Clear coat / Lacquer

[MontyVeda]

Ideally, my 30 year old Orange P7 frame needs stripping and re-nickel plating, but that isn't going to happen.

The areas where the nickel has worn thin are showing signs of corrosion which does wipe/scrub off relative easily... but it's a constant job. The BB area was the first to go which i treated with some bright orange enamel paint some years ago and that's still doing its job... but i can't treat all the other areas with orange enamel as it'd look a bit odd, so clearcoat of some sort or lacquer is my other viable option.

It's just little spots here and there, mostly where the welds are so a brush on lacquer rather than spray on would be best, i think.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand/product (available in the UK) that is 'best'?

I'm also thinking of something like one of those UV activated varnish finishes. They use them in nail bars, but I've also seen it used on guitars so in my mind, it should also be good on metal... but that's just me thinking outside the box and possibly being a bit bonkers.

any advice on a good, resilient clear coat would be great.

 

[Drago]

I'd strip the bike, clean it, and spray the whole frame and forks with something like Spraymax lacquer. Being 2k (a second chamber in the can cracks open and releases the hardener first time you use it) it sprays beautifully and is rock hard.

 

[MontyVeda]

I'd strip the bike, clean it, and spray the whole frame and forks with something like Spraymax lacquer. Being 2k (a second chamber in the can cracks open and releases the hardener first time you use it) it sprays beautifully and is rock hard.

looks good but I've pretty much just put the bike back together... not sure i want to strip it all again and it is just spots here and there i need to treat.

 

[wafter]

Little experience of alternatives but I bought a touch-up pot of lacquer from Condor, which has done a great job on a few worn spots on the Brompton.

I think it's generally accepted that off-the-shelf finishes are rarely as durable as factory-applied originals, while I think lacquers are typically less hardwearing than paints / powdercoats so whatever you buy will have its limitations. This is potentially less of an issue if you're in the habit of re-touching it periodically anyway..

 

[richardfm]

You can get small brush on pots of clear coat from Halfords.

 

[MontyVeda]

You can get small brush on pots of clear coat from Halfords.

I have used the halfords stuff and i wasn't very impressed, but it was sometime in the last century

 

[Punkawallah]

Try Boots for clear nail varnish.