Dumb Painting Question

[user 13947]

New to the site. Love it. This is my first restore project. I have a 1959 Columbia I am restoring. It was black when I got it. I wire wheeled it down to the first coat of paint, which is kind of a royal blue. But, there's some red underneath which I'm not sure of. The blue will not come off and I cannot get it down to the metal. My question is this. Do you need to prime this first even though the original paint is present? Or do you just find the blue that it was, and do it that color to save time?

 

[BikeBuilders]

You should only have to prime if it's down to the bare metal.

 

[B607]

The red underneath is probably primer. Sand it to rough up the blue paint just a bit then wipe it down with lacquer thinner and paint away. Gary

 

[Wildcat]

If there's no rust under the original, then it's keeping the metal protected, just sand it and paint. 2 coats should work well to cover the old paint. You can use a primer, but remember to use the same brand primer as paint. When I've used primer, the color of the paint seemed brighter.

Also, you might be able to find a Columbia chain guard here, ask in the wanted section.

 

[user 13947]

Thank you all for the tips. Getting the paint today. I did find a Columbia chainguard. Thanks again...

 

[Fahrrad]

I know this is late, but if the paint is good and not pealing, rough it up and paint it. The existing paint will probably be a better primer than what you would spray on. Just my .02