Cycling UK Forum

I am thinking of painting my Dawes next winter, I have heard Argos racing cycles is Bristol are good but have never used them myself.

puffin wrote:Sorry, another question, can I touch up spots easily, in other words do I need to sand it down prime then paint?

depends how mad the damage is, what conditions you are intending to ride in and how long you want the paint repair to last. As a 'holding measure' and a minimal (but still useful) intervention I'd suggest applying a drop of 'owatrol' onto each rust spot. This will wick into the rust and will certainly stifle further corrosion even if it doesn't completely stop it in its tracks.

cheers

puffin wrote:Roughly, how long does it take? (Luckily I have kept my previous touring bike so I can keep on training) I'm booked to do LEJOG in June.

Thanks again in advance

Surprisingly, it may actually take longer than the workshop tell you at first, as it has been known for some tradespeople to give unrealistic expectations in order to keep their order books topped up! I'd be tempted to leave a respray until you've done the big trip, just in case the strip down opens a can of worms and then the frame is stuck in a paint shop for longer than you antipated.

puffin wrote:

keyboardmonkey wrote:Everything peetee mentioned plus I’d tolerate the spots of rust if your planned LEJOG is barely four months away and you’re not able to strip and reassemble your own bike. Just saying.

Thanks, that's a good line of thought, I'm just ignorant of how serious rust spots may or may not be.

Well, to give you an idea, and to perhaps put your concerns in to perspective, the thread below shows the state of my steel frameset around the time I went away for a tour of the Yorkshire Wolds, Moors and Dales and back again a dozen or so years ago. It’s still doing the business, in fact I went out on it today:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33060

puffin wrote:Roughly, how long does it take? (

I have had several frames resprayed in the last few years and each was away for 3 months.

MIB2020 wrote:I am thinking of painting my Dawes next winter, I have heard Argos racing cycles is Bristol are good but have never used them myself.

Had our tandem resprayed there, and a bespoke frame done by them. Both excellent, but re. the op question, the frame prep was done by bike shop, not me.

One of the places you might use is Argos Racing Cycles - but take heed, the frame I submitted this week won’t be coming back ‘til early May. I did have a frame powder coated a couple of yours ago - £45 I think - it’s OK, but only OK.

Argos will do any parts stripping you need, but it adds to the cost, as has been said. The two bits that might challenge you are the bottom bracket and the headset.

Despatch to them by Hermes was about £8, although they quote £40 for the return - I’ll see whether I fancy a trip to Bristol nearer the time.

I supplied some 531 decals, which they will fit for not too much money - you do see some umming and ahh-ing about that - it’s not hard to imagine a customer supplied decal from unknown sources dissolving when lacquered over.

I suggest you patch it up for now as you want a bike that’s fully “bedded in” for your LEJOG adventure. You can get close (but seldom a cigar) with car paint or model maker’s paint.

David9694 wrote:One of the places you might use is Argos Racing Cycles - but take heed, the frame I submitted this week won’t be coming back ‘til early May. I did have a frame powder coated a couple of yours ago - £45 I think - it’s OK, but only OK.

Thing with all finishes is it depends who does them. I had a frame painted and it wasn't even OK, it went back for them to do again, 2nd time was better but still not great. I've seen powder coated frames that would look a poor covering on a garden gate and others so nice you wouldn't think them PC, look at Shand Cycles as an example. I've seen examples of Argos paint, it is exquisite, on a fancy bike I might be tempted, on a tourer probably not.

PH wrote:

David9694 wrote:One of the places you might use is Argos Racing Cycles - but take heed, the frame I submitted this week won’t be coming back ‘til early May. I did have a frame powder coated a couple of yours ago - £45 I think - it’s OK, but only OK.

Thing with all finishes is it depends who does them. I had a frame painted and it wasn't even OK, it went back for them to do again, 2nd time was better but still not great. I've seen powder coated frames that would look a poor covering on a garden gate and others so nice you wouldn't think them PC, look at Shand Cycles as an example. I've seen examples of Argos paint, it is exquisite, on a fancy bike I might be tempted, on a tourer probably not.

My riding friends report similar experiences from Argos. Most(ish) has been excellent, some awful needing extra work and some in completely different colours to what was requested

nomm wrote:

PH wrote:I had a frame painted and it wasn't even OK, it went back for them to do again,

My riding friends report similar experiences from Argos. Most(ish) has been excellent, some awful needing extra work and some in completely different colours to what was requested

Just to clarify - my poor paint job wasn't from Argos.
I'm not 100% sure who it was done by, it went through a bike shop and was handled by an insurance company.

Billy007 wrote:This thread is a bit useless without pics of the rusty bike frame.

Good idea.

A few more.

In my opinion, Argos Racing Cycles (Bristol) are fabulous restorers. You can either send a frame, with or without parts attached, or full bicycle.
Costs obviously are in respect of how much disassembly or rebuilding is required, plus of course painting and any decals replaced.
First class work people.

I'd definitely do it after your end to end. Your frame will be fine in the meantime. 3 months is a reasonable amount of time but you need to factor in potential supply issues and the chance for other delays, especially if you go through a separate bike shop to strip, ship and rebuild the bike. I'd also consider the possibility of potential staffing issues that could arise unexpectedly with covid.

....then reassemble it when it comes back? That is way outside my skill set. ....


... I'm just ignorant of how serious rust spots may or may not be. ...

I've picked up a couple of points from your posts above.

From your extensive set of pics, you look to have a bike whose previous owner spent more time riding it than keeping it smart. Rust serves no purpose so you have nothing to lose by gently but persistently digging into it to see how deep it goes. If it's only superficial, it will have to come off anyway prior to refinishing and if it goes deeper, or worse still, any of it originates inside the frame, then you don't want to be out on the road during your End-to-End ride when you find out.

The best way of avoiding mechanical trouble on any ride but especially a tour like this, is to keep on top of the maintenance before setting out. There are plenty of vids online showing how to do things like replacing cables and adjusting brakes.