Another paint question

Hello,

Was reading the post about wet painting with Hammerite/Rustoleum and
it got me wondering when people began applying paint by spraying.

I've got a couple of older projects on the go and I've been thinking
it might in some ways be more authentic (and maybe cheaper) to
apply paint with a method other than spraying/enamel/powdercoat.

Johnny

Hi, I'm also interested in this subject as I have a couple of old projects that I don't want to look new and polished but I would like a reasonable finish and I was considering hand painting with Tekaloid or a boat / tractor enamel paint. Any one had any experience, these seem to work fine with large flat areas but with tubes and corners - any thoughts or direction. Terry

When did it start? i'd guess the 70s below is a video of how they did it back in the day.

The painting at the factory involves a huge vat of paint and just dipping the frames, then the detailing was done with a fine gold roller which was set in a sort of jig. Jump to 7 minutes, to see the painting process.

http://vimeo.com/39401575


As for applying paint, the saving that you might make by buying it in a tin and applying with a brush must be minimal...i doubt there is a saving when you take into consideration the extra time it takes.

I used to really dread spray painting anything after tales of how the finish was always rubbish, but once you get the hang of it...there is no looking back.

It's possible to achieve a professional-quality finish with any paint application system - it's just that spraying with modern equipment massively reduces the amount of wetsanding/polishing that you have to do afterwards.

There are two main types of spray paint - traditional cellulose-based paint and modern 2-pack acrylic. With the older softer cellulose paints, wetsanding was quite easy - you could spray the paint out of an old bicycle pump, or even by hand, and it wouldn't take much work to look good. Modern 2-pack acrylic paints are much harder and consequently wetsanding takes a lot longer - but the higher pigment content, combined with modern high-volume-low-pressure spraying equipment, gives such a good finish that much less labour is involved anyway.

If you want to do a lot of frames, you could look into buying a secondhand compressor and a gun - I bought a compressor and gun new from Aldi and it was only £70. The paint is relatively cheap and easy to work with, and unlike 2-pack (which is extremely toxic), you don't need a mask/respirator/ventilated paint booth. The finish, straight from the gun, would be comparable to the old 'dipped' enamel frames; with enough work, the finish can be as good as you're willing to make it!

iv'e been looking at this....

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds ... hBrush.htm

grumpycommuter":33yqq9s2 said:

iv'e been looking at this....

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds ... hBrush.htm

Click to expand...

Yes, I just found that as well. Interesting, but he does go on a bit. I wonder where he finds all the time...

That's an interesting read - there's no mention of thinning the paint like with the Rustoleum paint jobs I linked to in the other thread.