Frame painting

[83Butch]

Ok, Looking for some input here, Ive already had one Chinese carbon frame and I painted it orange with my own spray equipment. And to be honest the Finish was ok but it whore like shit. This time I've gone for a UD frame (cs-821 from peter) and have noticed a lot of plain black frame pics on this forum. Do you guys leave it as it is? do you spray it back or do you just lacquer it? if you do spray anything on it what do you use?

[Midwest-MTBer]

I have a UD 036 and to be honest I wish I had painted it flat black. The UD isn't bad, but it's definitely noticeable. You can see the layup of the carbon pretty easily. In my opinion it would be better painted.

[Patrick C.]

but it whore like shit

One of the best typos I've seen in a while


If I wanted black, I'd probably just leave it unpainted.  Paint does help protect a little from scratches, but it will only stop the minor cosmetic ones. 

If I were going to paint mine I'd want a color, like red- had Peter do mine and it has held up well for almost two years now.

[Klaster_1]

If I were going to paint mine I'd want a color, like red- had Peter do mine and it has held up well for almost two years now.

This, most of frame sellers offer a painting service. Go for any color if that's your thing. I own two UD matte frames/rims, all of those look just fine in my book, not a single issue regarding outer layer during last three years.

[carbonazza]

The UD or 3k you see are in fact lacquered, in matte by default.
And the painting can add 100-150g

[adbl]

I purchased my 057 frame from Peter and them paint it. I added a little color as i didn't want a completely black frame. I considered painting it myself as i have all the equipment and knowledge needed but honestly I couldn't justify the cost. He charged my $50.00 to paint it.......can't go wrong!!

I can say painting is all about the prep work. So far mine still looks great with no peeling or surface blemishes (other than chips created by me). If you're purchasing a new frame i would suggest seriously considering letting them paint it.

[bxcc]

I have 3 generic frames at the house. All came UD or 3k matte finish and I added some vinyl decals to them. Pretty easy to pull the decals off if I want to change up the color.

Peter did paint some rims for my wife's bike though. They look fantastic, color matched perfectly, and have been holding up great too. I would definitely let him paint my stuff in the future. For the cost, it just isn't worth the hassle.