Guess it was time for a curve ball to be thrown at this build… To sum up my experience trying out spray.bike paint last night: brutal
So no, I will not be a return customer. I’m not about to bad mouth this brand though, it just did not work out for me. I have seen successful use of spray.bike paint on-line more than once which is partly why I decided to give it a go.
It’s very possible I made some missteps but, I did: read all the directions, FAQs, watched videos, etc and followed directions carefully. I received a blessing from customer service via email where I was told my preference to complete the full paint job in one session (primer/colour/clear) would not be a concern as long as 30-45 minutes between coats was observed and 1 hour for clear coats.
The primer went on nice, just like regular paint. The base white is where I started getting concerned. It comes out like a misty powder. I’ve never used rattle can powder coat so unsure if it is considered to be powder coat paint or not, it is acetone based. I found it next to impossible to lay down a smooth surface. Spray.bike recommends the use of parchment paper after 20-30 min drying between coats to “smooth” the finish. This did nothing in my case. I restored to light sanding between coats with 1000 grit which helped a bit but certain areas increasing became pikes of crustyness. See photo of chainstay bridge right before clear coat
The bottoms and sides of tubes weren’t too bad but had a surface much like fine sandpaper (not smooth like regular paint), tops of tubes, etc end up getting covered in spray dust even after you gone away to wait 30 minutes for the last coat to dry as particles floating in the air begin to settle.
About halfway through the first clear coat I decided this was not happening, it looked terrible. May as well cut my losses and start stripping while the paint is fairly fresh. Got about 90% of the paint removed last night before crawling into bed.
Oh well, live and learn. Like I said, I may be at fault for the result but I gave it my best shot.
Now to source some good ol’ acrylic enamel in fluro green and try again. Stick to what I know