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[Il Palazzo]

Surely, somebody here has painted a bicycle before and can give me some hints to save what's left of my hair.

Sometime ago I got meself an old roadbike, which I recently decided to renovate.

Among other things, I cleaned it thoroughly, sandpapered the whole thing (it's a steel frame), then bought: a can of acrylic-based primer, a can of car paint and a can of clear varnish to coat it all, and applied it to the frame.

The coating looks nice and even, and I should be a happy camper.

But for fuck's sake, it's as durable as gingerbread man's bollocks. It flakes away exposing the metal with any handling that isn't ridiculously careful. It's pissing me off something fierce.
There's no way it's going to last in actual use. I imagine simple leaning it against a hard surface will leave a gashing wound in the coating.

I'm thinking going with a car paint wasn't the best choice. Or maybe the preparation wasn't right. Maybe I shouldn't use acrylic?
What kind of paint/technique should I use to end up with a nicely looking bike that will carry the look for many seasons?
If you've got some links to specific products, feel free post them here and I'll have a look.

I wish I knew what they used for the original paintjob that I had sandpapered to oblivion. It survived something like 20-30 years without much damage (and was a bitch to get off).

Cheers.

[nenjin]

As a more expensive solution, you could get it powder-coated.

They basically cover the frame and parts in this powder, and then bake it. The powder transforms into this tacky coating that is very durable, while still being pretty thin and light.

Otherwise, yeah, I'd think the acrylic primer is your problem. Research what kind of spray paints are good for the material of the frame. My guess is the material is too slick and smooth for the acrylic primer to bond to.

[acetech09]

Best thing to do would be to powdercoat it.

If powdercoating's not an option, find an auto body shop and have them shoot proper 2-part paint on it. One-part paint just isn't that durable.

If that's not an option, grab this: http://www.eastwood.com/paints/2k-aero-spray-paints.html
It's canned 2-part paint that will be much more durable than any evaporative stuff.

I can keep going on and on with cheaper ways to paint a bike, but will stop here unless requested to continue. I do a LOT of painting/surface finishing, so I feel like I know my paints pretty well.

[That Wolf]

Ive never had problems with any off the shelf spraypaint.
My last bike paint started flaking off when it began to rust.
Just dont buy cheap or low quality paint.

[Il Palazzo]

Best thing to do would be to powdercoat it.

Cheers, I think I'll just pay a shop to get it done. It's not that much more expensive than what all the paint I bought cost me, and that was a complete waste of money.

In your opinion, what's the best way to add some finishing details to a powder coated frame? The shops that do it around here only offer single-colour coating, and that just won't do for a properly pimped-out bicycle.
Will a regular spray paint (acrylic? synthetic?) be enough, and keep well? Maybe better use some coloured stickers (I just need some different-coloured lines here and there)? Something else?

[Eagleon]

Bit late, but out of curiosity, did you clean it after sanding it as well? Bits of metal dust might be why you aren't getting a strong bond.

[Il Palazzo]

Yeah. Cleaned and degreased.

[nenjin]

Detail work would probably be done best by hand-painting. Could check your local bike shops to see if they have a lead on someone who does graphic work for bikes.

[acetech09]

If you want to do detail, hand-brushing on pigmented epoxy is going to be super durable.

[Il Palazzo]

pigmented epoxy

Care to link me to an example of a product? I need to translate this to my native language terms, and it'd be easier to have a reference.

[acetech09]

Something like this http://www.amazon.com/AeroMarine-Clear-Epoxy-Resin-Counter/dp/B0047R0J44 (get a good high-quality clear epoxy from a marine/boating store if possible) plus http://www.amazon.com/Pigment-Epoxy-Polyester-Gelcoat-Marine/dp/B00RDE87VA/

[Il Palazzo]

Cheers all, acetech09 especially. That's all I need for now. I'll get it done later next month, once I get my pay check and can afford it.
Feel free to add more opinions and expertise in the meantime, if you wish.