Paint compatibility.. Frame painting soon.

[The Project]

I am wanting to know what type of original paint is on the frame of the 650 (77)....some paints arnt compatible and I've not painted before, so in depth about paint types modern versus original would help me
Thanks.....

 

[gggGary]

Spitballing that it's oil based (enamel) Never had any lifting problems with painting over it. But I tend towards brushing on rattle can touch up paint.

 

[AndersJ]

Gary,
not to hijack here but tell me more about this.
I have some decent size spots on my frame i want to touch up (ok they are more like huge patches of surface rust)
could I sand them by hand then touch them up in the manner you are mentioning. Trying to do this one on the relatively cheap.

 

[gggGary]

Yeah it's about all I do. Buy high build fleet black in rattle cans, spray some into the cap, use a decent artists brush to brush on. Couple thin coats, about 15 minutes or more apart, works best. Paint in the cap gets thicker fairly quickly as solvent evaporates. Doesn't take long to gauge when is best to paint. Wait a few days, rub with some blue magic metal polish on a rag, it'll blend in "perfectly". Pretty much every bike through the shop gets some frame touch up done this way.
Hint don't worry too much about sanding. just knock down any sharp paint edges.
The "meatball mechanic" strikes again.

 

[AndersJ]

Excellent Gary, thank you!
I'm curious, have you ever found an xs frame rusted through?
I've done all the requisite stabbing of suspect spots with a screw driver and it seems good. just wondering what blasting might reveal if I were to go that route...

 

[Mailman]

If you’re wanting to paint the frame with spray cans, I can tell you I have had great success with Rustoleum Professional grade paints.

I have painted a couple of old bike frames , just working around the motor in the frame and the results were really good.

On my XS2, I had the frame powder coated, but all the bolt on pieces , such as the center stand, swing arm, battery box, and steering head were all sprayed with Rustoleum, and the results are virtually indistinguishable.

The key is in the prep. Before you do anything , your frame needs to be clean clean clean. Get all the dirt and gunk off and then wipe everything down with a paint prep solvent, like this...

Once everything is clean, now you can sand to scuff up the original paint, smooth out any chips or rust. If you fail to remove all traces of grease or oils before you sand ,you will just grind those impurities into your paint and your new paint will develop fisheyes. Then everything gets wiped down again with paint prep. I do this with clean white paper towels and I keep doing it until you can no longer see any dirt or oil show up on the paper towels. Dry everything off and now you can spray.
On my BMW and old Triumph that rattle can Rustoleum held up really well and kept its gloss after many years.
Good luck to you on your project, however you proceed.
-Bob

 

[The Project]

Thanks guys.. for a newbie at paint ..old man at the rest!
Why does paint make me nervous as a nellie?
Any more info would be good...

 

[willis]

Prep, Prep, Prep.... Like Bob says. spend the extra time getting it clean. Your end result will be worth it. It doesn't take much to ruin all that hard work you've put in.

 

[gggGary]

Not often rusted "through" near the side stand bracket, a place to test.

 

[lakeview]

Highly unlikely that media blasting would show more than what you can already see-it's not like the frame is like an old Ford rocker panel.
Rattle can Rustoleum or Tremclad is my go to for frames. The Rustoleum with the fancy caps come in metallic colours, like so.

 

[yamahama]

If you’re wanting to paint the frame with spray cans, I can tell you I have had great success with Rustoleum Professional grade paints.
View attachment 159228
I have painted a couple of old bike frames , just working around the motor in the frame and the results were really good.
View attachment 159226 View attachment 159230 View attachment 159229

On my XS2, I had the frame powder coated, but all the bolt on pieces , such as the center stand, swing arm, battery box, and steering head were all sprayed with Rustoleum, and the results are virtually indistinguishable.
View attachment 159232 View attachment 159233

The key is in the prep. Before you do anything , your frame needs to be clean clean clean. Get all the dirt and gunk off and then wipe everything down with a paint prep solvent, like this...
View attachment 159227
Once everything is clean, now you can sand to scuff up the original paint, smooth out any chips or rust. If you fail to remove all traces of grease or oils before you sand ,you will just grind those impurities into your paint and your new paint will develop fisheyes. Then everything gets wiped down again with paint prep. I do this with clean white paper towels and I keep doing it until you can no longer see any dirt or oil show up on the paper towels. Dry everything off and now you can spray.
On my BMW and old Triumph that rattle can Rustoleum held up really well and kept its gloss after many years.
Good luck to you on your project, however you proceed.
-Bob

>> Curious, when you powder coated frame did they save the paper steering tube tag with VIN or, was that an academic casualty and was the VIN stamp as readable as before?

 

[Hoser59]

I just painted my frame in the last month with VHT roll bar and chassis paint in satin black and had great results

 

[willis]

>> Curious, when you powder coated frame did they save the paper steering tube tag with VIN or, was that an academic casualty and was the VIN stamp as readable as before?

The painter i used this winter told me he has capabilities of reproducing those stickers. He just needs a photo of what it looks like with the correct vin numbers. His guy prints them on a vinyl sticker. I can share his info if you would like.

 

[Jim]

I can share his info if you would like.

Yes please.

 

[Mailman]

>> Curious, when you powder coated frame did they save the paper steering tube tag with VIN or, was that an academic casualty and was the VIN stamp as readable as before?

The manufacturers tag was removed by me prior to powder coating. Using a heat gun I was able to soften and remove it intact, I saved it with my paperwork. It would’ve been destroyed in the powder coat ovens. The stamped vin number was covered by the powdercoater and is clearly visible.
I showed all that in my XS2 thread.....somewhere.

Edit: photos added

 

[Mailman]

I edited my previous post to add photos to show more detail.

 

[Teddytootired]

Was going to ask the question should the finish be gloss semigloss or flat to replicate original

 

[Mailman]

I did my powder coat in gloss and I think it looks very nice. I’ve also done rattle can in gloss black and I think it looks right too.

 

[gggGary]

With the Mailman here, gloss. I've tried satin, semi gloss, meh.

 

[Teddytootired]

Ahh yes but was the original gloss. Now if I had a sticker to remove and there is none on this bike I may have seen the finish