2pac or enamel/acrylic, how to tell whats been sprayed?

General Help
1

Ok, so after peeling off some vinyl decals from my newly acquired frame, it seems said decal was clear coated over.

Now the frame looks dicky with those bare spots where the decals used to be/\

So question is, if i want to re clear coat, how do i tell if it was 2pac or enamel?

I know you cant mix 2pack and enamel, but thats about as far as my knowledge extends.

Really dont want to strip it bare! i actually like the scheme.

Only thing i can think of is to spray a small area, and see what happens.

Hoping someone with first hand experience can chime in!

cheers jase.

Pic of said frame and where the blank ‘bianchi’ will show up. Also has the decals running down the seat tube and front fork legs.

2

Enamel is ridiculously soft stuff and i doubt anyone would waste their time doing a paint job like that in it. Test it with your fingernail, if you can’t make an indent then you’ve got enamel or if you’ve got some enamel thinners lying around give that a go and see if you get a reaction, otherwise its going to be either 2pak or acrylic. If that’s the case then your best to do a 2pak clear coat as it won’t react with either and will be harder than an acrylic clear coat.

3

I don’t get it why did you remove the decals in the first place that frame looked awesome as is? Your best bet is to ask a panel beater about the clear coat. Not all clear coats are clear some can contain tinting or even metallic specks.

4

Jklp - cheers for that

Imobia - because the frame is not a bianchi, good call on clear with flecks, I’ll have a closer look for that

5

Im voting acrylic. But the only way you’re going to find out is test it - the fork steerer is a good place to test, if theres any paint on it(hidden) Rub some thinners on, if paint rubs off its acrylic.

Try and avoid 2pac if possible, nasty stuff unless you have a booth and quality mask. If you do use it, take the washing off the line;) lol

6

cheers ben, was gonna start with a small patch on the fork, but didnt even think to try the steerer!

7

where did you find that jase?!

8

gumtree =)

9

Had that in watched list on eBay too, one size too big for me otherwise I may have pipped you at the post. Good buy. If the frame is not a Bianchi do you know what it is?

10

pipped me at the post? hahah…

gumtree bud, no pipping of any post =)

and nah, no idea unforutnately.

11

Whats the verdict on the paint Jase?

12

stripped all the decals off, the fork legs, top tube and seat tube, definitely clear coat over the decals as it left a batch of bare paint. The down tube however, he applied on top of the clear coat, so that cleans up fine.

but nah, didnt have any paint thinner lyin around, will have to try and get to bunnings tonight after work.

13

if it’s got clear it will be acrylic.
lightly rub the clear with steel wool and blend it flat near where the decals are, then just re-clear in 2pac (or get a auto painter to throw clear over it)

14

^ that was my plan, still got to test it with some thinner to be sure.

15

how did you go Jase?

16

ahh been busy as, and was sick today. So been out of action for a while. This weekends gonna be choccas as the missus is holding a stall at the Perth Buddah Festival, so no time.

Youd think it’d be easy to duck out to bunnings for some paint thinner aye!

17

There’s different thinners for acrylic and enamel. Don’t know if that makes any difference? Might be better off going to a Repco or the like rather than Bunnings - better range for that kind of thing.

I sprayed acrylic clear last year. Its tricky. A spraypaint buddy says that 2pac is easier to get a consistent result as it has a cure time, rather than the instant evaporation of acrylic. I’d take it to a frame painter to be recoated. Probably won’t save you much dough trying to do it yourself, and a lot of fkn about.