staying busy

Now to paint the frame. I got two cans of primer and two of color.


First the self-etching primer goes on.


I had a quart can of gloss black Rust-Oleum, so brushed it in a few places. Some tight areas are difficult to get into spraying without getting too much coverage in nearby spots, which can cause runs. With the brush you can work the paint into seams and under brackets to make sure there is good coverage. It just makes the spraying easier and faster.


I then sprayed the brackets and tabs, and hard to reach areas like the inside of the neck gussets. Some of these, like the side cover tabs, need sprayed from many different angles. The frame tubing itself is the easiest and fastest to paint, and the most visible, so that gets done last. Multiple light coats get the best results.


Done! The Rust-Oleum is slow to cure, but since it will be quite a while before the bike gets reassembled it isn't a concern. I will rub it out with a wax after it sits for 30 days or so. This was the biggest chassis part that needed painted, so nice to have it completed.





I had looked into having the frame powder coated, but chose not to. Prices in this area ranged from $150-$200 for just a frame. Blasting and painting myself cost about $40 total for materials, and I have enough paint left over to do many of the other small parts also. Some coaters wanted $80 to do just a swingarm, so quite a savings doing it this way. If the bike was going to be daily transportation I do think the durability of powder coating would be worth the cost. I also knew exactly what I was getting by doing it myself.