Paint - Urg!

I've managed to exceed my talents as a painter!

The attempt at lug-lines with a paint-pen was a failure because it left way too thick a line. This was my first example of not leaving well enough alone.

Before doing anymore painting, I reamed and faced the headtube (cyclus tool - cuts great). Then I gave a 1st ream to the seat tube and cut it's slot. The first ream was to 27.0mm, but after cutting the slot, a 27.2 post went in a way. I clamped the post over night, and now it's snug on the 27.2. So, I'll ream it to full diameter soon. As a side note, I bought an adjustable reamer (size I?) that goes from about 27.0 to 30.0mm from Enco. It's made in India (they have to eat too, but I'd feel better about buying American), so it only cost $16.95 (which is why I could buy one now). It takes some fiddling to set to the right diameter - but it cuts great! I couldn't be happier with it as a tool - which is not my usual reaction when using cheap tools from Asia. Along with my cheap India files, its on my keeper list.

My second example of not leaving well enough alone was to try correcting the too thick lug lines by spraying over them. It hadn't occurred to me that the clear coat would be a problem, but removing the masking tape lifted some of the clear coat and damaged the paint underneath. In retrospect, I probably should have scuffed the paint before applying clear coat for a better bond. And, I probably should have tried to sand down the clearcoat before masking and spraying.

Anyhow, I've done some very selective touch up since then. Now I'm sanding down the edges of layers where peeling occurred. Once these are smooth I can try finishing with clear coat and be done with it. If this doesn't work, I'll probably have to try having the frame bead-blasted and repainting from scratch (which might end up looking pretty good if I chose not to repeat the mistakes from this go around). I have my fingers crossed.

In a related note, he Rustoleum clear needed to go on thick to dry down smooth. However, it was very sensitive to the distance between can and surface. So, on a round tube, the face would dry smooth, but the edges would feel rough. This was true even if one worked up and down around the tube so it was all wet at once - the last stroke would be smooth in the middle and rough on the edges.

When the store was out of Rustoleum clear I tried some Ace Hardware clear. This goes on thinner (and the can creates a finer mist), but seems to dry smooth all the way around. I'm a convert.

That's it for now. Hope to be on the road soon.