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Yaaargh- problems with painted uni

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muniracer

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Jan 8, 2004, 8:36:20 AM1/8/04
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So yesterday i was so excited about painted my yuni frame on my muni. i
spent a couple hours sandpapering the entire frame. i put on the
primer, and it seemed to stick perfectly. i waited the appropriate
amount of time and then painted the entire thing dark red. after a few
more coats i even dared to paint the bottom half yellow and fade it into
the red. the flames looked incredible. they would make anyone, even
someone not in hell on wheel, proud. i painted the maincaps and the
cranks. my mistake was painting the seat post. so when it all dried
and today i went to assemble the beauty, I realized that there would be
no way I could fit the seat post onto the frame. after twenty minutes
of wrangling i got it in. then i looked at the frame and my heart sank.
through my wrangling i had destroyed the paint job i had just been so
proud of. to make matters worse, i had forgotten to put the qr on. so
now i have to redo everything. as i am writing this the primer is
drying over the ill-fated first attempt. poo. perhaps once it is
assembled and scratch free, i will take some pics and post the beauty
for the minute that it looks good before i take it on the trail...


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Sofa

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Jan 8, 2004, 9:35:42 AM1/8/04
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crap like this always happens to me :(


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GILD

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Jan 8, 2004, 9:45:06 AM1/8/04
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muniracer wrote:
> * through my wrangling i had destroyed the paint job i had just been
> so proud of. *

why r u complaining?


johnhimsworth wrote:
> *coz if you get a painted frame it can get a bit scratched and beaten
> up looking and it looks like you've been doing lots of really serious
> riding and it makes you look really good. Chrome just doesn't show the
> battle scars as well.
> *

seems to me u just took a short-cut and created the world's first
UPD-Custom paint job?


ps. the johnhimsworth quote is from 'this thread'
(http://tinyurl.com/3248f)


;)


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joe

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Jan 8, 2004, 11:27:35 AM1/8/04
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I love that quote by Jonh!

But if you are going to paint a frame, why not get it powdercoated? Ok,
so it does cost a little bit more, but it lasts much long.

If the paint came off when you were just putting the seat post on, what
is it going to be like when you come off on trail?


Joe, - I powdercoat my unis :)


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muniracer

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Jan 8, 2004, 11:54:05 AM1/8/04
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i didnt get it powdercoated because its an old frame- i had been riding
with it just chrome for 6 or 7 months.

i repainted it and it looks even nicer. i wrapped clear tape around the
frame in hopes of saving the paint. the tape will probably teat off and
look even orse than the first crummy paint job but im up for trying
anything. ill tell you how it goes...

Checkernuts

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Jan 8, 2004, 12:37:24 PM1/8/04
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Dont forget a nice coat of clear over top of everything to protect it,
I've had mixed results on painting frames, the frist frame I painted
lasted in decent shape for quite a while, my latest attempt of pink with
sparkles didnt hold up long at all, I blame that on the spray paint I
used, pink is harder to find than you might guess. And I ended up using
a non enamle spray paint.


My next trials frame is deffenatlly going to be powdercoated pink and if
I can find it with some big flake glitter to top it off. Paint only last
so long, I dont know how bikes are painted and it last so long looking
good.

Mike


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joe

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Jan 8, 2004, 12:59:21 PM1/8/04
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I would guess that bikes are powdercoated


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muniracer

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Jan 8, 2004, 1:51:35 PM1/8/04
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i just got back from a BRIEF muni ride, 20 minutes probably to test out
the frame. so far so good. like i said above, i wrapped clear tape
around the fork to prevent the paint from coming off. i also wrapped
blue tape around the seatpost and top of the frame as a sort of handle.
the paint was kind of sticky so i needed to cover it. so, the end
results: the frame looks great, not as good as it could be if it was
powdercoated, but great! the tape blends the yellow and red together to
make it look even more like flames. the only prob thus far is that some
of the paint on the crankarms wiped off when my foot would accidently
rub against it. but that was expected.

joemarshall

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Jan 8, 2004, 2:35:14 PM1/8/04
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Checkernuts wrote:
> *My next trials frame is deffenatlly going to be powdercoated pink and

> if I can find it with some big flake glitter to top it off. Paint only
> last so long, I dont know how bikes are painted and it last so long
> looking good.
> *


Some bike frames are stove enamelled, which supposedly lasts a bit
longer than powder coat and looks lovely and shiny.

Joe


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johnfoss

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Jan 8, 2004, 2:47:29 PM1/8/04
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Commercial painting onto metal is often done using a process that
somehow uses static electricity to bond the paint to the surface. I
don't know what this is called, if it's actually used on bikes (it's
used on cars), or if I described it right. Suffice it to say that a
factory paint job is nothing like a home spraypaint job.

Baked enamel and powdercoating are both stronger than factory paint, and
way, way stronger than a home paint job.

Painting over chrome, probably even if you rough it up real good, is
probably going to come off very easily.

Chrome is the strongest of all. Wouldn't it be nice if chrome came in
different colors?

That's why I prefer chrome over paint in most cases. Most of the
scratches and dings on my unicycles come from:
1. Loading in and out of the car, usually with other unicycles.
2. Parking it (people will think they're being helpful by leaning my
unicycle with the painted part against a piece of concrete or a rock).
3. Stuff that happens while riding/dismounting it.


--
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John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
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zod

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Jan 8, 2004, 2:48:08 PM1/8/04
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My favorite powdercoating and the one I will get done to my mUni when it
needs to be repainted is a clear coat. Clear coat on steel looks awesome
IMHO. Especially after the frame gets a few scratches and you get some
rust lines on the frame! You also get to see the nice blue from the
welds.

Here are some nice close-ups of a clear powder job

[image: http://www.endlessbikes.com/headtube_back.jpg]

[image: http://www.endlessbikes.com/bb.jpg]

[image: http://www.endlessbikes.com/dropout.jpg]


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zod

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Jan 8, 2004, 2:52:26 PM1/8/04
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johnfoss wrote:
> *Commercial painting onto metal is often done using a process that

> somehow uses static electricity to bond the paint to the surface. I
> don't know what this is called, if it's actually used on bikes (it's
> used on cars), or if I described it right. *


John I was going to get this done to my mountain bike because with that
technique they can paint on amazing detailed paint designs. Unfortunatly
I was informed that something can only be magnetically charged and
painted this way ONCE and that it cannot be done after a paint job has
already been applied...it must be the first paint ever applied to the
metal. So I couldn't get it done.

I was going to have them do my bike in the "Real Tree"(camo) design :)


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paco

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Jan 8, 2004, 3:13:22 PM1/8/04
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zod wrote:
> *Here are some nice close-ups of a clear powder job
> *


Hey, wait a minute. Those are close ups of a b*ke! What are you trying
to pull here! :mad: ;)


--
paco - Proud owner of 2 opposable thumbs

Sounds exactly like an orthodic support for shoes, only different. Would
this be called a butt-thodic support? or glutethodic?
-S_Wallis
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zod

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Jan 8, 2004, 3:19:25 PM1/8/04
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<====== runs away :p


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thin_air

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Jan 8, 2004, 6:14:41 PM1/8/04
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Please post a pic of the flame uni it sounds fairly cool!!


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muniracer

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Jan 8, 2004, 10:53:28 PM1/8/04
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maybe in the next couple weeks. i dont have a digital camera but
someone at school might.


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Tmornstar

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Jan 9, 2004, 8:14:23 AM1/9/04
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I read muniracer's painting exploits with great empathy. I recently
decided to give myself a weekend project of stripping my (common as air)
orange Summit and repainting with something really, really unique – say,
black. However, after a total of about 4 days of obsessing over this
project, each time I rode passed a set of cement steps paint would just
fly off the frame. Go figure! Thus, either today or tomorrow I’m
expecting a shipment from Darren Bedford and my new, surely
one-of-a-kind, black, powder coated Summit. I’ve given-up on paint.
Also, I’m in the market to have my Wyganowski chromed if anybody has a
chromer that is does great work for barter.


--
Tmornstar - Student of Christopher

Tommy Thompson
Memphis Unicycle Club
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GILD

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Jan 9, 2004, 8:31:42 AM1/9/04
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Tmornstar wrote:
> *if anybody has a chromer that is does great work for barter. *


just curious
what would u offer as barter?


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SPACESHIP EARTH

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Tmornstar

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Jan 9, 2004, 10:20:15 AM1/9/04
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I dunno, wheel truing? - However you'd have to pay for the shipping
from So. Africa.
Tommy


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joona

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Jan 10, 2004, 6:26:30 AM1/10/04
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Hehehe. I've seen some bikers polishing cranks and frames to give them a
"cool" look. It's take a lot of time to polish even a set of cranks
properly. It's a bit chrome like. And then we, unicyclists, are trying
to paint our frames.


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cyberbellum

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Jan 10, 2004, 10:47:30 AM1/10/04
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Why not dip it in plastic?

http://tinyurl.com/2drhd


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Catboy

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Jan 10, 2004, 10:54:48 AM1/10/04
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> Why not dip it in plastic?

About A year ago we discussed this stuff by a different brand name that
also had a spray on version but it would be quite a task toget this onto
and part bacause youd have to block(on a frame for example) the bearing
housings and the seatpost hole and then eventually it would just dry out
and crack and youd have to bloww a ton of money on it. The only
reasonable use for it is maybe on a handle thats been scratched to where
it bothers your hands and you could re-cover it for a nice grippy
somooth surface but even then why not just wear gloves?


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muniracer

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Jan 10, 2004, 11:59:20 AM1/10/04
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Catboy wrote:
> *
>
> eventually it would just dry out and crack and youd have to bloww a
> ton of money on it. *


really? the rubber "paint" is $10 and should be enough to cover an
entire frome with one bottle. are you saying the expense is in removing
the plastic? i dont have any experience with stuff like this but
wouldnt it last at least a year? i would be happy to buy a new $40
frame if the first one looks nice and lasts an entire year.


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joe

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Jan 10, 2004, 12:09:53 PM1/10/04
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That 'Dip n Grip' sounds cool.

A rubber unicycle... how fun! :)


Joe,


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paco

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Jan 10, 2004, 12:11:48 PM1/10/04
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Catboy wrote:
> *
>
> About A year ago we discussed this stuff by a different brand name
> that also had a spray on version but it would be quite a task toget
> this onto and part bacause youd have to block(on a frame for example)
> the bearing housings and the seatpost hole and then eventually it

> would just dry out and crack and youd have to bloww a ton of money on
> it. The only reasonable use for it is maybe on a handle thats been
> scratched to where it bothers your hands and you could re-cover it for
> a nice grippy somooth surface but even then why not just wear gloves?
> *


Catboy, do you know the name of the spray-on brand? Or where did you
hear of it/ where can I find some? I need to find some stuff like that
for a totally unrelated juggling matter.
I guess I should try searching first... but any help would be nice.


--
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Sounds exactly like an orthodic support for shoes, only different. Would
this be called a butt-thodic support? or glutethodic?
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todd1814

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Jan 10, 2004, 5:16:15 PM1/10/04
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muniracer <muni...@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:<munirac...@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com>...

> i didnt get it powdercoated because its an old frame- i had been riding
> with it just chrome for 6 or 7 months.
>
> i repainted it and it looks even nicer. i wrapped clear tape around the
> frame in hopes of saving the paint. the tape will probably teat off and
> look even orse than the first crummy paint job but im up for trying
> anything. ill tell you how it goes...

Most spray paint that comes from a can won't stick well on metal, even
if it's been primed. The only spray paint I'd recommend using on
metal is made for truck bed liners. You'll find it in the automotive
section and probably only in black. It's about $7 a can but it sticks
better than any spray paint I've ever found. It has a subtle texture
to it and is more of a flat paint. If you ever did scratch it, you
could just spray over the scratch and it would blend in (due to the
texture). As with all paint, you have to let it sit long enough to
cure before messing with the piece.

I've tried enamels, engine paint and everything thing else I could
find on the shelf. If you want a really nice paint job on metal, you
won't find it on a shelf. You'l have to pay a professional with the
right paint and equipment to do it.

cyberbellum

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Jan 10, 2004, 6:14:50 PM1/10/04
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todd1814 wrote:
> * I've tried enamels, engine paint and everything thing else I could

> find on the shelf. If you want a really nice paint job on metal, you
> won't find it on a shelf. You'l have to pay a professional with the
> right paint and equipment to do it.
> *

One of the advantages of paying a professional is that they are likely
to want to bead blast the frame first. This hammering by millions of
little plastic beads does more than make a rough, clean surface. It
compresses the surface which makes the frame resistant to cracking.

Good paint shops use two-part automotive paints like Imron that are a
pain to work with (toxic, harden in the spray gun in a half hour or so,
must be at the right temperature, have to be baked afterwards, etc) but
make a pretty tough finish that really bonds with the metal.


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