What is the process of painting my bike? I want it to be durable and look kickass. What do I do after I strip my parts of my bike?
Painting My Ride
- Thread starter turbojames
- Start date
I'd send it to a powder coating place. Thats the most durable for a bike.
whats that cost usually?
A single frame will run anywhere from $80 - $150. Shop around.
Yep, and they will also probably strip the old finish for you.
what they said is best. to get a professional finish you need special equipment
If I want to do the whole job myself, what do I do to strip the paint (just go to the hardware store and get some stripper/thinner)? Then, do I spray on a primer and then my paint color of choice. After that, clear coat it? How durable is this finish?
I'm thinking a primer with a clear coat over it might be in my future. Does that sound like a good, long lasting paint job?
I'm thinking a primer with a clear coat over it might be in my future. Does that sound like a good, long lasting paint job?
btt
The best thing about powder coating is there is no cure time, like you would have with standard paint. Once it is cool, you can build and ride it, you can't do that otherwise. Well not unless you want every scratch and ding to show up for the first week or two.
I don't like spray paint much. Unless you have the means of applying automotive paint I'd go with a good powdercoater. The best way to remove the old paint is sand blasting, if you have a sand blaster you're all set, if not the powder coater will have one.
Like somebody else said, if you want a professional look you need professional tools. Rattle cans won't be found in any professional shop. If you want that primer look why not just spray it with primer and ditch the clear coat, when you get a scratch just shoot it with a little more primer, if the primer runs out and you get another primer color then you have a bike that looks like the hick's truck that was supposed to be painted years ago but the project got put on hold again and again.
Like somebody else said, if you want a professional look you need professional tools. Rattle cans won't be found in any professional shop. If you want that primer look why not just spray it with primer and ditch the clear coat, when you get a scratch just shoot it with a little more primer, if the primer runs out and you get another primer color then you have a bike that looks like the hick's truck that was supposed to be painted years ago but the project got put on hold again and again.
I think I'm gonna get my frame powdercoated. Does the paint on the bike now have to be removed? Can I do this myself (even if I don't have a powdercoater)? How can I do this?
James
James
The best way would be to use a sand blaster.
If you don't have a sand blaster you could put a mildly abrasive wheel (something like a scotchbrite wheel) in a hand drill or die grinder and sand it off. It'll take you a couple days to do a whole frame though.
if youve never used a sandblaster before, dont do it yourself. ive had bad experiences with aluminum warping after a good sand blast. if you take a flat sheet of aluminum and blast it, its turn into a curved peice, the sand blaster with lengthen the surface by sreading out the material, and if you dont do a perfectly even coat, there will be stressed points on your frame. id get it professionally done with glass bead. as for painting, if it comes in a spray can, dont use it, it WONT last. and for gods sake, dont paint it with automotive stuff if you dont have a spray booth and proper respirator with particle filters. best bet, take it to the powdercoater, have them strip it and powder coat it. itll save you $$ in the long run. (and automotive paint, a respirator and a gun will run you about the same as the powdercoat, if not significantly more)
1. Strip your bike of all its parts.
2. Call powdercoating places and find someone you feel comfortable with and who is reasonably priced. Also, check to see if they have any frames around that they have recently done. Make sure to tell them they need to strip off previous paint.
3. Pick out a color for your bike.
4. Set up an appointment to have it powdercoated and take it in.
5. Throw all parts back on the bike, now's a good time to upgrade too.
6. Ride the $h*t out of the bike and see if you can put a scratch in that pretty new paint job.
Side not for #2: You can sand the frame down with anything you like, sandblaster, sandpaper, glass bead, whatever you want, but you run the risk of damaging the frame with the sandblaster and glass beading since you don't know what you are doing. Sandpaper and stripper is a viable option, but what is your time worth? I guarntee you if you go that route, your time will be worth about a $1/hour, in other words, not worth the $ you would save paying someone to strip the frame for you. Just realize it's going to cost you between $80-$180 depending on the frame for both the stripping of the previous paint and the powdercoating of the new color you chose.
I hope this helps.
2. Call powdercoating places and find someone you feel comfortable with and who is reasonably priced. Also, check to see if they have any frames around that they have recently done. Make sure to tell them they need to strip off previous paint.
3. Pick out a color for your bike.
4. Set up an appointment to have it powdercoated and take it in.
5. Throw all parts back on the bike, now's a good time to upgrade too.
6. Ride the $h*t out of the bike and see if you can put a scratch in that pretty new paint job.
Side not for #2: You can sand the frame down with anything you like, sandblaster, sandpaper, glass bead, whatever you want, but you run the risk of damaging the frame with the sandblaster and glass beading since you don't know what you are doing. Sandpaper and stripper is a viable option, but what is your time worth? I guarntee you if you go that route, your time will be worth about a $1/hour, in other words, not worth the $ you would save paying someone to strip the frame for you. Just realize it's going to cost you between $80-$180 depending on the frame for both the stripping of the previous paint and the powdercoating of the new color you chose.
I hope this helps.
Why repaint it?
To me a spraypainted bike is synonomys with a dodgy/stolen bike.. But then again.. that's just my personal opinion..
And they usually look ****e too..
Good paint is ALL boring work.. If the underlying layers is poorly done the end result will suck terrible..
But then again.. Just picked up a frame from the airbrush artist so....
To me a spraypainted bike is synonomys with a dodgy/stolen bike.. But then again.. that's just my personal opinion..
And they usually look ****e too..
Good paint is ALL boring work.. If the underlying layers is poorly done the end result will suck terrible..
But then again.. Just picked up a frame from the airbrush artist so....
Didn't dump have a big thread about the ratle can process on here somewhere a while ago?. I've seen his bike and had no idea is was not the stock paint job.
Painted a road fork flat black this fall and have ridden that bike in the city almost every day since then and the primer with about 4 couts of flat black on top has remained scratch free. It does look dirty all the time, as would any flat color/primer.
If the frame is not worth much and you want to experiment, go nuts.
Do get the paint removed by someone else, I spent hours removing it myself and was never really happy with the results.
Good Luck
Painted a road fork flat black this fall and have ridden that bike in the city almost every day since then and the primer with about 4 couts of flat black on top has remained scratch free. It does look dirty all the time, as would any flat color/primer.
If the frame is not worth much and you want to experiment, go nuts.
Do get the paint removed by someone else, I spent hours removing it myself and was never really happy with the results.
Good Luck