Self Build Bamboo Bike Frame Kit Build Thread

[Alan O]

So the last update saw me getting a tad confused over the excellent advice being offered here. So I decided to step away from the tools for a few days and look at the options available. So using car filler, you have two components, the filler itself and a chemical hardener. You need to mix these together, typically about 5% hardener. It seems that a common problem is to overdo the hardener, which result in the generation of gas which leaves behind small pinholes in the filler. Essentially the problem that I had. Common practice, once the main filler is applied, is to use another finer putty called glaze putty over the top, which will fill in the imperfections and leave a smooth surface once sanded. @screenman advised me to go with Dolphin Glaze, which looks to fit the bill perfectly, sadly the stuff is not available in Germany. Frustratingly I was actually in Britain two weeks ago and could have easily picked some up had I known about it then. Oh well.

More research showed that the common practice in Germany is to use a fine filler, not as good as a glaze, but still more than effective for what i needed. So I picked some up and got back to my favourite pastime of filling and sanding! Once I felt it was finished, I shot some more primer over it, only to hit my next problem, when I ran out just before I'd finished. There was no black primer left anywhere and with only a tiny area left to fill it was a little annoying, so I purchased some grey primer and decided to go over everything again. View attachment 404758

The end result was really pleasing and I decided was more than good enough. I'd spent enough time sanding and filling, this really doesn't need to be 100%.

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So with an early finish to work on Tuesday and glorious weather, I decided it was high time to treat it to a top coat. So I popped the frame into my work stand which has a 360° swivelling head, which allowed me to swing the frame around as I sprayed it.

View attachment 404760

I was using paint from spray.bike which is a heavily pigmented paint that is dead simple to apply and get a really good result from. Close up, the the heavy pigment does produce a slight orange peel effect, but I can live with that. It also goes on matt, so will need several coats of lacquer to create a gloss finish, which will be a challenge to get a good result with. However, overall I'm really pleased with how it's looking.
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So hopefully I can get a few coats of lacquer on whilst the weather is still warm and dry. Close to the finish now.

I see what you mean about the orange peel thing - I think it looks like a nice effect. That's a really nice colour too.

 

[adamhearn]

What an excellent update; I bet it is so satisfying to see the colour laid down after so many hours of prep work. Well done!

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Looking absolutely fantastic. Can’t wait to see the completed bike!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Brilliant!

 

[C R]

So hopefully I can get a few coats of lacquer on whilst the weather is still warm and dry. Close to the finish now.

Are you using the spray.bike lacquer? Get some practice in before you go onto the real thing, it is a lot harder than the paint to get uniform coverage.

 

[themosquitoking]

Another lover of the colour here.

 

[chriswoody]

Thanks for the comments folks. For such a subjective thing, it's interesting to see how many folk like the green. I'm hoping with a few coats of Lacquer and when it's built up, that it will suit the rest of the colours on the bike.

Thanks for the tips @C R , I will be using the spray.bike lacquer, so I'll give it a go first on a spare piece of Bamboo. From what I've heard and read, it sounds close to a normal car lacquer spray and the usual pitfalls of overruns and orange peel await. Be good to experiment as you say, and see before I commit to the frame.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Thanks for the comments folks. For such a subjective thing, it's interesting to see how many folk like the green. I'm hoping with a few coats of Lacquer and when it's built up, that it will suit the rest of the colours on the bike.

Chris, it doesn't matter what colour you paint it (Matt black excepted ) it is such a unique machine it will look awesome.

 

[buzzy-beans]

My major problem is that my jaw keeps dropping open and hitting the keyboard whilst at the same time flooding everywhere with saliva! Chris for heavens sake get on and finish your masterpiece and post up some more images.

 

[Elysian_Roads]

My major problem is that my jaw keeps dropping open and hitting the keyboard whilst at the same time flooding everywhere with saliva! Chris for heavens sake get on and finish your masterpiece and post up some more images.

A like for the impact, but not to finish too quickly. This has been a great thread, and am enjoying seeing it keep popping up, with a bit more progress.

 

[Pale Rider]

usual pitfalls of overruns and orange peel await.

Not sure what you mean by overruns, but orange peel effect indicates the paint has been applied a bit too thickly.

Not always a bad thing because the finish will be longer lasting if there's plenty of paint on there.

 

[chriswoody]

Well with the weather in the mid to high twenties all week and next week seeing a return to more normal temperatures and showers, I took every opportunity I could this week to work on the bike.

As pointed out by @C R the Lacquer is a very different beast to the colour paint. I did a test spray on an old spare piece of Bamboo and could instantly see that this was very fine and it would run really easily. Keeping a good spraying distance and making sure that you kept moving were crucial to avoid runs. I took to keeping a ruler with me as I sprayed to check that I was keeping at least 20cm away.

I sprayed one coat on the lugs before removing the protective paper and masking tape for the last time. There was one or two small places where the paint had crept under the tape, but that was easily taken care of with a gentle scrape of a Stanley blade.

With the tape removed, over the next days I sprayed the entire frame with 2 more coats of Lacquer. Aside from a couple of small imperfections in a couple of spots, the lugs have come up really well. So just for @buzzy-beans here's a couple of gratuitous lug shots!

So here we are today, 6 months, fourteen pages and countless hours of work later, I'm finally at the point where most build threads start. We have a complete and finished frame ready to build into a completed bike. I'm feeling pretty pleased with how it's turned out.

So fear not folks, the thread is far from over. I'm going to leave it be for a few days whilst it fully cures and then start to build it up. I'll keep updating as I go.

 

[adamhearn]

Simply amazing! How great does that look

 

[Soltydog]

Looks amazing I'd never in a month of Sundays pick green for a bike frame, but it looks lovely with the bamboo. Can't wait to see the completed bike & seeing your smile whilst riding it

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

That is a fantastic frame. Can’t wait to see the finished product.