is there any such thing as tough DIY paint?

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Sorry Brucey, I know you don't like aluminium frames, and I didn't forget that you live in a high salt area.
Like most people best bikes are kept inside the house The rest can be made of anything and is junk
Best bikes are steel of course.

[jimlews]

Definitely not tough, but brush paintable is Tacaloid (not sure I've spelled that right)
brushing enamel.

https://www.hilarystone.com/images/sale ... s-4785.jpg

The above was brush painted with same.

[Brucey]

Sorry Brucey, I know you don't like aluminium frames....

'Don't like...?' well I have not loved any that I've owned; I have only ridden a few that I much liked the feel of, and those soon developed a bad reputation for breaking. I've broken a few. Welded Al frames can be stiff and light -for the money- so you can't not like them for that, if that is what you want. But they -for me, anyway- lack lots of other redeeming qualities.
I can't imagine repainting an aluminium frame; getting the paint to stick to the metal is troublesome, and any breach in the paint soon results in severe corrosion if the bike is used on the road in the winter. IME most Al frames which might need painting are also (and not unrelatedly) already jiggered.

So yes we are talking about steel frames in the context of this thread.

cheers

[richardfm]

What about using helicopter tape to protect the frame?

[al_yrpal]

Brushed Valspar, really tough. Not cheap...

Al

[Brucey]

I've used various self-adhesive films to cover frames and they have had various problems

1) they don't always stick that well and often soon get tatty and need renewing
2) joints and lugs etc are the most prone to corrosion and the least easy to cover well
3) any such coating can hide cracks in the frame.

On the last point cracks in steel frames usually show up as dark/rusty marks against light coloured paints. So black is a good paint colour in lots of ways but you can't see cracks so easily. Even a clear film may prevent a crack from showing as a rusty mark....?

cheers

[Brucey]

Brushed Valspar, really tough. Not cheap...

which version do you mean, exactly? There are several such paints which are exterior grade and are brushable.

cheers

[slowster]

you should be able to go to a local car body shop garage and get them to spray paint your frame. If you're not fussed about the colour, they could use whatever they have left in their spray gun.

I suspect a car body repair shop is potentially the optimal solution, but presumably you do not want to spend a lot money for the painting of a hack bike. Refinishing units are expensive and also serve the function of a curing oven after spraying, so a repair shop is unlikely to be prepared to have its refinishing unit tied up for maybe 30 minutes or more just to paint a bike frame unless their full commercial rate was paid.

However, I would have thought that they could quite easily paint and cure a bike frame at the same time as a car (obviously in the same colour), especially if it was a relatively small car which meant their was plenty of space in the unit to suspend or stand a frame. You just need a cooperative body shop that is willing to do it for a small charge, and probably to supply the frame prepped and ready for spraying so that there is minimal effort or inconvenience involved for them.

[fastpedaller]

It's a bit of a balancing act, with hammerite (I detest the stuff ) being very easy to chip, and at the other end of the scale, a household gloss, which will give an ok finish (if applied well) but be a bit soft, so liable to scrapes (although it won't chip). The other consideration is cost, as some paints may only be sold in large quantity/price. I suspect the tractor paint mentioned is TRACTOL, and indeed is very good IME, but probably 2.5L minimum purchase at over £30 if my memory serves me. My choice for good balance of price/durability/finish is Humbrol - but unless you want a multi-coloured frame using the tiny tins, will need to hunt out one of the larger tins (50ml?) which don't seem to be readily stocked.

[fausto99]

So I'm happy with the prep of bare steel and dealing with corrosion etc, then etch prime, zinc-prime, then several coats of cellulose primer, which dries rock hard and can be rubbed glass-smooth. So far, so good, in an elbow-grease-intensive fashion.

I'm intrigued. Why three sorts of primer, one on top of the other?

[Brucey]

So I'm happy with the prep of bare steel and dealing with corrosion etc, then etch prime, zinc-prime, then several coats of cellulose primer, which dries rock hard and can be rubbed glass-smooth. So far, so good, in an elbow-grease-intensive fashion.

I'm intrigued. Why three sorts of primer, one on top of the other?

first to give good adhesion
second to give good corrosion resistance
third to give a layer thick enough to allow wet flatting

IME the third layer also gives most DIY paint jobs whatever knock-resistance they might possess.

FWIW some are really good but IME car painters don't always have the patience/skill to paint a bike frame well; I've seen very many frames painted badly, often because of coverage problems in the rear triangle, and problems getting the passes to run into one another well around the whole circumference of each tube without coverage issues (or orange peel, roughness, or any one of a hundred other paint defects).

In general any third party paint job is least likely to be really good on an older frame, because it will be more likely to have dents and knocks which can only be addressed with lots of elbow grease at the primer stage.

cheers

[TimeTraveller]

Try Krylon fusion, use to paint military weapons and is pretty tough stuff.

[Brucey]

Try Krylon fusion, use to paint military weapons and is pretty tough stuff.

interesting! Colours readily available in the UK appear to be mostly matte 'tactical' colours. Lighter shades, in glossier finishes exist but can I get them in the UK, I wonder?

cheers

[TimeTraveller]

there is another similar paint for firearms thats very good.. Duracoat
not sure if its in any bright colours though

[Greystoke]

We've sprayed all our rally cars with tractor paint for donkeys years. So when the time came to respray my commuting bike it got painted in fordson major blue. It sprays on well, dries like enamel is tough and dirt cheap from our local farm supply shop.
It's dead easy to match too which helps.