Spray Bike Paint User Experience

[dirttorpedo]

Hi All. I'm thinking of doing a DIY frame recoating and am thinking about what's the best product (Canadian context here). I've used acrylic automobile spray paint with reasonable results in the past, but am wondering if there is a better product. I've read about this Spray Bike product which I think is similar to a powder coat in a can. Anyone use it? If so what are your thoughts?

 

[Canuckbiker]

I've sprayed a few frames and a bunch of smaller parts over the years: forks, stems, etc. with good success or results I was happy with.

Until I had a need for fluorescent green recently painting an old Klein frame I'd only used Rust-oleam products and Dupli-Color automotive rattle cans (Home Depot or Canadian Tire) when I needed a more unique colour. Finished with Rust-oleam glossy clear they've always come out nice.

I tried spay.bike and was not happy with the results. Not to say others have not achieved good results but, feeling I had lot's of experience going in based on past successes it ended up being a lot of wasted time and money for me. It indeed comes out as a powdery mist and this mist hangs in the air often settling in nooks and crannies, you need to be able to spray within about an inch of the surface which is tough in some areas to avoid powdery build up. When the time comes for the next coat these sandpaper like sections are a big challenge, or were for me. I found it impossible to achieve a smooth paint finish. The youtuber Oldshovel has pulled off some amazing paint jobs with spray.bike so it can be done but I'd be cautious using it.

I've also tried Montana and it was very hard to keep smooth but much more manageable compared to spray.bike (for me), lots of wet sanding between coats but in the end achieved a fluorescent green finish I'm quite pleased with.

The next time I re-spray a frame it'll be with Rust-oleam products and Dupli-Color automotive rattle cans or similar which I'm more comfortable with, not hard to get a smooth finish, just need to be careful of runs.

 

[dirttorpedo]

I've sprayed a few frames and a bunch of smaller parts over the years: forks, stems, etc. with good success or results I was happy with.

Until I had a need for fluorescent green recently painting an old Klein frame I'd only used Rust-oleam products and Dupli-Color automotive rattle cans (Home Depot or Canadian Tire) when I needed a more unique colour. Finished with Rust-oleam glossy clear they've always come out nice.

I tried spay.bike and was not happy with the results. Not to say others have not achieved good results but, feeling I had lot's of experience going in based on past successes it ended up being a lot of wasted time and money for me. It indeed comes out as a powdery mist and this mist hangs in the air often settling in nooks and crannies, you need to be able to spray within about an inch of the surface which is tough in some areas to avoid powdery build up. When the time comes for the next coat these sandpaper like sections are a big challenge, or were for me. I found it impossible to achieve a smooth paint finish. The youtuber Oldshovel has pulled off some amazing paint jobs with spray.bike so it can be done but I'd be cautious using it.

I've also tried Montana and it was very hard to keep smooth but much more manageable compared to spray.bike (for me), lots of wet sanding between coats but in the end achieved a fluorescent green finish I'm quite pleased with.

The next time I re-spray a frame it'll be with Rust-oleam products and Dupli-Color automotive rattle cans or similar which I'm more comfortable with, not hard to get a smooth finish, just need to be careful of runs.

I've heard others talk about Rust Oleum paint as well. Any particular type of Rust Oleum that you'd recommend?

 

[Suprachrgd82]

A base of etching primer followed by engine enamel leaves good results. The engine enamel is more chemical resistant than most rattle cans and tends to flow to a glassy finish when applied.

 

[Canuckbiker]

I've heard others talk about Rust Oleum paint as well. Any particular type of Rust Oleum that you'd recommend?

I like their primers and clear coats, more often than not they colour selection is not enough for the base coat I'm looking for so I'm off to Canadian tire's car touch up section of Dupli-Color. $20 cans half the size of regular but lot's of colours to choose from. I usually need two.

I've found I can prime with Rust-oleum, wait 15 min. , then start adding base coats of colour (usually Dupli-Color automotive) until I'm happy with coverage waiting 10-15 min between coats followed by a 15-30 min wait before using Rust-oleam clear glossy which is usually at least three coats. All in one session, never had crinkle or curing reactions this way.

I have had runs to scramble and try fixing while paint is drying but that's been the only issue.

I always keep a can of satin black Rust-oleam around. It's great for small parts like M732 thumb shifter mounts that have faded, etc. That satin works better than flat or glossy here. If I want black/glossy I just use the satin black followed by glossy clear, works pretty good.

 

[konacarl]

Ive had mixed results with the spray.bike paint going on and i found the lacquer very strong(started to melt some decals) so I went back to Montana Gold which I find goes on much better and theres a wider choice as well.

 

[klunkrider]

My guess is that most people use Spray.bike incorrectly. I spoke to a rep or at least someone on their staff at Bespoked last year who explained that (like Montana paint) its very pigment heavy and needs to be used much closer to the surface being painted than 'normal' spray paint. Holding the can too far away means the solvent flashes off before the pigment hits the surface and then you get a powdery finish with little staying power.

I haven't tried Spray.bike myself, I started painting with Montana paint (I also use another brand's zinc primer and yet another's lacquer) and haven't had any reason to switch. Montana paint is cheaper than Spray, they do 'effect' paints which Spray don't and I've been very happy with the results I get from what I use. Infact, I just recently had to strip a paintjob I did off a frame I built and, annoyingly, it took a fair bit of work to remove.

 

[Canuckbiker]

I'd agree @klunkrider , I'm unsure if I could have made a better go of it myself but the effort was there, just didn't go so well for me, I'm not about saying the spray.bike product isn't worth considering. Just be forewarned there are challenges compared to "regular" rattle cans which you've pointed out a few.

I too recommend Montana, I used the gold series. I still had more of a challenge compared to the regular stuff getting a smooth base coat but I'm glad I stuck it out and achieved a nice fluor green not possible with other options I've tried. Montana's has some amazing colours