I know alot of people will advise against this but i have managed to blag a compressor and spray gun from work and so have decided to take it on myself to strip and respray my frame.

my questions to you guys are

whats the best chemical to stirp a frame?

whats the best metal paint to get through the spray gun and also for nice tough finish

and for those of you with past experience what shoulds i avoid doing

I figure even if i mess it right up i can revert back to the local powder coaters but want to try and avoid that

Nitromors to strip the paint, wear gloves. Various grades of wet and dry, etch primer, quality primer, cellulose is the easiest to work with if no breathing equipment.

Best advice is take time in the prep, and wait for a warm day.

From past experience I’d be more concerned about eye protection than gloves with nitromors, it stings on the skin a bit is horrible in a cut but is the worst thing I have ever got in my eye. People quote sometihng like 95% of painting time is prep, in other words take your time.

Before buying materials you should consider just how much paint is wasted when spraying a frame, it’s not like spraying a flat surface. I got through something like 20 cans colour changing a tripple (like a tandem but for three) once, if there had been time or a long lasting finish was required it would have definitely gone to our powdercoaters but it was for a marketing company that needed it instantly.

Cellulose mixed with decreasing ammounts of thinners is the paint to use.

No point in stripping – you have an undercoat better than anything you can paint on there, just key it.

Tough finish? Good luck, never found a home-paint that covers that onee.