Rob,
You'll get the best results from a professional painter who has bike experience. You might check with some motorcycle painters.
You can ship a frame with the fork removed via the US Postal Service for well under $40 each way.
If you want to do the job yourself, here's some suggestions for rattle can painting.
1. Remove the old paint. You can have it sand blasted or do it yourself with paint remover. Sand blasters can get heavy handed and if there are any areas in the stays that might be thin from internal rust, they can blast holes in the old tubes.
2. Get a premium quality primer that will be compatible with your top coat paint. They used to make an epoxy based primer. Some primers will tend to lift when you put a top coat on them.
3. Apply a very light coat of primer and let it dry for several days. Get some auto body spotting putty to fill in gaps and pits. Let the putty dry for several hours and lightly sand out with 600 grit paper.
4. Apply a very light second coat of primer and let it dry completely.
5. Apply a very thin coat of the top color and let it dry completely. Apply a second coat as needed to cover any thin spots. Lightly sand out any runs or rough spots. Don't worry about the top coat finish too much as the clear coat will give you a smooth finish Solid colors like black or white are easiest to work with.
6. Find a clear finish coat and make sure that it's compatible with your primer and top coat. Test them on an unfinished metal surface if possible.
7. After the clearcoat has hardened for a week or so you can polish out any rough spots with some automotive rubbing compound.
Thin coats are much less likely to chip or peel.
Good luck,
Charles Colerich Oakland, CA
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