restoration project - should i paint myself or get pro job?

breadbin

i am gonna try restore an old Raleigh 531c I have that's seen better days. i watched a video of a guy stripping paint off and sanding etc. before finally spraying it himself. seems doable but i never spray painted anything in my life so wondering how easy is it?

should i chance it or leave it to a professional? also about the decals - are they reusable or will they disintegrate when i strip the lacquer and paint off?

slap/dash

breadbin wrote: »

i am gonna try restore an old Raleigh 531c I have that's seen better days. i watched a video of a guy stripping paint off and sanding etc. before finally spraying it himself. seems doable but i never spray painted anything in my life so wondering how easy is it?

should i chance it or leave it to a professional? also about the decals - are they reusable or will they disintegrate when i strip the lacquer and paint off?

I've no idea but there is a place out tallagh way that will do powdercoat for something like 150 or so asaik

stecleary

The decals will need replacing. You could always spray it your self taking good your time and making good you mask it very well and if you are not happy pay someone to do it for you. Be warned tho spraying is not as easy as it looks. TPC have done car wheels for me before and I was very happy with the results but not sure about powder coating a bike frame

feck sake lads

nah get it done by a good painter, 531 frames are great well worth getting it done right,check out bob jackson for something special.i think he charge around £130 for a first class paint job custom is extra.

happytramp

I would definitely do it. It'll be very good experience even if it looks bad. As the poster above says you can have it done in tallaght if it doesn't work out.

breadbin

bob jackson - as in the guy who makes the frames? does he paint random frames too?

feck sake lads

yes as far as i know he does,

theres a young lad in cork thats pretty good started up last year ,sorry dont know his name but i'm sure someone on here does.

breadbin

feck sake lads wrote: »

yes as far as i know he does,

theres a young lad in cork thats pretty good started up last year ,sorry dont know his name but i'm sure someone on here does.

just been on the bob jackson website - thanks for the tip. i might try it myself though cos with p&p it will be up on €250 i'm guessing. didn't think they were still around:)

feck sake lads

breadbin wrote: »

just been on the bob jackson website - thanks for the tip. i might try it myself though cos with p&p it will be up on €250 i'm guessing. didn't think they were still around:)

your gonna need a top quality spray guy and compresser,
frame needs to be completly stripped
coat of acid etch primer
2 coats primer sanded inbetween coats
1 maybe 2 coats top coat same with lacquer,

honest if you've neve done this before give it to someone that knows what there doing,check out that painter in cork he does great work.but for the life of me i cant remember his name i got it on boards.

Mycroft H

Strip the frame yourself. Do all the prep work yourself. Chemical stripping with something like nitromoors works well.

As for painting?

It can be done with rattlecans. It'll look nice when you finish if your any good but, it just won't have the longevity of a professionally done frame. My Miyata broke my heart after I spent about 2 weeks stripping, sanding and painting. Looked wonderful after I painted it but it had chipped within weeks of doing it and I've given up on it now. Its now a beater frame.

vertigo1976

Sorry to jump in but I'd be very interested in getting a number for that guy I'm cork to paint a restoration I'm doing.

PM me if you recall where he could be tracked down?

Peter T

Get some steel pipes and practice one them. Stripping is a pain so getting it sand or soda blasted might save you some bother. Its nice to do it yourself but sometimes so many things can go wrong when painting you'll wish you just paid someone else to do it. Laquer is the hardest to spray and the quality of your finish is in the prep.

Smalltom

Could the guy in Cork be Will Whelan in Kilmallock (on the Cork/Limerick) border?

feck sake lads

Smalltom wrote: »

Could the guy in Cork be Will Whelan in Kilmallock (on the Cork/Limerick) border?

i would be telling a lie if i said yes ,to be honest i cant remember.
only thing i can say he came recommended here on boards if thats any help.

vertigo1976

I also came across the Bicycle Design Centre in Kildare on my trawl. They offer paint and restoration services.

Seaneh

Lots of places will strip and powdercoat for you. If you're looking for a tidy, durable paint job for a decent price powdercoating is the way to go. I got a quote of something like €90 for frame a fork. They sandblast away the old paint and surface rust then bead the frame and powdercoat it, lots of choice in colours and powdercoating is very hard wearing.

kumate_champ07

Ill never paint another frame again. takes a very long time, lots of fumes, dosest matter how nice the finish is because its gonna get ugly soon( it chips too easily)

powder coating is most popular and cheapest but the old way of painting and curing in an oven was higher quality. the problem is that the chemicals are very expensive and hazardous, so its become a lost art

hesker

Mycroft H wrote: »

As for painting?

It can be done with rattlecans. It'll look nice when you finish if your any good but, it just won't have the longevity of a professionally done frame. My Miyata broke my heart after I spent about 2 weeks stripping, sanding and painting. Looked wonderful after I painted it but it had chipped within weeks of doing it and I've given up on it now. Its now a beater frame.

This man speaks the truth.

As for powdercoat, very durable and can look good when done well. But a proper paint job will look much better, especially around lug lines on a nice lugged steel frame if you're into that sort of thing.

lennymc

im looking into doing something similar with enamel model paint, an airbrush and a home made autoclave/hot box to get it nice and hot to cure. Im expecting lots and lots of prep and sanding between coats.

joxerjohn

Did a similar job on a Raleigh a few years ago and enjoyed the process. Stripped the frame to bare metal with orbital wire brush sander and the applied about 4/5 coats of grey primer and 4/5 coats of top coat with spray cans (used low pressure Montana gold cans). Result was good but not hard wearing. I did not use a PU clear coat to finish which might have helped seal it up a bit better.

Anyway after all that if I were doing it all again I would opt for a powder coat job, good results from the people in Tallaght, I have heard it costs about €100 maybe a little bit more.

OldBones

slap/dash wrote: »

I've no idea but there is a place out tallagh way that will do powdercoat for something like 150 or so asaik

150 quid?
One would paint a small house for that!