Frame respray?

stumpymark

Anyone recommend a good frame respray company? I live in Sussex and work in London. Friend told me to try Vaz in Lewisham, sounded helpful on the phone but then heard quality can be a bit iffy? Cheap though at £80? Called Argus or Argos is it ? in Bristol - but very pricey!

Also what~s best, powder coated or stove enamel? It'a an ali FS frame. Appreciate anyone who's had experience,

nicklouse

Argos racing is the best. (so we hear).

how much have you got to spend?

Anonymous

Argos is good but their paint is very fragile and chip so easily from stones hitting on frame, they are good for road bikes IMO

I think powder coating is better for MTB frames as they are more durable to handle stone chips, why not try this:-

http://www.triple-s.co.uk/

allthegearnoidea

i'd have a nose in hte local directory for powder coaters, if you supply them with the frame mius all parts and as degreased as possible they tend to prefer it from what i hear but around £40 gets the job done!

mattbarnes

Stumpymark

I had a litespeed Niota AL full-susser resprayed by Bob Jackson Cycles. The quality and workmanship was top-notch and they were a really helpful bunch. Because I wanted the front and rear triangles painted in different colours it cost fractionally more but it was worth paying for to get the bike looking fresh and up to date. Around £100 all in.
They're based in Leeds (which is a far cry from where you are) but they offer a courier collection and delivery service which means the frame goes from door to door.
The only downside is that it took six weeks to get the job done and if you haven't got another bike to ride it can be a long stretch to go without!

Check them out at:

bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/resprays.php

Highly recommended.

Northwind

Paint is for looking at, powdercoat or stove enamlling is for using. Powdercoat's very tough, and very impact resistant- it's got a very slightly soft finish so it doesn't shatter or crack under impacts. It's what I'd use. It's not even expensive either, an absolute first class, interesting finish from Aerocoat or Triple S costs less than a basic spray job generally. People often think powdercoat's dull to look at, but you can get lovely candy or high gloss powdercoats, or Aerocoat's special finishes like their smoked chrome...

Only thing to watch for is that you want a coater who knows how to mask off a bike, and how to apply a good cosmetic finish- many coaters are industrial finishers, you don't want an industrial finish... I'd suggest trying to find out who does the motorbike stuff for you locally, a quick skim through Streetfighters magazine classifieds would be a good start- bikers are very choosy about their powdercoaters. Or, just go to Triple S, they work by post and it's a little more expensive but they're first class.

Harry182

I've done a fair bit of research into this myself. Scanned a lot of forums and Armourtex in East London seems to get the best reviews. Apparently they are serious perfectionists and will do the job over if you aren't totally happy.

http://armourtex.tripod.com/

Loun88

Second for armourtex, very fast turn around took mine and my friends 3 days for them to do it. Just turn up with your frame and parts, they charged us £66 on a steel frame for any colour and metallic gloss.

stumpymark

Sorry for not getting back sooner but been on hols. Thanks for all your suggestions I haved heard of Armourtex so will give them a call.

Won't be done till autumn time, but will post a response on how it goes with photo.