Spraying the colour

After spending the best part of two hours cleaning up all the overspray from the primer coats, I decided I would wait for a calm day where I could spray outside. Today, perhaps one of the hottest days there wasn't a breath of wind, so decided I would go for it...

BEFORE

AFTER

So the paint from spray.bike was a good idea and I didn't get any runs, which was a real bonus, however, not sure if it was my spraying technique or the heat, the finish was a real matt finish with a texture like fine sandpaper.

I did read that after 30 minutes you can flatten the finish with parchment paper, but I think this is where the heat was against me in that the paint had gone off really quickly.

To resolve this, I wet sanded and flattened the paint. So although I now have a smooth paint, it is a bit patchy. Looks like I will give this another coat, in the garage, this time making sure I cover EVERYTHING up with dust sheets...

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Where It Starts

During this period of lock-down, I felt I wanted a hands on project to keep me busy. So following my cycling hobby, I decided to have a go at building a single speed bike from an old frame and second hand parts from the internet. The initial purchase came from ebay of a 1975 Carlton Circuit bike frame and forks, £45 (inc delivery), but it comes with brakes and handle bars, the crank didn't survive being taken apart.. They were the photos from the ebay listing

Primmed and ready for the top coat

Spent the weekend spraying two coats of primer on the bike, I still have a tendency to either spray too quickly and end up covering the garage more than the metalwork, or, spray too slowly and end up with some runs in the paint. That was easy to resolve with a light wet sanding, but yet to find the balance between the two. I am hoping that for the top coat I won't have this issue, I have found a paint from spray.bike that sprays on like a powder coat, but dries like a traditional rattle can. The results I have seen across the internet are impressive, so hoping that this helps with the final finish. Anyway, here are the results from the primer coat:

Bicycle Restorations

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