FRESH PAINT FOR A NEW LIFE
// HOW TO GIVE AN OLD FRAME A NEW LIFE
Our General Manager, Ryan, recently painted and rebuilt an old frame using Spray.Bike spray paint and some parts from the parts bin. Let’s take a look at how he prepped and painted his old cyclocross frame, and what he would do differently in the future.
// PREP
After tearing the bike down to the frame, it was ready to be prepped for paint. Spray.Bike recommends that you prep your frame by sanding it to get better adhesion. The factory paint really just needs to be roughed up and will act as your base coat. You don’t need to go down to bare metal or bare carbon. Doing so could reduce the durability of the paint.
They also do NOT recommend using chemical paint stripers as they tend to stay behind and not play nice with the new paint you are applying. Primers are typically best on raw frames that have never been painted, or if you are using a lighter color or floro paint that will allow the prior paint job to show through. Ryan got a little overzealous with the sanding and got down to bare metal in a few spots. He spent way too long sanding. That time would have been better spent on masking. After you sand, clean the frame with rubbing alcohol.
// MASKING
Blue painters tape works well for masking. Don’t rush this. Think it through. Any opening on the bike is likely a place you will want to mask. This includes the headset, bottom bracket, seatpost tube, cable guilds/ports, dropouts, bottle cage bosses, and fender/rack mounts. Ryan realized that masking off an area with excessive tape can hide and block areas that you actually want paint applied. Trimming the excess would have resulted in a better paint job.
// PAINTING
Ryan used “Chicago Yellow” as the first coat. This could have been done only in the zone where the yellow mask design was going, but it gave him a good chance to practice with the paint on a layer that would not be the top coat. Also, any future scratches will show through as yellow, which is neat. He went for a mountain bike ride and when he got back, started applying his design masks.
He created a pattern with the Nashbar logo and individually applied about 157 stickers to the frame. He then left the bike to finish drying overnight. The next afternoon, he applied “Elswick” (a sort of green-grey color) over everything. Again, he gave it the night to dry. The following day, with a VERY sharp razor blade, he removed his mask stickers to reveal the yellow “N” pattern. Once these were removed it was time for a final coat of paint – “Keirin Flake Matataku Green” – a gloss clear top coat with green metallic flake. Again, a day to dry and it was time to start building.
// HINDSIGHT
Ryan said if he were to do it over again he'd:
Now that the bike was looking fresh, it was time to throw it together. Some parts came from the parts bin, some from buddies, other were purchased from what was available.
// SPRAY.BIKE
Spray.Bike makes awesome bike-specific canned spray paint. The paint is very powdery and makes an awesome finish. They also offer primers, colors and clears coats.
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