Vinyl-cut graphics & respray

[Ross 1964]

I'm preparing to have my old 531 frame blasted and painted by a reputable Edinburgh steelwork painting company.

I'm opting for a two pack polyurethane (I'm ex-paint industry so not looking for paint advice per se) and plan to apply vinyl-cut lettering to the frame, and new 531 decals.

The company has told me that for an extra £30 they can spray a clearcoat lacquer over the lettering/decals, which sounds like a good idea.

I've noticed a few of you have done your own personal lettering (e.g. Dead Rats' superb photo on another thread today!) and wondered what your experience is?

 

[Ross 1964]

Oops, 48 views and no replies. Did I commit the cardinal sin of talking about a non-original restoration? :0)

 

[neuroportal]

Can't comment on whether they would be ok. (My guess is yes, but YMMV).

What I would say though is if you are having a decent two pack and a clear lacquer applied also I would ensure that you face all the edges and get the threads wizzed over with a tap (headset, bb shell) to ensure a proper fit.


However you may know all this anyway....

 

[bennyt]

How much you looking at for the respray if you don't mind me asking?

I'm thinking about going down the powder coating route which seems to be a more durable alternative to painting but the finish I believe is not as glossy.

I would go for the clear coat over decal to seal them but probably not if they are vinyl!

The only problem you might experience with vinyl cut stickers is they are generally quite a lot thicker than decals so would probably look better if not clear coated plus you will have the option of changing if you ever wanted to.

 

[Ross 1964]

Thanks, chaps.

The company is Hendersons in Edinburgh and they have all the necessary threaded blanking plugs for bb, mudguard eyes etc, I think they do quite a few bike frames.

I appreciate the comments on decals vs vinyl cut letters; they were my thoughts too, I wondered if they might get runs around the edges of the letters since they're thick, relatively speaking.

I worked for 20 years in a leading company of all types of paint and powder coating (Akzo Nobel, who recently bought ICI) and there is little better coating than a two pack polyurethane or acrylic for a bike frame (or an ocean going superyacht for that matter!). The gloss level and duration of gloss retention is years, even if exposed to UV a lot, which a bike frame is not, generally.

Powder coating is harder wearing, in fact one may say bullet proof, but the quality of the finish will be lower, less smooth usually and a lower initial gloss and the gloss will reduce much quicker than a 2 pack pu. It's also a much thicker coating, powder, although it makes me laugh when I read comments about adding significant weight to a frame, because either type is a handful of grammes at most.

Thanks for the info and I hope I've helped out too!

Any reports of lacquering successfully over vinyl letters still welcome!

 

[Ross 1964]

Oh, benny, the full blast and paint job is £60 for a stock non-metallic colour and another £30 for an extra coat of lacquer.

For another £30 (I think) they will match any RAL shade, in other words an infinite number of colours. Very reasonable, I think.

Bob Jackson charge £90 for a blast and non metallic stocked shade, by comparison.

 

[bod]

I currently work in the paint industry but for an Akzo competitor
We've got a spray booth on site so I spray frames fairly often in my spare time. Decals cover more easily but it's not a problem to cover vinyl, you just need a higher film thickness. I'd say 100 microns or so would do the job but if you don't flat between coats you'll feel and possibly see the edge. You might get away with several thick coats and then flatting and polishing yourself but obviously you won't get the same finish because of the orange peel and there's the danger of going through the clear especially if you've not painted it. That's also assuming you can polish the clear, some of ours don't polish.
Seems weird that so many people say you can't get high gloss with paint, guess some paint shops don't take bikes that serious.
Hopefully I'm not teaching you to suck eggs Ross,
Matt