Any advice on the easiest / cheapest way to paint a set of carbon bars? I'm thinking primer, plus base, plus clear coat. But I want to do it myself and am wondering if spray paint from Home Depot will do the job or if this is a disaster waiting to happen. Do I need to remove existing clear coat and/or sand before primer? Any experience out there? Thanks.
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Re: Painting Carbon - Cobra T2+ Aero/Bae Bars [TrueGrit]
[ In reply to ]
No need to prime, that's really to seal and prep a surface, but your bars are already sealed with the epoxy and/or clear coat. Scuff it up with some super fine grit sand paper or green scratch pad, then I'd go to an auto store and buy some of their auto spray paint in the color you want, probably dont need a clear....I've researched it before and not positive but I think most of those are designed to be used w/out a clear coat (single stage I think they call it?). Although a clear would give another layer; but multiple layers of color would do the same. FYI, I used a clear one some of my road bars a few years ago, stock stickers were peeling and it just looked like crap so I sanded the remaining sticker/decals down and put a heavy coat of clear in. Looked great and lasted for the year + that I used them.
Re: Painting Carbon - Cobra T2+ Aero/Bae Bars [GREG_n_SD]
[ In reply to ]
I've just painted my P2 and alloy bars. You only need to scuff/sand the clearcoat for the next paint layer to adhere to, you don't need to actually remove it all. The purpose of the clearcoat is to act as a barrier to scratches and provide a gloss finish. If you don't use a clear coat, alot of scratches will go through the colour into the base colour (black carbon in your case) which will show through your colour coat.
I don't know what quality spray cans are. I used spray painting equipment (compressor & HVLP spray gun) with auto quality acrylic lacquer.
If you use a spray can and it doesn't work out, you could sand it all back to carbon and clear coat it again. The clear coat will be more forgiving to errors as it can be lightly sanded (1500-2000 grit wet) and polished/waxed to restore the gloss. I'm not sure a colour coat can be sanded & polished.
BTW if you do decide to go ahead, make sure you clean it down with wax & grease remover or acetone before painting and keep your hands off it. The paint will not stick to grease (especially important around the bolts where grease may end up). I would also tape off the area of the stem clamp, as clamping that area after painting may damage or cause the colour coat to flake off.
I don't know what quality spray cans are. I used spray painting equipment (compressor & HVLP spray gun) with auto quality acrylic lacquer.
If you use a spray can and it doesn't work out, you could sand it all back to carbon and clear coat it again. The clear coat will be more forgiving to errors as it can be lightly sanded (1500-2000 grit wet) and polished/waxed to restore the gloss. I'm not sure a colour coat can be sanded & polished.
BTW if you do decide to go ahead, make sure you clean it down with wax & grease remover or acetone before painting and keep your hands off it. The paint will not stick to grease (especially important around the bolts where grease may end up). I would also tape off the area of the stem clamp, as clamping that area after painting may damage or cause the colour coat to flake off.
nickag wrote:
I've just painted my P2 and alloy bars. You only need to scuff/sand the clearcoat for the next paint layer to adhere to, you don't need to actually remove it all. The purpose of the clearcoat is to act as a barrier to scratches and provide a gloss finish. If you don't use a clear coat, alot of scratches will go through the colour into the base colour (black carbon in your case) which will show through your colour coat. I don't know what quality spray cans are. I used spray painting equipment (compressor & HVLP spray gun) with auto quality acrylic lacquer.
If you use a spray can and it doesn't work out, you could sand it all back to carbon and clear coat it again. The clear coat will be more forgiving to errors as it can be lightly sanded (1500-2000 grit wet) and polished/waxed to restore the gloss. I'm not sure a colour coat can be sanded & polished.
BTW if you do decide to go ahead, make sure you clean it down with wax & grease remover or acetone before painting and keep your hands off it. The paint will not stick to grease (especially important around the bolts where grease may end up). I would also tape off the area of the stem clamp, as clamping that area after painting may damage or cause the colour coat to flake off.
+1. Everything Nickag said is good.
A couple add-ons. You'll may want to wet-sand (it's what we do). Dry sanding could cause you to breathe in the clear coat dust. Have a bucket of water and the sandpaper and sand away (wear a smock). Auto-quality paint is the way to go.
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