Spraying
It’s essential that you understand and follow the spray distances. These are the distances from the can in your hand to the metal being sprayed. They vary depending on the product:
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Solid colours (BLB, Pop, Historic, Vintage, Fluorescent, Pocket Solids): 5-12 cm
As Spray.Bike cans are pressurised, there’s an optimum distance at which the paint is effective on leaving the nozzle: 5-12 centimetres. In this ‘window’ the paint is semi-wet and the pigment is perfectly primed to do its job properly. Under 5 centimetres, faults can occur. After 12 or 14 centimetres the paint will have turned into a dry powder dust with little adhesion at all.
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Pocket Clears, Frame Builder’s Smoothing Putty, Frame Builder’s Transparent Finish, Frame Builder’s Cold-Zinc, Frame Builder’s Metal Primer, Frame Builder’s Carbon Primer, Frame Builder’s Metal Plating: at least 20 cm
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Keirin Flake and Keirin Sunlight: at least 30 cm
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Frame Builder’s Top Wax: Spray onto a paper towel or soft lint-free cloth and apply gently.
Spray.Bike cans must always be held vertically while spraying. When the can is horizontal, the gas propellant rather than the paint is driven into the nozzle, creating a high-pressure paint spit that will land unevenly as lumps.
Always move your hand continuously while spraying, as this ensures an even coating. Touch-ups can always be done later – don’t over-apply the paint in a single coat.
If re-using the paint after storage, test spray first. If the paint seems to splatter, replace the nozzle as the existing one is probably clogged.
Polishing
For best results, always polish Spray.Bike solid colours with kitchen paper or a lint-free soft cloth. A gentle pressure and polish action will compact the paint’s surface for greater strength. This is best done before the paint has completely cured, so polish within two hours of spraying.
Be more careful where colours meet in order to avoid physically forcing colours to bleed.
Drying
For best results, don’t be impatient! Although the coating does seem to dry rapidly (touch dry in a few seconds), it’s always best to let the paint completely dry over a 12 hour period before re-building the bike.
Dealing with problems
Getting areas where the paint has landed as a powder (and has a rougher surface) will happen – but this is easily solved. Leave the paint to completely dry, then using a soft cloth rub gently to smooth the surface.
If you do make a mistake (e.g. put colour in the wrong place or over-apply the product), wait for the spray to completely dry (max 2 hours). Then using a very fine sandpaper or other abrasive material, slowly rub away the paint. Don’t use a traditional solvent paint remover though as it will damage the acrylic compound in Spray.Bike and you’ll end up making more mess.
Remember that the spray distance for the solid colours is 5-12 cm, whereas the spray distance for the Pocket Clears, Frame Builder’s Transparent Finish, Frame Builder’s Smoothing Putty, Frame Builder’s Cold-Zinc, Frame Builder’s Metal Primer, Frame Builder’s Carbon Primer and the Frame Builder's Metal Plating range is at least 20 cm. For the Keirin Collection, it's at least 30 cm.
The Frame Builder’s Top Wax shouldn't be sprayed directly onto the frame. Instead, spray onto a paper towel or soft lint-free cloth and apply gently.