Epoxy primer over "vintage" paint

[justride]

A few years back I purchased a complete 1953 Hornet girls bike. The thing had been garaged, so there is remarkably little rust. Unfortunately, there is some hardened black gunk on the frame that simply won't come off without damaging the paint, so I'm going to have to repaint it. I'm taking the opportunity to change up the colors to something a bit more interesting than blue and white.

So here's what I'm thinking. I sand (but not strip) all the painted parts, sand out the rust, etc., and then hit them with some 2K epoxy primer and essentially lock in the old paint - saving a ton of time, etc... I have used epoxy primer on bare metal before with good results, and I think the epoxy primer will adhere to the old paint pretty well.

Thoughts?

 

[Jamie825]

I'm far from being a expert but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You don't see body shops stripping cars down to bare metal every time they paint one. I Don't understand why everyone on here strips down to bare metal. But it is fairly easy to get a bike down to the metal with a few tools or even just sandpaper. I'm guessing that's why they do.but the bike should be fine as long as you use quality materials.

 

[justride]

I agree, Jamie. Oddly this is the first vintage frame I have built that wasn't a complete rust bucket or previously painted with house paint - new territory for me.