# Bike Painting 102



## 37fleetwood

ok a second installment. hope it helps!

ok, first thing I wanted to show you guys is the way I made the templates for the frame stencils.
here is the rough scan, the dots are actually flakes of rust and other crap that came off with the tape from the original paint bike. obviously it isn't to scale here:




here is after one has been worked over a bit. go slowly and clean up all the crooked lines and extra junk and get it to where it is just the lines as clean as you can get them:



and here is the file as I took it to the sign shop. I told them to split them into two separate stencils which they did with no problems:



A quick tip, both sides of the bike are the same just mirror images so use the best one and copy it and flip it over for the other side. also for those of you who don't have lots of expensive photo manipulation software you can download the gimp for free. what is the gimp? glad you asked. I posted info on it here:
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3292
Scott


----------



## 37fleetwood

ok, now on to something else. also going back I took the opportunity while painting my Twin Flex to take the photos I missed on the streamliner.

first taping the frame for the head tube paint. it makes things so much easier if you get a roll of striping tape (I think that's what it's called) I stole this roll from Mike:



go slowly take your time and make sure the lines are where you want them. Mike used really fine sand paper on the front of the frame to help the paint get a good grab. it had the added benefit that it was really easy to use my fingernail to make a line where I wanted the tape lines to be on both sides so they would be even:


----------



## 37fleetwood

ok after you have the thin tape on the piece to be painted the way you want it, it is time to use regular masking tape to cover the stuff you dont want painted. the first strips go along the thin tape line:



notice the wrinkles in the tape? it is ok as long as the edge against the thinner tape is smooth and flat. any wrinkles here could allow overspray under the tape and ruin all your work so far. it is kinda like building a house of cards, the closer you get to done the more is at stake if you screw it up.
the second ones go around the delicate and complex curves. take your time here it will make the difference. notice the small bit of tape overhanging the thin tape? look carefully for these before you paint! just one will make you nice darts look like junk. I fixed this one after I took the photo:



when painting the head tube make sure to get the bottom. I painted the first coat on the top turned the frame over, painted the bottom and turned it back over again and applied the final coat. be careful not to drench this part with paint forst it will be difficult to remove the tape if the paint is thick and gets a skinover the top of the tape the other reason is that the paint will eat the sticky on the tape causing it to lift and paint will run under it.



next I took a big chance by not covering the rear of the frame, cover it if you don't want problems. here is the frame painted. I only let it dry for a minute or so before peeling the tape off:


----------



## 37fleetwood

one more thing, while not exactly painting related it is a good tip. I file or sand the paint off the edges of the head tube and bottom bracket. I have forgotten to do this and chipped the paint when the bearing cups hit bottom.




I used the old bearings, Huffman used machined cups and there is just nothing like them!




Scott


----------



## akikuro

Is there any opinions on the type of primer and number of coats that need to be applied? I've read about first using a self-etching primer on the bare metal, followed with a sandable primer.

Is a guide coat necessary before the first coat of base color? How many coats of the base color are recommended?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm gearing up for my first restoration - just want to be well planned.


----------



## 37fleetwood

akikuro said:


> Is there any opinions on the type of primer and number of coats that need to be applied? I've read about first using a self-etching primer on the bare metal, followed with a sandable primer.
> 
> Is a guide coat necessary before the first coat of base color? How many coats of the base color are recommended?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions. I'm gearing up for my first restoration - just want to be well planned.



hi, first I'm no expert but I seem to be the only one willing to make a post like this. maybe some of the actual painters could better answer questions. this is just what I've learned. first question, on the type of primer, if the piece is in good condition simple primer is probably fine. if you are using rattle cans rattle can primer is fine. rattle can primer worked fine on my bike even with automotive paint. if the piece is a bit rough but not too bad you can use the quick fill sandable primer to help fill in small problems. if as was the case with one of my bikes you have a badly pitted piece you should use the poly primer which doesn't come in rattle cans. supposedly you can spray it on as thick as 1/8" thick which should let you sand out just about anything. the self etching primer is supposed to stick better to the bare metal but I don't know if it really makes that much difference, I suppose some guys will have a different opinion.
next question about the guide coat. a guide coat is used for sanding. after you primer a piece and are ready to finish sand it you spray a small amount over the piece more of a fog effect, then when you sand the high spots will quickly break through to the primer color and the low spots will remain fogged. if the problem areas are bad enough you'll need to do more body work if not sand until all of the guide coat is gone and you'll know that your surface is smooth.
next, about how many coats. be careful when painting if you have ever chipped the paint on a bicycle you have noticed that it isn't very thick. when you primer and paint be careful not to get it too thick. first you loose detail if everything is heavily coated. second the thicker the paint the easier it is going to be to chip it. rule of thumb make sure everything is completely and uniformly covered. check for thin spots outside in the sunlight, if it is visible there it will be visible on a ride. again make sure you test fit everything before you paint!!
hope this helped!
Scott


----------



## cheveatter

Very good painting directions! An other tip is to use a tach cloth and make sure the water is drained from the air source. Also use the proper air pressure for the spray gun.


----------



## akikuro

Thanks for all the tips -I'm leaning toward single stage enamel so the bike wont be too shiny....am i correct in this idea?

1 last question - painting parts with moving parts - rack for example- any tips on proper painting to get to the areas like where the rack and the support bars meet? I dont really want to remove the bars from the rack but want to make sure after i paint that the parts move freely and the paint looks good.


----------



## akikuro

Thanks O.T.B.!


----------



## Strings-n-Spokes

Bump 102
this is good stuff


----------



## drabe

*No photos!!*

Boy, do i hate it when there's a really well written and useful thread and there are no photos!!!!


----------

