In addition to painting my own frames, I also repair steel frames and paint other frames, from mountain bikes to road bikes except for carbon and aluminum. Steel frame repairs include frame and fork alignment, braze-ons, and tube replacements.
I prefer DuPont Imron, a two-part polyurethane epoxy paint, for is durability and fade resistance. The current DuPont catalog has 300 solid and metallic colors; also available are Imron colors from previous catalogs, pearls, and custom mixes. In the shop are pieces of tube painted with the colors chosen by my customers over the last forty years.
First the frame is stripped chemically and inspected for rust or other damage; then the frame receives a phosphoric acid bath which inhibits corrosion and promotes primer adhesion. The primer coat is DuPont polyurethane epoxy and the color coat is two to three coats. After application of decals, the clearcoat is applied in multiple layers with sanding at various points to achieve desired thickness depending on the type of decals used and finish desired.
A large selection of reproduction decals is available for many American custom and production frames and for many European and Japanese production frames.
The average delivery time for a paint job is a month to six weeks. Upon receipt of the frame I will mail you a color chart if requested, and I can also send painted tube samples if desired.
Frames
Custom frame & fork: $3500
Includes fork crown engraved CKC, shift pegs or Ergo/STI adapters, under bottom bracket cable guides, braze-on front derailleur mount, two sets of bottle mounts, pump peg, stainless steel top tube tunnel, and nickel-plated dropouts.