Spray painting a mountian frame?

[Kevin3182]

Hey guys
i have a aluminum specialized 29er with an awful paint job. ive put up with it for a year or so now cause i like the bike, but i was thinking ill revamp the paint this winter when im not going to ride it as much. So my question is how durable is spray paint? I dont really want to spend the money to get it done professionally because i want to do some custom designs and such. Will spray paint hold up to regular mud, dirt, rocks hitting it, etc?
thanks in advance.

[DRAGON60]

HMMMMM----haven't painted a bike for years but used a Krylon paint that was subject to scratching---it was tough but really not tough enough. If I was to try it now I would probably clearcoat it with a 2-part epoxy in a can----it's not cheap--about $25 for a can- but apparently it's as tough as a car paint-job. I don't know whether it's as strong as powder-coating by a professional.

Hope that gives you some food for thought.

[miceden]

You'll need some sort of lacquer or clear coat to protect the spray paint, spray paint is not anywhere near tough enough on its own, and you might have to key the current surface to get the spray paint to stick properly. I suggest you get the frame stripped and powder coated professionally at the very least, it doesn't cost much, will clean up any deep scratches or chips and ultimately give you a much better and longer lasting end finish. Do the custom graphics on your own yes but get the base colour right.

[Benno]

prep and primer play a huge role. I have spray painted a bunch of bike parts, though never a frame. You should strip the frame down to bare metal with stuff called TalStrip II, works like magic. Then use an acid etch primer before you colour coat. Put on a bunch of clear coats when you are done. The trouble is that the paint will be very textured unless you sand between stages. This could quadruple the time it takes to paint it though, just depends how good you want it to look.

[TheRookie]

Strip, polish and then apply a protective wax, the paint on a bike frame typically weighs about 200-250g and this is weight weenies!

Mine is acid etch primered then car paint, it has only scratched where it has had a heavy impact.

[Benno]

Did someone say polish

[Griswald4x4]

I had great success with a repaint on a carbon Superfly. Benno is right, prep and primer plays a pretty giant role. As does paint selection. All told I bet I have 25-30 man hours in mine and that doesn't include time waiting for paint to dry (what fun!). If you're using al though consider a good powder coat or anodizing job as an option. In terms of durability you won't get much better. That said I love my glitter gold Superfly!

[jockalldrick]

Would recommend raw aluminum
Looks beautiful