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neevo
6th Apr 2020, 09:05 AM
I’ve bought a used BMX for my 7 year old and am keen to restore/modify it for her. It’s currently stripped down and most of the steel parts have already been stripped ready for paint, just have to finish up the Alu frame and brake mounts.

When looking at paint we found some fantastic holographic metal flake and thought we’d have a go at that.

Plan is to primer, base coat, flake in clear (mist coat last to get the flake to stand up) and then 4 or so coats of clear. Sand back orange peel from flake and apply another wet coat of clear.

My experience is with 2k polyurethane paint for my kitchen, so most of this is new to me, but I’m keen to have a go with auto paints anyway to see how it goes.

My questions are about the base colour. My daughter wants purple and because we’re not laying a purple flake (where I could paint a black base) my thoughts were to lay the purple she wants as a base coat, applying the holo flake over the top.

What do people think?

Also would I use a purple base or would a purple metallic be a better base?

It’s a $100 bike so I’m also trying to find a reasonably economical way to lay the paint too.

wheelinround
6th Apr 2020, 09:37 AM
Ali needs to have a coat of etch primer prior priming. This helps adhere to the base metal.
Whats the top colour? Oh Purple
D3pending on depth or darkness light to give that awesome bling black, white or mid blue?

neevo
6th Apr 2020, 09:40 AM
Great point. I’ll make sure I have etch primer in the process for the Alu bits.

My girl wants a purple bike. So the 2 options I thought were.

1. Black base, flake, purple candy, clear

But because the flakes we’ve bought are holo (or rainbow), I thought it was best to:

2. Purple base, flake, clear

droog
6th Apr 2020, 09:41 AM
All depends on the effect you want to achieve !

Some flake in a clear coat over a purple base will tend to give some sparkle over a flat purple base, using a metallic purple will give the whole job much more depth, going to a candy over a silver base will give you even more depth.

wheelinround
6th Apr 2020, 09:43 AM
If this is gun applied try mix silver, clear & purple for effect try in an old tin small amount first

neevo
6th Apr 2020, 11:45 AM
All depends on the effect you want to achieve !

Some flake in a clear coat over a purple base will tend to give some sparkle over a flat purple base, using a metallic purple will give the whole job much more depth, going to a candy over a silver base will give you even more depth.

That’s what I was thinking. I’m not sure I have the gun skills to lay the candy evenly yet, so will aim for metallic purple with flake in clear.

Thanks :)

neevo
6th Apr 2020, 09:01 PM
Popped in to my auto paint store today. Picked up a primer base that goes on all surfaces, can’t remember but I think it’s called something like surface prep. It was recommended by the chap in there as an easy solution to primer steel and Alu. I also grabbed 250ml of their own custom mixed purple metallic. It’s a very light metallic but I think it will have enough sparkle to add to the flake.

Also bought 1l of clear.

The forks and front sprocket are stripped as are most of the handlebars. The rear brake mechanism didn’t get affected by the stripper so I’ll likely hit them with the bench brass wheel before primer.

Just need to get the Alu frame/front brake mechanism stripped and I’m just waiting on the metal flake before I’m thinking I’ll try a test panel or two.

I haven’t had to paint car paint before with multistage but talking to the chap in the shop today it seems like it flashes off pretty quickly (10-15 mins) between coats which seems like I can lay all the primer (3 light coats), base (3 light coats), flake and 4 layers of clear within a couple of hours (including cleaning between stages). Do I have that right?

I need to get to grips with how much paint to mix too. Haven’t painted in a while and remember this was the bit I struggled with the most. It’s such horrible stuff to clean up too that getting it wrong can be an issue. Can’t for the life of me find a resource to suggest volume of paint for each stage.

droog
6th Apr 2020, 09:12 PM
I assume your talking single stage acrylic ?

Yes it flashes off quick, particularly for the finish you are doing you want most of the coats to be “dry”, the metallic in particular.
The final clear coat will need to be a wet coat to get the high gloss, but your clear with flake in it should also be dry.
With an auto finish normally you would prime then a light sand when dry, then any colour and effect coats, sand then a final clear coat.
For what you are doing and assuming no large flat surface you can probably get away without sanding, unless you stuff up.

To add, quantities will be small but also based upon skill and gun that you are using, there may be more waste than what goes on the job if using a big gun. I would suggest 100 ml per stage, cleanup, yes after primer but between colour, clear with flake and final clear should not need to clean. The residual in the gun should have minimal effect for this project.

neevo
6th Apr 2020, 09:48 PM
Awesome info Droog, thank you very much. Just to clarify, when you say 100ml I assume you mean the paint, reducer and hardner (or what ever combo) combined?

Yes I’m using a big gun.

droog
6th Apr 2020, 11:06 PM
Yes I mean quantity required to paint a BMX bike, as in what you put in the gun. A lot will depend on your gun and you, a touch up gun uses a lot less paint as it is intended to paint a small area, a large gun will spray a wider area meaning a lot of waste.
Use this as a staring point, once you have primed you will have an idea of the quantity used.

Now you are talking about hardener, so a two pack.
Check the instructions, you may want extra time between coats, the information above was for single pack ie air drying.

neevo
7th Apr 2020, 07:36 AM
The primer is a single stage, all others are 2k. Appreciate the info and I’ll dig out the spec sheets for the paints and triple check them.

Will post results as I get them. Fingers crossed they’re acceptable.

Abnerj
7th Apr 2020, 08:46 AM
I hope you'll be spraying the 400F at the same time!

Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using Tapatalk

neevo
7th Apr 2020, 10:01 AM
I hope you'll be spraying the 400F at the same time!

Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using Tapatalk

Hahahaha hahahaha. Probably not, but it’s a dry run for the tins paint I want to apply. Have a Mercedes Grey/Silver with a dark stripe in mind.

wheelinround
7th Apr 2020, 10:08 AM
Dont forgetmpost photos 2hen done pls

neevo
7th Apr 2020, 10:08 AM
Dont forgetmpost photos 2hen done pls

Goes without saying!

neevo
10th Apr 2020, 05:58 PM
Full day on BMX today but not really much to show for it. Step 1 was to finish getting all the parts ready for paint, this included lots of time on the bench grinder with a brass wheel, getting the brake mechanism stripped. I suspect they are powder coated but I got them completely stripped.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200410/46fb6b755a37326ed0980f0cd18de1d0.jpg

The pain was the frame. Whilst the stripper worked it didn’t do enough to get it ready for paint. So plenty of time with a brass wheel on my impact driver plus some sandpaper and I had it down to this:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200410/88337bd4a48f4cbcc9c4b312b27683f6.jpg

I used 80 grit to clean it up, so used some 180 and 240 to try and clean up the sanding marks. I believe the metal flake hides a lot of sins so was going to go ahead with how I have it now.

Next up I built my spray booth. Last time I did it I tried to make a positive pressure booth but it didn’t really work because my fan wasn’t strong enough, so this time I build the frame and closed it in on all sides but 1.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200410/8929c11d72320aafb5d9fd4477f69698.jpg

Everything else in the shed is covered for overspray protection, but I’ll keep the paint rate low as I only have tiny pieces.

All hung in preparation for primer. Still need to clean them with wax & grease remover.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200410/9faf10e37ac21948ffce3217cc3cf62b.jpg


Tomorrow the plan is primer, white for the parts hanging and depending on how that goes, maybe some sanding and/or laying some purple metallic.

wheelinround
11th Apr 2020, 09:11 AM
Thats some booth ideal tho. Plenty light to see whats going where is needed.

clear out
11th Apr 2020, 09:19 AM
Bit late now but as a kid I wanted to paint my 26”.
So my dad (who was a fitter and turner ) gave me a broken piece of hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off to scrape the old paint off with.
It took me forever, but compared to sanding which was endless by hand it was the way to do it.
H.

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 09:22 AM
Turns out I can’t lay the purple without putting clear on top. As I’m still waiting for the metal flake this poses a question. Do I clear now and rub it for the flake or wait till I have the flake?

A light coat of clear would protect the metallic if I get the flake wrong but my head is thinking I just leave them in primer for now and focus on finishing the white parts instead.

wheelinround
11th Apr 2020, 09:27 AM
What happened to sealer coat?
Clear is a finish coat
You can mix clear in the purple flake 5% should be enough to give greater depth. The still clear over the top.

wheelinround
11th Apr 2020, 09:29 AM
Bit late now but as a kid I wanted to paint my 26”.
So my dad (who was a fitter and turner ) gave me a broken piece of hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off to scrape the old paint off with.
It took me forever, but compared to sanding which was endless by hand it was the way to do it.
H.Henry thats so long ago it would have been baked enamel lead based at that.
I didnt know they made Penny Farthings in 26" [emoji5]

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 09:30 AM
Doing the primer sealer on all parts first. Then will lay down the white on everything other than the frame and forks. That will have them all done.

The forks and frame I have the option to lay the purple today too if I want, but the spec sheet says I have to clear or lay another coat of purple before clear.

As I will have the flake in the clear I’d rather not be mixing up clear twice so was thinking I would do the purple, flake (in clear) and clear in 1 go (when the flake shows up).

wheelinround
11th Apr 2020, 09:33 AM
Why arent you ,mixing the flake in with purple & clear coat? Then do a purple 25% & 75% clear?

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 09:34 AM
Because the metallic base coat is not 2k but the clear is. I also don’t have the flake here yet unfortunately, otherwise I’d be laying it all today ideally.

wheelinround
11th Apr 2020, 09:44 AM
I'd wait till you have it all

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 09:50 AM
I'd wait till you have it all

Ok, great. That was my thinking too.

droog
11th Apr 2020, 12:00 PM
A clear coat is required over any metallic automotive finish to protect it, are you saying the instructions say the clear must be applied within a certain period ?

Some of the painters I have been involved with will lay the color coat then let it dry, sometimes for days / weeks. The coat is then wet sanded to get a dead flat surface before the clear coat is applied.

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 12:13 PM
Yep, that’s what the spec sheet says (bottom bit):

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/2bca2253cb9cdfd6e7f509bf0d2306f1.jpg

neevo
11th Apr 2020, 02:08 PM
Ok that went well. I haven’t painted much other than a few kitchen doors but I’ve been watching non stop YouTube videos to get ready [emoji2957]

Laid down my primer sealer, mist coat first, then once I’d finished the last piece it was pretty much time to go around again.

Second coat was a little heavier and then a third, mainly because I had enough paint in the gun still and didn’t want to pour it away.

I took the frame and forks out of the “booth” in preparation for painting the white.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/5a2062170d18948d86c6d73c6320a600.jpg

What I learnt:

I’m pretty comfortable I got my gun setting right. Almost no fan and adjusted my pressure down by feel as I don’t have a pressure regulator on the gun. Went light on the paint flow and I think it worked out well, I got almost no overspray and managed to get 3 primer coats out of 225ml.

Also I don’t have anywhere near enough light. I meant to grab 2 lights at Bunnings this morning but annoyingly forgot! So for the white I decided to move each piece to the front of the booth each time as I could see what was going on.

The white paint was interesting. I used the same process of applying a light most coat first, then a heavier second and almost wet third. It worked really well on most parts and I got a nice gloss, but a couple of inclusions and one piece wasn’t quite as shiny as the others which I’m putting down to surface finish as it was stripped. I’m not worried as it’s the inside of the front sprocket.

I mixed way too much of the white too (150ml) and i ended up pouring a bit of that away too. I definitely only need about 100ml for the frame and forks max, maybe less.

Full dry time is 16 hours on the white stuff (PPG 625 Polythane) so I’ve left it hanging in the booth until it’s dry.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/5262b438d26d1120de8176fb36cbef2a.jpg

I’m planning on sanding and polishing these bits out of the white, do people think that would work?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/11e28953838bbd3e13f062c541fabb00.jpg

wheelinround
12th Apr 2020, 09:48 AM
Neevo do yourself a big favour and block the crank and fork thread areas asap. You'll end up with to much paint in the threads and have trouble putting it together, it will also damage the paint around when trying to thread it together. Berore doing anymore coats make sure threads are easy to put together, yes run the nuts into over the thread then push in paper or rag to protect during all other coats.

neevo
12th Apr 2020, 10:12 AM
Neevo do yourself a big favour and block the crank and fork thread areas asap. You'll end up with to much paint in the threads and have trouble putting it together, it will also damage the paint around when trying to thread it together. Berore doing anymore coats make sure threads are easy to put together, yes run the nuts into over the thread then push in paper or rag to protect during all other coats.

Don’t worry I’ve got it covered. The crank and fork areas aren’t threaded, they both have press in bearing races that are made to press in to a painted frame, I suspect because it’s cheaper to do that on these kids bikes than a proper frame.

I triple checked they would still fit with paint and they do, in fact the original frame was painted all the way down in the crank and fork frame tubes, I suspect the paint also takes some up of the gap for a proper interference fit.

neevo
12th Apr 2020, 10:27 AM
So I took the white parts down this morning and did some minor assembly and cleaning of the plastic parts. All up, I’m pretty happy! It’s going to be a 1ft bike on the white but that’s because there’s a few parts with inclusions. Annoyingly you can’t cut and buff the white paint as it ruins the shine apparently, next time I’d buy a proper 2k white and clear it as I think it affords a bit more room to fix any errors.

Also one part on the handlebars is a little grainy as I didn’t get enough paint on it, not sure if it will bother me yet, but if you see some handlebars hanging again, you know they’ve been redone!

Shows how important lightening is and that’s a major issue to fix before the frame and forks get painted.

With all the plastic parts cleaned with a scotchbrite and simple green, they’ve all turned out pretty good and (for now) I’m happy.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/e4e5973f74d22e1b7e4563588f87846b.jpg

I think they’re going to look amazing on the frame once that’s done [emoji16]

Need to buy some parts to really finish the build off. New levers, purple grips and white seat, plus my girl really wants a basket, so we’ll have to find one of those too. The original bike came both blue/white tyres so they’ll have to go too for some black with whitewalls I think.

Original pic for reference.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200411/99cf8b0caf72a23db0c1df20e28b0b29.jpg

neevo
13th Apr 2020, 11:20 AM
My solution to the light in the booth was a pair of cheap LED lights. They do nothing to light the booth but I can direct them to the parts being painted and then I can take them down and also use them as an inspection light after coats.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200413/9f5958a836da6ac76639cbf07738e095.jpg

Better than nothing and a really useful light as they join together and also have a magnet [emoji3465] hanger and hook on each end. Battery powered also gives me loads of flexibility.

Just need to make sure they don’t get covered in paint.

neevo
18th Apr 2020, 03:18 PM
I’m going to be painting my base, flake and clear today. I have a question about the primer sealer I have on the frame and forks.

The tech sheet says if it’s longer than 24hrs I have to sand and reapply. Does this apply to the primer sealer or can I scuff the surface and apply my base coat?

Seems like the mechanical adhesion would be enough and it’s a pain to have to spray more primer sealer before base etc but I want to do it properly.

neevo
18th Apr 2020, 07:54 PM
Oooooooooh Kay. That’s my first time done painting car paints. I’m really happy with the experience, results (considering my inexperience) and my process.

First up I sanded the parts with a scotchbrite to get them ready for another dusting or two of primer/sealer. I wasn’t sure if it was needed or not, but I wanted to crack on and thought it couldn’t hurt if I did it, but could be a problem if I didn’t.

Once I had the primer down I set about fully cleaning the gun and prepping for the purple base. The colour on the lid wasn’t that impressive but once I cracked the tin I was really surprised. It was a fantastic Pearl and the lid didn’t do it justice.

With a clean gun I sprayed a very light mist coat first, then 5 mins in between coats (it flashed off super quick). 2 heavier coats followed by a final mist coat. If I’m honest I ran out of paint on this final coat half way through the bike frame but decided not to bother making more as the coverage looked great anyway.

The frame was looking impressive in the base on its own:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200418/57ebb54a91ef3bb6e3ad5547d3451022.jpg

Whilst that was finished I set about mixing up my clear with the flake. I didn’t want to run out of flake or clear so I made up 300ml of each. In the end this was waaaaay too much of the flake but worked out ok with the clear.

15g of 0.008” flake was used in the 300ml and I did this by eye. Adding flake, stiring and checking the run off the stick. I didn’t bother with reducer as I thought it would be best to try and have it thicker to hold the flake up. I also didn’t bother to change the tip size either, ran 1.4mm all day.

2 coats got the coverage I wanted with a final mist coat to cover the gaps. I didn’t flood the bike with flake as I wanted enough of the purple pearl to show through for a deeper effect. I emptied the gun between coats by pouring the flake/clear back in to the mixing cup and running thinners through the gun.


No idea if all my work has paid off but once it’s cured overnight, I’ll take it outside and see what sort of effect we have.

The boss (my 7 yo) and my wife were secondary approvers.

After that I cleaned the gun again to get rid of all of the flake before I laid my clear.

What did I learn? I’m really pleased with nearly all the stages and I wouldn’t change a thing other than my approach on the clear. I tried a wide fan on the clear and I was unfortunately laying too much paint, so I got a few drips. I managed to fix a few on the fly but I’ll also have to razor blade a few and sand them back. Not a major issue as they’re all underneath the tubes, but I’m also planning on putting decals on the bike too, so I’ll have to rub back the clear for that and to clear in the decals.

So without further ado, let’s check my handy work...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200418/9e1b821c5853e22b444cdca0f2ea4475.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200418/545806ea03d4addc5c8d6e955403d243.jpg


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200418/e43622afee8d88b411f71f81020f61f1.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200418/864c5445e46b58bac2a9213d5e7ab02a.jpg



Hopefully you can get an idea but it’s impossible to photograph the effect.

wheelinround
19th Apr 2020, 10:57 AM
Neevo that looks awesome well done. Daughter will be proud to ride that and show it off. You do know tho this means by the time she is 16 and her first car is sitting in the driveway the paint job will be remembered and the spray booth will need to be much bigger unless she's into motorbikes.

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 11:05 AM
Neevo that looks awesome well done. Daughter will be proud to ride that and show it off. You do know tho this means by the time she is 16 and her first car is sitting in the driveway the paint job will be remembered and the spray booth will need to be much bigger unless she's into motorbikes.

Thanks bud! Your guidance was essential in giving me the details and confidence to do it! So huge thanks from me.

Will fix the drips today and I’ve noticed my flake coverage is a little light underneath the tubes too (feels rough).

I’m getting decals made for the bike to finish it off, so will only sand the tops/sides of the tubes to flake the clear and get it prepped for decals. Then will clear in the decals and probably sand a final time before a final flow coat.

wheelinround
19th Apr 2020, 11:47 AM
Neevo if the flake is protruding through you may need additional clear coats after sanding up to 5 coats. Very light and fine sanding 0000 steel wool soapy water use sunlight soap or dish washing liquid not scented type as getting rid of the oils in it can be arpia.

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 12:04 PM
I definitely need more clear on the undersides of the tubes. I think because I had drips there I was avoiding laying clear and so the flake isn’t buried enough.

However the clear is pretty flat over the rest of the flake, enough I don’t think I “need” to flatten it for a final clear coat.

But because I need to add decals and clear them in, that means I’ll be laying more clear anyway, so I’ll flatten the top/sides of the tubes only and then bury the flake underneath when I bury the decals too.

Then I should be able to sand the whole frame and buff.

I’m buying some 1500 & 2000 wet and dry now to do the sanding. Have 800 and 1200 on hand already.

droog
19th Apr 2020, 12:53 PM
I definitely need more clear on the undersides of the tubes. I think because I had drips there I was avoiding laying clear and so the flake isn’t buried enough.

However the clear is pretty flat over the rest of the flake, enough I don’t think I “need” to flatten it for a final clear coat.

But because I need to add decals and clear them in, that means I’ll be laying more clear anyway, so I’ll flatten the top/sides of the tubes only and then bury the flake underneath when I bury the decals too.

Then I should be able to sand the whole frame and buff.

I’m buying some 1500 & 2000 wet and dry now to do the sanding. Have 800 and 1200 on hand already.

Are you intending to clear after the decals ?
Give it a wet sand now, apply the decals then a final clear, if you get a good wet coat as the final you probably won’t need a final sand, it’s not as if you have large flat panels.

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 12:54 PM
Yes will definitely clear after decals. Thanks for the tips.

droog
19th Apr 2020, 01:58 PM
As it looks like you are going full monty with the job I would suggest the following in your case.

After decals and a clear coat you will end up with a step at the lip of the decal, I would wet sand after this coat and apply a final clear coat. I am suggesting this as corners and tight bends are a problem to buff and it is easy to burn at the crest.
If you get all the blemishes out then carefully apply a wet final coat you wont need to buff.

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 02:22 PM
Thanks droog, yep you’re right it’s a “full Monty” frame [emoji1787]

Is 2-3 coats of clear enough buildup to be able to flatten the decal and not burn through?

I assume I can also just clear in the decals part and not have to lay all that clear on the whole frame again?

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 06:29 PM
Got my wet and dry today so set about fixing the runs. I initially just used 800 grit but then moved on to a razor blade. All was going well. Managed to flatten the majority of the frame with 800 and then upped it to 1500 too in preparation for the decals and an additional few coats of clear.

However [emoji853] in my enthusiasm I managed to cut through the paint on the underside of the lower tube (trying to fix the runs), once with the razor blade and another time with the wet and dry. So annoyed with myself and whilst they’re small holes and you can’t see them when the bike is upright, they’d really bug me knowing I didn’t do it right.

Wondering what the solution was, I thought “bugger it”, I’m fixing it with paint. I’ve watched a load of “Gunman” videos on YouTube and with that false confidence I set about masking and taping the frame. I had in my head that to feather an edge slightly you fold tape in half and put the crease on the edge of your area to paint. That’s what I did with 2 small squares surrounding the parts where I’d worn through.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200419/a177040938e54115cbb7a664dab710bf.jpg

My plan was to primer, undo the tape and open up the area a little for colour, which is what I duly did.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200419/ddd2608b408994eb56ba511e6f67d3fe.jpg

I didn’t get a shot of the base on its own but here is how the lower section is at the moment. Clearly it’s obvious at the moment because it’s cleared and the rest has been rubbed back with 800 grit, but I’m pretty confident it will work, plus you’ll never know anyway because it’s underneath the bike.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200419/48283edbdd89dbb61d048f05ca989491.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200419/d1abb803d2d8f69e79076594f896e33d.jpg

Gun settings were pretty easy up until the flake. I had the fluid turned almost off and the fan almost off too. Very light mist coats building up to wet coverage when required. The flake was not as easy as it wouldn’t shoot enough flake otherwise, so I did a wet coat, then backed off and dusted it with flake from a bit further away.

Now my OCD can relax a bit knowing I’ve done my best to fix it properly and they’ll be no silver bits on show when my daughter has to do a chain or tyre change [emoji2957]

KBs PensNmore
19th Apr 2020, 07:57 PM
WOW what a fantastic paint job. Your daughter will be absolutely thrilled with it.
Top Marks to you for trying a difficult paint job and succeeding with it.
Kryn

droog
19th Apr 2020, 08:24 PM
Is 2-3 coats of clear enough buildup to be able to flatten the decal and not burn through?

Should be enough but of course depends on how thick the decals are and how much clear you lay with each coat. A couple of extra coats probably won’t hurt if you are using light coats.
And you just want to feather the lip that is created, don’t get too aggressive with rubbing it back.

neevo
19th Apr 2020, 08:33 PM
WOW what a fantastic paint job. Your daughter will be absolutely thrilled with it.
Top Marks to you for trying a difficult paint job and succeeding with it.
Kryn



Bit of a way to go before I call it a success, but it’s not a failure yet [emoji4]

wheelinround
20th Apr 2020, 10:11 AM
Neevo best get plenty hollow tube foam or rubber and when its all done make s sure that its covering every painted area!

Daughter still may need full training in how not to abuse her bike! You know falling off it, leaving it laying on the ground, learning not to crash into bushes which may scratch it! Never ever ever tell dad there is a stone chip, scratch or mention surface rust [emoji57][emoji57][emoji57][emoji848][emoji848][emoji34][emoji34]

By the time you have finished this she will have grown to big for it![emoji39]

Young proud dad next door bought his oldest son new bike about same size as you are spraying. Boy out ridding it I noticed he was struggling greatly with 1 peddling 2 turning while peddling. In 2 short months the young fellow had grown 2" his knees now hitting the handle bars, and handle bars hitting him when turning. I explained to the dad to raise the seat 2in and lean handle bars forward and raise them. 2 months on they need to buy a new bigger bike.[emoji849]

neevo
20th Apr 2020, 10:14 AM
I’m still waiting on tyres and a few other bits so hopefully I’m not eating in to too much riding time with all this messing about. Once it’s done I think I’ll be fine with it being thrown about [emoji15][emoji23]

Luckily I have a 5 year old too, so hopeful it will get a bit of use, even if I miss the eldest window with my perfectionism.

wheelinround
20th Apr 2020, 10:21 AM
Double tge fun with them both getting use

neevo
20th Apr 2020, 11:17 AM
Double tge fun with them both getting use

My 5yo has a thing for pink though. So this might all be a dry run for another paint job at some point [emoji15]

wheelinround
20th Apr 2020, 02:39 PM
[emoji849][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji848][emoji848][emoji848] Purple with candy pink stick on tennis racket grip

neevo
21st Apr 2020, 10:33 AM
I have found someone to do my decals. The large shop in town had a min $250 setup fee but a chap online will do them all for less than $50. Hate to think how much this bike is costing but easily about $300 I reckon. But that’s moderate money for a Mongoose BMX and at least my daughter will have one that’s truly bespoke.

I grabbed some EPS logos off the internet and sent them over to the guy with guesstimate dimensions. Before pulling the trigger I want to make sure they going to look right, so I printed them and did a mock-up:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200420/c1d883fcae359863c0950317a0a0610f.jpg


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200420/a5c170d9931d5edd22cdbe7dd1e50b0b.jpg

No matter how much they cost I’m definitely doing it, makes a huge difference to making the frame look finished and as factory as possible.

The letters will be done in white gloss vinyl and clear coated in.

wheelinround
21st Apr 2020, 10:36 AM
Mongoose would have been cheaper direct

droog
21st Apr 2020, 10:54 AM
Mongoose would have been cheaper direct

Yes but without the satisfaction of doing the work himself.

Looking good, but as with any paint job the first scratch will hurt.

neevo
21st Apr 2020, 11:07 AM
Mongoose would have been cheaper direct

That’s true, I sent them an email and everything but no response. All I asked for was the EPS logos too, didn’t even want any freebies.

In the end I can’t wait forever so ploughing ahead off my own back.

Should have put a different brand on there [emoji1787]

wheelinround
21st Apr 2020, 11:25 AM
Neevo bmx

neevo
21st Apr 2020, 11:25 AM
Neevo bmx

Don’t want to ruin it [emoji23]

wheelinround
21st Apr 2020, 11:34 AM
[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787] bubble wrap it

clear out
21st Apr 2020, 02:52 PM
How about your daughters name or initials?
Personalise it for her.
H.

wheelinround
21st Apr 2020, 02:59 PM
How about your daughters name or initials?
Personalise it for her.
H.But as said Henry child No2 will take it on latter

neevo
21st Apr 2020, 03:52 PM
Shout out to Michael at this place. Really easy to deal with and fast and effective responses:


https://www.vinylletteringdirect.com.au

neevo
22nd Apr 2020, 03:59 PM
I sense some mid week clear coating in my future...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200422/e2838144cf3186b57972ee39be7e3e75.jpg

neevo
22nd Apr 2020, 10:30 PM
Moving along tonight to try and close this build out. Managed to get the decals on. Taped the frame where I wanted to lay the decals and eye balled getting it centred on each tube. I got sent a few spare decals so I added them on to the fork legs. The decals came attached to transfer stickers, were super easy to attach and stuck with aggression.

Really happy with how it turned out:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200422/1e878bc0cdac67697f99c4a5b9d3ac08.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200422/412f4d0a24868c81c7cd02e124d189c4.jpg

Can’t wait to get it all cleared, colour sanded and buffed.

Also the replacement tyres came in today too. The old ones were blue and had to go:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200422/6c15f239a64c4773b386cbfcce100eac.jpg

Put these on, a little skinnier, a road tread, plus they look absolutely gorgeous I reckon and can’t wait to get them on the frame:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200422/4234609e7bb6931c1e781ff986139ee2.jpg

Forgot to mention I took the rear brake mechanism out of the hub. I hate them and think the bikes are easier to ride without them. This bike also came with a rear brake, so it’s now a free wheeler with dual brakes.

neevo
23rd Apr 2020, 06:56 PM
Stole an hour this afternoon to rub down the rest of the frame, getting rid of all the shiny bits in preparation for the final coats of clear. I did it with a scotchbrite to ensure I didn’t go too far and I also rubbed over the decals to provide a key for the clear coat.

Mixed up 150ml of clear and set about hitting the frame. This time I turned down the fan to minimal but not exactly shut and I turned the paint down too so I minimises the risk of runs again. I had almost a frame tube width of paint but it was very low.

It worked great for a light initial mist coat, 5-7 mins between coats and the second one was laid a little heavier by opening up the paint a little. I went over the entire forks and frame with my lights after the second coat to check the coverage. Noticed it was a little light in slate as.

3rd coat I went for a full coverage wet coat, so I opened up the paint again and made sure I was laying enough paint on the light areas from the second coat.

Another wait and a final 4th coat to maximise the amount of clear to run back on the decals.

I’m going to leave the clear for a few days at least to fully cure. That was a learning from when I originally tried to fix the runs. When I did the final scotchbrite today I noticed the clear was much easier to use a razor on. Obviously I was trying to fix when it was too fresh and I don’t want to run the risk of ruining this stage. I’m not sure I got any defects this time, so I’m pretty happy with that [emoji4]

I don’t normally get feedback on my projects but once the clear had flashed off I had to bring it in the house to show the missus and my eldest. The response was “WOW!”

The final sand and flow coat has made a HUGE difference. The flake is electric and the clear looks flawless, deep and incredible.

Can’t wait to get it all done.

Next up I need to wait for the clear to fully cure, then I’m going to feather the decal edges with some 2000 grit before cutting and polishing the whole bike.

neevo
24th Apr 2020, 09:29 AM
I’m calling it (nearly) done! Final clear is on and it’s looking amazing. I touched the frame last night and accidentally put a finger print in the clear coat but I’m happy to report that it’s shrunk back to nothing this morning.

Brought the frame and forks outside this morning to check the work and also to take some snaps, but it still needs a solid bake and time to let the clear go right off.

I’m not going to do much (post clear) work on it now as I’m worried I’ll mess it up, however it will get a very light going over with 2000 grit before a final cut and polish.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200423/590d4c5f3841e4cfe87335a4ee297a5d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200423/75d3fd3f1ed807dd0855757ff9f39ee5.jpg

Another reason I’m not going to rub the clear back too much can be seen in this picture. The very tips of the front decal are standing up and poking out the clear. So the front will get a very light rub back with 2000 grit before polish. The side decals are buried a lot deeper, so I’ll likely give them a good go with 2000.

Because I can’t photo the frame effect I’ve done this which hopefully shows a bit of what it does but the sparkle just can’t be captured on a screen. Has to be seen in person to appreciate it fully.

https://youtu.be/bLT-DtJIYgE

The forks and frame are now back in the shed hanging for a few days to get the clear as hard as possible before I think about sanding, cutting and polishing. Once that’s done it will be final assembly.

I’ve really enjoyed the process and love painting. I’m generally pretty handy with stuff in the garage but didn’t think this would turn out as well as this... I’ve surprised myself. Would happily do it all again.

Maybe I do need to paint the 400F tank and seat!

wheelinround
24th Apr 2020, 01:42 PM
Ed an amazing outcome once its assembled final photos pls. She is one lucky girl. Now all she needs is a BMX track, suit, kit and start racing it [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]
She'll win every race blinding all others
Thanks for the wip

neevo
25th Apr 2020, 11:38 AM
Any advice on colour sanding, cutting and buffing?

The clear was glassy to begin with and now I’ve gone over the whole bike and flattened the clear over the decals and gotten rid of the orange peel (that was pretty minor anyway). Sanded with 1500 and then 2000 grit.

Need to go and get a buffer but trying to rub the forks with Mother’s Step 1 Pure Polish it’s not really taking away the haze from the 2000 grit.

Do I need a power buffer to really polish it up or am I using the wrong starting compound?

Making a trip for a buffer this afternoon so can buy bits then to get the frame glassy hopefully.

I assume it’s just a case of using the right equipment/materials as I can see the improvement but it’s still very hazy.

droog
25th Apr 2020, 12:17 PM
You will probably need to power buff it particularly with 2k finish, ideally you should get it all sanded flat then lay a final wet coat of clear so no buffing is required as tight bends and corners are very hard to buff and easy to burn.

wheelinround
25th Apr 2020, 01:05 PM
3 stages (if its rough) otherwise 2 stage of cutting polish last being cream buff

neevo
25th Apr 2020, 01:12 PM
You will probably need to power buff it particularly with 2k finish, ideally you should get it all sanded flat then lay a final wet coat of clear so no buffing is required as tight bends and corners are very hard to buff and easy to burn.

Yep, that’s what I noticed with the clear. Glassy as it hits the frame. I’ll have a go at power buffing and if I can’t restore the gloss, I’ll rebuild the booth and hit it with another coat of clear, but I’d like to avoid that if I can. Luckily the tight corners aren’t really sanded as I can’t get in to them too easily, so it’s mostly the straight sections.

neevo
25th Apr 2020, 03:50 PM
Droog, you were right. The buffing wasn’t doing anything and I nicked the corner of the fork decals. So I’ve sanded them off the forks and now I have to rebuild the booth to lay a final coat of clear. It’s the best way to get the best result.

But annoyed, but I’d kick myself for not getting that finish back. I’m not too disappointed with the fork leg decals as I didn’t really like the fact they copied the head stem graphic, so that’s no major loss.

Booth building 2.0 [emoji19]

droog
25th Apr 2020, 06:50 PM
Two pack clear is hard, it can be buffed but as you are working with a tubular frame you will always have a high point which becomes a high pressure area when power buffing.

Take your time don’t be too aggressive with wet sanding, once you have a smooth flat finish all over hit it with one final wet coat paying attention to get a wet coat all over without runs, then let it dry and enjoy.

neevo
25th Apr 2020, 06:51 PM
Already done. Did a gentle final sand with 1000 grit and then 1 mist coat and 2 wet coats. Hanging for the last time and will start final assembly tomorrow.

droog
25th Apr 2020, 07:12 PM
:thyel:

neevo
26th Apr 2020, 03:17 PM
Build day today. Made myself a race compressor out of old decking boards and all thread:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/d13eb4e4069af5a9d55066a9bb48d675.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/71d1c061fc6f66914f7c36c56453248e.jpg

Other than initially putting the head stem races on upside down [emoji19] it all went together pretty smoothly:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/102fe7a3322cf57a608600e54baafc50.jpg

She’s all done. It’s come up beautifully (and my daughter is thrilled) although unfortunately today is pretty grey in Sydney so the flake isn’t showing its rainbow effect, just silver.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/acd0f50947c41fdb43719f2793b3afd2.jpg

wheelinround
2nd May 2020, 12:17 PM
Awesome journey learnt as we traveled with you, thanks for the WIP.
Heres to many happy days riding for daughter.

neevo
2nd May 2020, 04:04 PM
She’s loving it. Very proud of her bike and I’m hopeful it will result I being able to ride without training wheels.

wheelinround
3rd May 2020, 10:39 AM
She’s loving it. Very proud of her bike and I’m hopeful it will result I being able to ride without training wheels.I thought you'd be long past using training wheels Neevo [emoji39][emoji39] unless of course one to many [emoji481][emoji481]

neevo
3rd May 2020, 10:40 AM
I’m off the beer and drinking Vodka these days. Need the added safety of additional wheels [emoji23]