Painting Frame.

[charlski]

Stripped the 18CS down to frame and swing arm, looks a right b2stard to remove swing arm from frame, so was going to send frame off to powdercoaters, but now thinking i might paint at home with swing arm still attached .... anyone reccommend a good rattle can paint to paint frame with ... Hammerite smooth black ???? Halfords gloss black ?? or should i persevere and try and remove swingarm ??

Thanks

KC

[Rob Harknett]

AAAhhhhh not hammerite, undercoat and black acrylic spray much better.
Wait untill its warmer can will tell you min. temp..

[SPRIDDLER]

If you do decide to remove the swing arm be aware that the commonly called 'cotter pins' only need loosening and are not completely removeable until the arm has been withdrawn.

Loads of posts and diverse opinions and experience of frame painting on this site. A simple search on e.g. 'Frame painting' using the search spyglass above will provide enough info to keep you procrastinating 'til the summer arrives.

[chilly]

As Rob says , don't use Hammerite , i reckon its crap these days , i've had decent results with Plasticote rattle cans tho .

[charlski]

Think i may well do it properly and get them separated and powder coated ... now ive looked at the instructions on the following link to remove the swing arm https://www.jampot.com/article_read.asp?id=3 but i dont have access to a lathe to make the drift and anvil .... is there any other procedure to remove the brass bushings etc ???

thanks

KC

[alanengineer]

do your bushes need replacing. If they do, you wont have such a problem pushing out the pin. That 99.9% of peoples problems in this area

[Matchless_Mayhem]

Personally, I'd bite the bullet and go the powdercoat route... IF it's durability you're after.

The only drawback (in my opinion), is the slightly orange-peely/stippled finish that the process creates, but things have improved over the past 10+ years - go somewhere reputable however, that ideally specialises in moto/auto work (as opposed to a bike-frame-today and garden-railings-tomorrow, type outfit).

If it's quality of finish you're after, with OK durability, then a professional primer coat and 2K is the ONLY way to proceed. A friend of mine specialises in classic Italian restorations and almost all of his customers opt for 2K for the chassis parts and running gear over powdercoat, despite its shorter shelf-life.

Rattle cans... erm, best avoided, in my experience, unless used for a minor, or localised area.

[petert120r]

I've never had problems with Hammerite provided you warm the can first in hot water and then shake it for the recommended 2 minutes to ensure the paint mixes correctly

[dogwheel]

Or--Decent brushes and either "Tractol" or "Tekaloid", but, as Rob says, try to wait for warmer weather, unless you have a nice warm shed/garage.
You can spray these paints very successfully with cheapo spray kit, and you are OK to use Cellulose thinners despite what you may be told!
And--it's so easy to touch up any dings or scratches.
Robin

[GOLDSTAR]

I have a couple three bikes with powdercoated frames, I have remarked previoisly that the earlier one is remarkabley tough and adheres well to the metal, the later ones seem far more prone to chipping off, I believe the prosess for used on the latter changed from that before. I ahve ab A7 frame to paint and will probably have a go at spraying with tractol or techoloid kind regards.

ah my dyslexic computer is back again I see.