Just an amateur here, sitting in front of a screen while I get over a bad cold, but I have two answers. First the best way to do this is to use an epoxy primer. When I received my Vintique steel wheels I had a paint shop spray them with epoxy primer in anticipation of rock chips on the wheels. However I do not know the exact name of the primer. Second when I got my Brookville frame it was totally bare and I just gave it a light sanding by hand and sprayed it with three coats of Rustoleum black enamel from a rattle can(s). That was done in July in hot weather and the enamel dried quickly. I don't think this is the best thing to do but I wanted to get it covered quickly and that was before I knew about the epoxy primer. Now after a year and a half of puttering around the frame it has held up pretty good and I plan to give it a touch up coat here and there before I bolt the body on but you really ought to see some of the buildups by Henry Rifle and C9x to see what a quality paint job can look like on a frame. My excuse is that I am putting fenders all around so the frame will be totally covered except from the bottom and only visible when on a rack. Some of the folks here have beautiful paint jobs on frames of various colors with a finished gloss, so you have to decide whether you just want to get it covered now or get it to a paint shop. Note that just using rattle can primer may not be a good idea since most primers do not seal out water. Primers are intended to be porous to get good adhesion from a top coat. That is why I used an enamel right away, although I guess you could use rattle can primer followed by rattle can enamel. Probably some of the real paint experts will have better answers so wait a day if you can and read their suggestions.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder