Jeff was very uncommital with a decision on paint for his bike; he wanted some blue, nothing ostentacious, but with a cool factor. Hmmm, what to do? As this is a season race bike, I wanted to do a hybrid paint job of powder and liquid to give some durability as well as some visual "pop".
I decided to do a clear powder over the frame to show off the raw fabrication and then use Midnight metallic blue panels so that it gave a complimentary color that was vivid in the sun. So...here's a shot of the cleared frame...
I then taped off some rough panel parameters and dry sanded the area to be painted. These then got blown off with compressed air, wiped with surface prep chemicals, then retaped with detail mask.
Then the rest of the frame is masked off to keep it fresh and clean...
Multiple layers of color are layed down, allowing for about a 10 minute flash between coats. I try to keep the paint thickness near the mask thin to facilitate feathering it into the powder base. Oh, here's a cameo from the unicrown fork that I built for the project.
Color on, laying on the sanded layers or clear...
Jeff showed up at 2000 hours and we started the build. We took it easy, enjoyed the evening, and finished up at 2330 with a test ride. As always, pics on the computer totally suck at conveying the finished product...this has to be one of my favorite finishes in a while; subtle and understated but darn cool.
Jeff will be racing the Ohio Endurance series, OMBC, and Groovy Series this season. Look for him and this bike on the podium.cheers,
rody
PS...I've spent 5 hours doing email the last two days and have about 60 messages left, I'll be getting the rest done tonight. Thanks for hanging in there.
6 comments:
pure understatement mastery - Ilove it and it is the very first time I am seriously considering a paint job of my ti frame - just like this.
Chris
PS: What wheelsize is it?
great looking bike as usual. I raced against jeff this afternoon. he is a strong rider and strikes me as a good guy. the only reason i beat him is he had two flats and had to run the last mile or so. im looking forward to racing him this season. keep up the good work
chip
What a cool finish. I have been looking for a classic look that is understated, different, and that shows off craftsmanship. This nails it!
I saw this at the OMBC Race at Mohican. Looked even better in person. I might have to start saving my pennies...
What is your experience with clear powder? I have seen a road bike that after a year showed a tremendous amount of corrosion as if it doesn't hold up like color powders. I love the look but hesitate to do it myself in fear of the bike turning out to look like a rat rod. Thanks, Wil
Hey guys, thanks for the kind words.
Chris, the bike is built around 29er's.
Chip, yep, Jeff's a cool cat and got a heck of an aerobic system...he should have fun this season on a fast ride.
John, only takes 20 bucks to jump on the build list, you'll have a little over a year to save those pennies :)
Sminch, the corrosion you see under clear powder is not unusual, this occurs under ALL powder coats, regardless of color. As Jeff's bike was intended as a single season race frame (finish wise), it'll be redone for the following year, so longevity of this finish was not a primary concern.
cheers,
rody
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