What colour to re-spray my frame?

As mentioned previously my Salsa needs a new chainstay. It currently looks like this:

.. which is a lovely metallic colour when viewed close up. However I’ve got a carbon post and a matte raw carbon Firestarter fork so the bike looks much better than that pic. I plan to respray it myself using spray.bike rather than paying a pro, so I’m limited to their colour range.

So the question is, do I try and re-create the same colour, or go for something else? If so, what would you choose?

I have no idea what the available colours are. So I’m voting Honda Rootbeer.

All colours

That red is nice. And red is fast.

This is my favourite so far, the 2016 SS colour:

But I also love the ‘stone’ option on the Big Brother:

I think some of the new santa cruz colours are nice, pastels and the beige on the nomad.

I have a foolproof solution to problems like this:

1. Go and have a look at your bike.

2. Imagine it painted in your favourite colours.

3. Choose one of those.

4. No brown.

5. Definitely no brown.

Liking Viper Green from the green section of the Vw catalogue.

Interesting concept. I’ll be interested to hear how you get on.

I see they have a Fluoro Orange though, so I’m not sure what the point of this thread is 😀

I would try and blend in the repair with the same colout as that’s the easiest and cheapest.

If that goes badly wrong, then think about a different colour

I have a foolproof solution to problems like this:

1. Go and have a look at your bike.

2. Imagine it painted in your favourite colours.

3. Choose one of those.

4. No brown.

5. Definitely no brown.

Hmmm

I had a brown Kona Dawg

I had a Tifosi road bike I had powder coated chocolate brown (still got the frame)

I have a vinatge Mercian I had painted Vauxhall Hazel Brown, quite metallic and gold, it’s awesome

I like brown

🙂

Probably a traumatic potty training incident as a child.

tbh I wouldn’t mess about with spray cans when you can get a decent powdercoat for about 40 sheets especially on an mtb

Lumo Orange and get some tron lines while you are at it.

I’ve got a carbon post and a matte raw carbon Firestarter fork

Try researching carbon effect covering like the custom car people use.
Done right it would really confuse people with steel seat stays and ‘carbon’ chain stays.

Dog cock red of course, or sheriff’s badge bronze

Having had to do EXACTLY the same (metallic orange) and touched up many other frames, I would spray the effexted area only, see how close you can get at Hellfrauds/model shops etc.

You might be surprised how close you can get, you may also be surprised at how much work is involved in stripping the whole frame (of paint you love) only to get a very fragile finish.

I wouldn’t attempt it with Halfords style paint. The only reason I would is that spray.bike is meant to be a pretty good powdercoat in a can. Plus I’m going to pay to have it shot blasted and prepped.

Re powdercoating, I understand it’s hit and miss with generic powdercoaters, and there’s a lot that would need to be protected etc. But a cyclist specific one is north of £100.

One day I’m going to get my Rocket stripped and powdered, and I’m still thinking JCB Yellow is the colour I’m after.

If it’s pnly the chainstsy thats getting replaced, why not just paint that black? It’ll just look like its got a chsinstay protector on it.

Or fluro orange with some kind of sparkle effect….

Thief proof it.

Hammerite paint.

Molgrips – friend of mine built a road bike frame at the Bicycle Academy. He’s very handy generally so he did a really good job, and frame was very well prepped for painting. He used those spray.bike cans, was very careful, and after a few months it was already looking tatty – and this was on a frame he only used in good conditions, on the road.

I’d be concerned about how well it will last on a bike used off road.

Since then he’s done the painting course at Cole Coatings and finished it properly – it’s a stunning Lamborghini orange.

If it’s pnly the chainstsy thats getting replaced, why not just paint that black?

Cos they will have to remove the paint all around the BB area as well as just the chainstay.

I’d be concerned about how well it will last on a bike used off road.

Well if I end up needing it resprayed anyway I’ve only lost £11 or whatever, the cans aren’t expensive.

Hehe no don’t go Brown especially not Allegro metallic Brown. Lol

I went for the colours I like orange blended into blue.

I sprayed it yesterday, I would post a picture if I knew how to.

You have to upload the pic somewhere e.g. photobucket and then paste the link here.

I’d recommend getting a local powder coater to do it for you. Guys near me did the painting for 30 quid and I got it sandblasted for 40 (probably could get this done cheaper)

I was clear about protecting the threads and they stuck loads of masking tape and plugs where the paint shouldn’t go, seems like a really solid job, I only had to face the bb and it was fine.

I don’t think any rattle can job will last that long, with the spray.bike stuff you’ll pay about £40 for a couple of colours, metallic finish and clearcoat anyway.

I only want one colour and I don’t want metallic.

And spray.bike is not the same as normal rattle can paint.

get it professional sprayed. Much better finish I would have thought. And you still ride it with that head angle – joking. Good to see.

I like green. Army green.

FFS I’m trying to do this on the cheap. Can’t afford £150 for a proper respray.

There are plenty of stories of generic powder coaters cocking up bike frame jobs.

can you just not spray for chainstays or backend in black or something and make it look good.

Having used spray.bike, I wouldn’t jump into using it for a nice bike. I’ll admit that I wasn’t fastidious about prepping the frame I tried it on (a balance bike), in fact I was kind of deliberately testing its claims about being unfussy to apply. I certainly didn’t blast the frame, just keyed it at best. But even with lacquer it chips very easily, both on the balance bike and on a brushed steel shower rail I used as a test specimen. I know there are people on here who have put a lot more effort into spray.bike jobs, though, and I would check how their frames are faring before committing a decent bike to it.

Like some others suggest, if you want a single colour then personally (YMMV) I would pay a bit extra and get a plain powdercoat: you should get a good finish and it’ll be durable. The last one I had done was £60 including sandblasting, I think; if you do a little research for coaters with good experience of doing bike frames, rather than the ones who cock them up, you should be fine. You’re looking at £20 for a lacquered single colour of spray.bike plus a lot of your time if you want a chance of a decent result, and if you’re paying to have it blasted as well then there can’t be a huge jump to a powdercoat if you pick your coater with care.

I’d be interested to know how you get on with spray.bike, but I’d definitely ask around before setting your expectations.

Jobbie brown.

There’s not enough Jobbie brown bikes around.

I’d be interested to know how you get on with spray.bike, but I’d definitely ask around before setting your expectations.

Well I Googled and couldn’t find a negative review.

Of course, any paint job is not permament, and it may be that if it flakes off in 6 months I will then be able to afford a better job. But partly I’m keen to try spray.bike myself.

Upload Test, cheers molgrips.

I sprayed it yesterday with plastikote. About 8 quid a can.

Well I Googled and couldn’t find a negative review.

Reviews are very mixed on Amazon. Of the negative ones I found from quick skim, they were either (a) not enough paint in the can, (b) colour doesn’t match expectations/sample, (c) peels/flakes easily.

But partly I’m keen to try spray.bike myself.

With you there, it’s why I bought some 🙂 I’d just caution against drinking too much of the Kool-Aid. If you go into it with low expectations of durability (at least) then you should be ok.

Either a £10 spray of the burnt area or get it powder coated. Blast and then spray cans will cost just as much as a proper job and it will start corroding immediately between blasting and you spraying it. Fragile waste of money

I’ve used many local places and NEVER spent anywhere near £100. It has ranged from £20 cash in hand (for whatever colour chair legs were going down the line that day) to mostly around £40 for a colour of choice. £65 is top end, maybe including a second clear coat and definitely phosphated. I think Bromptons are coated somewhere near you (and they do loads of pre / internal anti corrosion treatments).

Find somewhere that does motorbike / car / bike stuff and you won’t go far wrong. Tapping out the odd hole isn’t much effort. I prefer to go OTT around the head tube then clean faces / bore with a file. BB is probably the only critical area, and even that isn’t end of the world.

You want it done in UV stable polyester not epoxy (or it will fade without a UV clear coat). Also ideally want some kind of phosphate pre-treatment.

I’d just caution against drinking too much of the Kool-Aid.

I read a few bike mag reviews that seemed detailed enough to trust.

I’ve used many local places and NEVER spent anywhere near £100.

Well Argos (who are doing the repair) are £160. I wonder what value they add over the generic service.

I’ll ask around local shops then.

Looks like a local powder coaters might be about £70 for the paint, which is good – but £100 extra for the lacquer. Seems a lot. Wondering if I could get the coating done then spray.bike lacquer might be enough?

RAL 4003

I might be talking myself into waiting to spend the extra money on a proper job…