[sam_little]

Hey all,
So I'm doing up a new commuter bike, trying to make it look sort of old-school MTB, as in PPA (pre-purple-anno).

I rattlecanned the frame with heavy-duty primer, then 4 coats of the best spraypaint money could buy, and then clearcoated it several times with a polyurethane clearcoat (all products Rustoleum). It looks really nice, but the clearcoat has a soft, gel like feeling to it, even after several days of dry time. It is so soft that I can dent it with a fingernail, which means it will be obliterated the first time I jam the frame against a bike rack or lean it against a building.

For future reference, is there a better product that standard clearcoat that is compatible with normal spraypaint?

Thanks.

 

[urbaindk]

See if you can find somebody with a big oven you can bake it in (autobody shop) or leave it out in the hot sun for a few days. That might harden it up a bit.

 

[biketiger]

You can leave it in the hot sun for a few days. If it is that thick, it will take a while to harden completely.

 

[sam_little]

Okay, it's been sitting in a cool garage, so maybe it just hasn't been long enough.

 

[chicodude]

Okay, it's been sitting in a cool garage, so maybe it just hasn't been long enough.

Yea, After you are done painting, Baking it in the sun for days is good.

 

[sam_little]

Actually, on that note, can someone send the sun up to Oregon for me? Not raining anymore, but still overcast, and I want to build this thing up!

 

[fiddy_ryder]

sounds like too many coats of clear that were too heavy and didnt have much cure time inbetween. set it up by the water heater, or in the house. If its raining or damp out, it will take that much longer. warm dry is what you want.

 

[chicodude]

Actually, on that note, can someone send the sun up to Oregon for me? Not raining anymore, but still overcast, and I want to build this thing up!

Heat lamps......Or every lamp in the house.

 

[Polandspring88]

Bah, I'm sorry to hear that you used Rustoleum. I used the Rustoleum clear coat last summer when I painted my frame, and to this day it is still not hard. Several months past the time when I painted it I could dent it with my fingernail, and I can do so now. It is unfortunate since the paint came out very nice, the clear coat just has never dried and has consequently gotten indents from the bike rack straps and other things. Tis a damned shame.

My boss from the machine shop said to use some clear coat that you would apply to motorcycle wheels. In his experience it has been very durable and hasn't chipped.