wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (12/16/84)
While we're on the subject of painting your bicycle, does anyone know
anything about Ditzler's Delthane paint? (It was also mentioned in the
Bike Tech article.) A local (Seattle) bike shop recommended a frame
painter who uses this stuff. Both he and the shop seem to think it's
superior to Imron - in fact, that Imron is the stuff of the past and
Delthane is the stuff of the future. Delthane is also polyurethane-
based (hence very tough), but is a laquer paint (Imron is an enamel).
Purported advantages over Imron: it's even tougher to chip (he demonstrated
this by hammering on the inside of an auto engine compartment that he painted
with the stuff); it's almost impervious to chemicals (i.e, sweat); and
in the event that the finish does get damaged, the touch-up can be rubbed
into the surrounding area (a nice property of laquer paints).
Finally, since Imron is made for industrial applications, it's colors tend
to be concentrated toward the drab end of the spectrum. Delthane, on the
other hand, is made for dressing up cars - lots of pearlescents and metallics
available in HOT colors.
Has anyone out there had any experience with this paint?
Dave Wagner
University of Washington Comp Sci Department
wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa}
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