Williams lightweight project

[carpenter]

You may be able to reduce/get rid of the sharpie with solvent without affecting the paint - IPA?

I think that you are right about the black - doesn't really work for me, too much of a contrast/stark, you would need to be incredibly precise to get away with it. How about white (one of your original suggestions)?
Also I think that lug lining is slightly easier to do if you try to lay down the colour on just the "ledge" on the lug, none on the frame tube if that makes sense - not that I have had any great success with lining, I had a go and gave up in disgust with myself

 

[RichardB]

White spirit on a rag wasn't touching the Sharpie paint, even when it was wet. I literally had the Sharpie in one hand and a spirit-soaked rag in the other (usually successful when brush painting) and even rubbing immediately didn't do anything. I'm trying to ease it off now it's dry with a fibreglass abrasive pen, and even that is slow. That paint is tough stuff!

You right about lining only the edges of the lugs. I looked at a lot of images and that looks the best by a long way. However, the 'nib' on the Sharpie is medium point and just not fine enough. Also, it runs out of liquid quite quickly and you have to press the tip in and out to get more to flow. That's the reason for all those raggy edges.

I have never done this before, and I am no artist, but I have decided that a) a Sharpie is not the easiest way to line lugs, and b) when I get rid of the black, I am leaving the frame plain yellow. Shame it's all gone a bit Pete Tong, because before I ruined it it was starting to look really good. The first lacquer coat over the decals has gone on really well.

"Gave up in disgust." Yep.

 

[RichardB]

DO NOT USE SHARPIE PAINT PENS TO PAINT BICYCLE FRAMES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

This has been a public service announcement.

Tried abrading off with a fibreglass abrasive pen. No effect.
Tried various solvents. No effect.
Tried rubbing down with fine sandpaper. No effect.
In a hidden spot, tried scraping off with a 3mm screwdriver blade. Got down to bare metal, still black. The Sharpie ink/paint had soaked through the 5-6 coats of yellow and contaminated it all. Worse, it had started to bleed into the surrounding paint, leaving a blurred edge.
Decided to re-coat in yellow over the top, see if I could hide it. Brushed on some yellow. Brush turned black as the black ink bled into the wet paint. Black then ran over previously untouched bits of the frame.

I could weep. It was going so well, and I was really pleased with how it was looking. There is obviously a serious reaction going on between the paint layers.

It looked absolutely shockingly bad, so I bit the bullet and scraped every last molecule of it from the lug edges (and elsewhere where the damn stuff had bled out). I now have my bottom bracket lug surrounded by a ring of bare metal.

I'm going to leave it for 24-48 hours to fully harden, sand it back properly, and then start again with primer, just in the BB area, and hope that it will blend in without looking too bad. Or I am going to bite the bullet and take it back to be shotblasted again and start from scratch.

Thank you for listening.

 

[Colin Grigson]

DO NOT USE SHARPIE PAINT PENS TO PAINT BICYCLE FRAMES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

This has been a public service announcement.

Tried abrading off with a fibreglass abrasive pen. No effect.
Tried various solvents. No effect.
Tried rubbing down with fine sandpaper. No effect.
In a hidden spot, tried scraping off with a 3mm screwdriver blade. Got down to bare metal, still black. The Sharpie ink/paint had soaked through the 5-6 coats of yellow and contaminated it all. Worse, it had started to bleed into the surrounding paint, leaving a blurred edge.
Decided to re-coat in yellow over the top, see if I could hide it. Brushed on some yellow. Brush turned black as the black ink bled into the wet paint. Black then ran over previously untouched bits of the frame.

I could weep. It was going so well, and I was really pleased with how it was looking. There is obviously a serious reaction going on between the paint layers.

It looked absolutely shockingly bad, so I bit the bullet and scraped every last molecule of it from the lug edges (and elsewhere where the damn stuff had bled out). I now have my bottom bracket lug surrounded by a ring of bare metal.

I'm going to leave it for 24-48 hours to fully harden, sand it back properly, and then start again with primer, just in the BB area, and hope that it will blend in without looking too bad. Or I am going to bite the bullet and take it back to be shotblasted again and start from scratch.

Thank you for listening.

So frustrating when something like this happens
You’re doing the right thing stripping it off and starting again .... you’ll be good at painting frames by the time you’re finished
Can’t wait to see this project underway once again - it’s caught my interest

 

[carpenter]

bloody hell, I feel really bad for you - it was looking so good

 

[Gravity Aided]

Paint is cheap, but a bicycle like this is forever. Best to get it to the point you like and admire it, and your effort. It has been a great adventure so far.

 

[Gravity Aided]

And thank you for the warning about Sharpie paint.

 

[RichardB]

Thank you chaps! I was really 50/50 about whether to start again, but you have convinced me. Ringing the shotblaster in 3 - 2 - 1 ...

 

[RichardB]

Well, the shotblasting guy had his phone turned off, so I set to with the 240 grit (and then a Black and Decker detail sander, which I had forgotten I had). All the black removed, all blemishes sanded flat. There's a fair bit of bare metal now, and I need to prime at least part of the frame, so I have decided to start from scratch. All the decals are off, and I have got another tin of primer and some more masking tape. Tomorrow (weather permitting) I will lightly sand the whole frame with 1200 to give a key and then start back with a couple of coats of primer. After that, anyone's guess. I am considering using a different colour this time - something that doesn't show the mistakes quite so obviously.

 

[RichardB]

Two good coats of primer and it's looking good again. I have decided to go for a colour change, and have bought a couple of cans of Ford Blazer Blue - quite dark, not quite midnight blue but close. It's a colour I love, and it should be a little more forgiving to a rank amateur such as myself. Pics below, including What To Do With A Pair Of Unwanted Bullhorn Handlebars. Currently black & rust, with touches of grey, yellow and (soon) blue. Ironic if, after I have finished the frame, I sand them back to bright steel, lacquer them and fit them to the bike

 

[RichardB]

Just an update, as I have been called in for some work and the weather has been awful here.

Not so great progress to report. I got a couple of coats of the blue paint on and it was looking good, but when I examined it the next day there were white patches and a sort of bloom over some of the paint. It was quite cold and damp when I was painting (in the open air), but I thought it was warm and dry enough. Obviously not. I flatted the paint back and got rid of most of it, and then after a day or two gave it another couple of coats. It was a dry and cool day when I did this, but there is still a bit of colour variation if you look closely. It's too subtle to photograph well, but you can see it if you look closely in good light.

However, I am calling quits on the paint stage. I have spent almost as much on rattle cans as I did on the frame itself, so what is there will have to do. It's not like I am doing it for a customer, or to sell on, or anything like that. I've replaced the 531C decal - the only one I will be using - and next dry day when I am not working I will start the lacquer coats again. I was really pleased with how the lacquer made it look last time, so I'm hopeful that a good couple of coats of lacquer will make the blemishes disappear. (Wiping the frame with a panel wipe made the colour look deep and even, so maybe the lacquer coat will do the same.)

More when I get round to it;.

 

[RoadRider400]

I think you need a bigger garden shed.

 

[RichardB]

I think you need a bigger garden shed.

You are so right.

 

[RichardB]

Bit of a pause due to work demands and weather, but I have been back on it and have made some progress. The paint and lacquer coats are now done and, although not perfect, I am calling them finished. It's meant to be a budget build, after all. I think the 531C decal looks well with the Ford Blazer Blue - and thank heavens I messed up the yellow and had a change of heart. I'm very happy with the colour, and about 90% happy with the finish.

I have now fitted the headset and bottom bracket. Someone [edit: @Blue Hills ] was asking about the headset puller I got from eBay. Well, it's OK I suppose. It comes supplied with steel washers and larger nylon washers - I assume to protect the paint finish. The problem with the nylon washers is that they allow the central bolt to slide sideways as soon as you apply pressure, which means the race starts to go in at an angle. 2-3 times I had to take the puller out and use a light hammer to tap the race straight again. I ended up ditching them. The top race I ended up using just the hammer. It only takes a few smart taps with a medium-weight hammer, so no real danger of mashing the frame unless you are very cack-handed, and it's both easier and quicker than using the puller. Also, the metal washers on the puller started to dish when I turned the nut - no problem, but it made me aware that the whole thing is not very robust. In future, I think I'll just risk the hammer and take care.

So, with the BB and forks fitted, it's starting to look like a bicycle! (Wheels and crankset test-fitted for display purposes.)

One slight issue - chainline needs work. I bought an adapter from an eBay seller (thanks to @Pennine-Paul who mentioned it) and with a freewheel fitted the chainline is out by about 5mm:

If I take the adapter off, the freewheel is out in the opposite direction by about 5mm. I reckon a fixed sprocket, being thinner, will be about OK with the adapter in place, but the freewheel is a bit of a problem. Longer BB spindle? Cut a few mm off the inside edge of the adapter?

Anyway, little problems like this are the reason I am doing this in the first place, and it's proving to be a lot of fun.

Incidentally, I hadn't realised what close clearances the frame had. With a 27x1 1/4 tyre on the rear rim, it needs a firm knock to get the tyre past the chainstay bridge. OK on the driveway in a workstand, perhaps not so easy by the side of the road in pouring rain.

Next, wheels and chain/chainline to sort. Then stem and handlebars, fit the brakes and we are almost there. I test fitted the rather narrow bars I found, and I think they look OK.

 

[Spiderweb]

Great choice of colour, even better than the yellow👍