Because I got a week with the flu and 2 weeks holiday, the bike project has been stopped for quite some time. The last thing I’ve done before this absence from the shed was to completely sand the frame and fork. But because the frame is unprotected, some rust just came back in some small spots. This week I’ve re-sanded those pieces and prep everything for painting.
The first thing done in the weekend was to build-up the paint “booth”. Because I’m going to be spray painting, I need a way to avoid the paint to stick to everything else inside the shed. To solve the problem I’ve decided to buy a piece of plastic that is used to protect the ground when you are painting walls. Because it is a very big piece of thin plastic, I’ve created the booth by closing one side of it and fixing it to the ceiling. I’ve fixed the four corners to the ceiling using silver tape and closed the bottom piece. In that way I have an almost square cubicle of plastic right in front of the lamp: Very good visibility on the frame and fork and also dust free as the plastic is brand new.
The second step was to protect every part that I don’t want to be painted. At this point I’m just closing all the holes and pieces that connect with other bike parts because the first step of the painting will be to apply an anti-corrosion primer. And that needs to be applied in the whole frame. After closing the holes (that took some time and patience, believe me) I’ve cleaned with a grease removal. That is important because you want to remove any grease that will avoid the paint to stick to the metal. And it has a secondary effect of also removing any piece of dirt (dust, rest of rust, etc.) and having it ready for painting.
At this point, you bring the primer can and start to think: right now is when I will get everything wrong. And you think that if you make a mistake there is no way back, right?! At the end it is painting… You’ll have to start all over again… But this is not true. You will apply a first pass of primer and you will still need to sand it before applying the next one. That means you can fix small overruns and they won’t show up. Also, you can use it as a way to learn how to do it with the hope when I get to the really important part I’m doing a proper job.
That being said, I’m already happy that the result of the first application. No immediate visible overruns and a smooth application. For someone that never painted with cans, I’m really satisfied and it is sure that all the reading on the internet helped a lot. I can still see the steel in some parts of the frame, but that is supposed to happen on the first primer application. I will let it dry for the whole day today and go for the second application tomorrow. If everything goes to plan, next week I have the painting done. At the end of priming, I will show another picture of the process. And then I will only show another picture when the bike is completed. For dramatic purpose, rá!
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