG1noCKQYsmQDi_eVn9xlnHruyxDns4A96S-OZkgLzyCX1iMXMObiF5svUoSL5eUZ3l0bEIK5Cj-tPlVFA0qXULnbbqXlnSM17D2LJ5rs7yzAZ=w1343-h1007-no
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

stirlinggaz · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

High pressure gun. Because I may as well use it since I have a compressor. Made a god-awful mess though. If I do similar again, I'm getting a cheap festival tent to do it in.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

wr6133 · World Chat Champion Joined: 31 Dec 2013 Karma :

Hammered effect Hammerite brushes on pretty easy and leaves a solid finish. It's the kind of finish that looks good from 5 feet away though and the quality of the finish seems to diminish as you get closer.

I did 40k+ on this painted frame, bike lived outside and was abused and smashed more times than a Bulgarian whore on tour.

I used to have closeups of the frame but don't think they survived my last deleteing session, this is one of the sales photos when I sold it so that's the finish after 40k+ and a few crashes. IIRC I used a poundshop brush and it's 3 coats thick.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50007403123_9197e560cb_b.jpg

If I did it again and had more than £20 as a budget I'd go with Stinkwheels method above.

kramdra · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Oct 2010 Karma :

This was linked elsewhere and I thought worth sharing. I was aware of surface energy and activation but not that detail or the 1 hour limit. Have not seen his other videos yet.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7onZGqrYyY

I am no fan of powder coating, I have seen far too much peeling off, rusty, I do think 2k is better.