Bike Paint

[Wilhelm]

Hi folks. I've got an old SS bike frame I've stripped and want a really hard wearing bomb/rust proof paint. Not too fussy about colours just want it to be really hard wearing as it's just a pub/town bike.

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I saw theres such a thing as container and skip paint. Figured that's bound to be pretty tough!

[Brucey]

the toughest finishes are probably made via the powder coating process. Du Pont Imron is pretty tough, if it is done right. In the realms of diy I have often used a self-adhesive plastic film of some kind as a sacrificial top layer, in which case the quality of the paint per se doesn't really matter. The cheapest and easiest way of doing this is to use sticky tape. Even this can be enough to keep water and road salt away from the frame.
It should also be possible to apply a thin layer of Al foil, although this is perhaps more easily breached. It is possible to buy Al foil tape, for building work; this might be a good sacrificial top layer.

Rust nearly always starts around the BB/chainstay area, so the first line of defence is always a really good front mudflap. Even with one, probably the chainstays will need some extra protection.

[Nearholmer]

I’ve bored before with this, but in 1991 I hot-waxoyled a new bike that I wanted to resist the elements and abuse, and to look old and scruffy to avoid it being nicked. In 2016 I gave the bike away, with 90% of the waxoyl still intact, and no corrosion of the frame, despite it having spent most of its life tied up at the railway station, or outdoors under the back window at home. Hot waxoyl!

[Wilhelm]

Thanks. Looking for a DIY paint option rather than covering it with anything like film or foil.

[PH]

There's a DIY spray specifically for bikes, unimaginatively called "Spray Bike Paint" apparently it's some sort of powder coat and the frame I've seen done with it did look like that. I've not used it, I've seen one frame done with it that looked OK, though it hadn't been done long enough to judge longevity. They'd used a can and a half, despite it claiming to only need one, plus a can of primer, that's over £30 which might bring it close to getting a cheap powdercoat if you have a local firm that offers those.
https://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/bike-paint

I've hand brushed a frame with Tractor Enamel, which I had left over from painting a box van, it survived better on the box than the bike, I don't know why, flat panels and less flexing maybe. It would have been expensive to buy the paint specifically for the bike and it was back in the days before they'd removed the harmful stuff from paints so probably tougher than the modern equivalent.

[Brucey]

Thanks. Looking for a DIY paint option rather than covering it with anything like film or foil.

IME most paints that you can buy and use are not really tough enough, hence the interest in adding a coating of some kind to a diy paint job. .

[Wilhelm]

Thanks. By coating you mean a lacquer or something else?

[Wilhelm]

There's a DIY spray specifically for bikes, unimaginatively called "Spray Bike Paint" apparently it's some sort of powder coat and the frame I've seen done with it did look like that. I've not used it, I've seen one frame done with it that looked OK, though it hadn't been done long enough to judge longevity. They'd used a can and a half, despite it claiming to only need one, plus a can of primer, that's over £30 which might bring it close to getting a cheap powdercoat if you have a local firm that offers those.
https://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/bike-paint

I've hand brushed a frame with Tractor Enamel, which I had left over from painting a box van, it survived better on the box than the bike, I don't know why, flat panels and less flexing maybe. It would have been expensive to buy the paint specifically for the bike and it was back in the days before they'd removed the harmful stuff from paints so probably tougher than the modern equivalent.

Thank you

[Brucey]

Thanks. By coating you mean a lacquer or something else?

anything will probably help, but I was thinking of an additional layer as per my earlier reply.

[Cyclewala]

I applied clear car vinyl to my chainstay and downtube.

[jimlews]

Another possible contender

https://plasti-kote.co.uk/

Not used it myself.

[torrens]

This “2 pack in an aerosol” stuff intrigues me. The hardener’s injected by pushing a pin or button and then the paint has a pot life of a few hours.
I imagine it’s horrendously harmful if inhaled so you’d need appropriate ppe of course. I’ve never tried it but I want to!
https://www.onlinepaintshop.co.uk/produ ... ted-400ml/

[cycle tramp]

Generally speaking - I use any enamel machinery paint, but after it's dry wrap a length of handlebar tape around the top tube, where its likely to make contact with anything I lean it against...
If black is more you thang then a dead inner tube works just as well.

..the other thing which springs to mind is some sort of wood chip paint - get your normal metal paint and pour in some very small, very very dry wood chips and paint..

The resulting texture would probably be enough to keep the thieves at bay..

[pwa]

The part of a steel frame I could never keep rust-free was the cable stops on the top tube. Has anyone got any specific recommendations for that?

[Brucey]

The part of a steel frame I could never keep rust-free was the cable stops on the top tube. Has anyone got any specific recommendations for that?

often the corrosion is caused by flux residue on the steel surface, below the paint. Also, braze-ons can harbour wet, sweat etc., and this can set rusting off too. Often the paint is a wee bit thinner here as well, which doesn't help. In any event, you are always better off with a smear of Waxoyl in this region.