Painting my bike!

[jhawk]

Hi all,

As a bit of a winter project, I've decided that I'm going to re-paint by new touring bike.

I've looked at multiple guides online and such, and as such, I'd love to do it myself - rather than pay someone else to do it. As the process appears to be fairly simple. The colours, I'm unsure on - I'm thinking a black/red combination.

I'm going to keep the trekking bars and stem that I have on it, I might just paint and re-foam them.

Does anyone know of any sites that allow you to "paint" kind of a virtual representation of the colour scheme of your bike?

Can anyone offer any tips when it comes to painting? (this might be done indoors - as there'll be snow on the ground soon and the shed isn't exactly large and spacious and is currently filled by a ride-on lawnmower. I've also not got a bike stand at the moment.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Like any painting it's all about the preparation.

Brush painting won't give a great visual result without hours and hours and hours of sanding between coats.

Aerosols give a decent finish if the prep is good and time is taken in it's application.

An airbrush gives a great finish but would be costly to buy, perhaps you can hire one?

The best finish for overall apperance and durability is powder coat, but this can't be done domestically.

As for painting in the house, brush painting OK, anything else I would never attempt to be honest due to fumes and fallout landing everywhere.

 

[Lanzecki]

Everything Smokey said.

Just to add.
Preperation, Preperation, Preperation.

 

[biggs682]

if you are going to that much trouble have it bead blasted then powder coated

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I did my Raleigh Sensor in Black/Red way back in about 1990. It was hardly a pro job but rubbing down well and rattle-can spraying in fine coats, it was durable. I rode all over on that, to college and on anything from 70 to (very occasional)100 mile weekend day rides (but not with the cat)

 

[Judderz]

If you use lacquer after, make sure it's not cold when you do it.

Also if you need the decals after, give me a shout

 

[Poacher]

Does anyone know of any sites that allow you to "paint" kind of a virtual representation of the colour scheme of your bike?

You could have a look at Mercian's site - it doesn't give you a totally free hand, being limited to what Mercian are normally prepared to do, such as different coloured head tube, seat tube panels/barber's pole (looks great, but probably hard to DIY), but it's a start.

 

[screenman]

Single pack air drying paints ( aerosols) are not known for durability, I would go the powder coating route for a cheap durable finish.

 

[Teuchter]

I've painted a couple of bikes myself. Rattle-canned my fixed gear a few years ago and my Peugeot was done in brushed on smooth Hammerite.

Like has been said, preparation is key - sanding, masking, removing any dust with a tack rag and de-greasing. Also sanding and removing dust between coats. Also don't lay on a single coat too thickly - it's better to build up a lot of thin coats. I'd also give your paint time to cure properly in a warm area (I left my Peugeot frame for a week in the airing cupboard before reassembling it).

If you are going to use your shed this time of year, be wary of temperatures. Painting in low temperatures will have a serious impact on the quality. I had to abandon my first attempt at spray painting my fixed gear because I did it over Christmas in my shed and the finish was terrible - all orange peal. I left it until spring and tried again and it was much better. If you keep the frame and paint inside so it's all up to a decent temperature and heat your shed immediately before painting, you could get away with it.

The end results looked pretty good (rattle can) and not bad (hammerite) immediately afterwards but won't stand up to a year or two of commuting abuse as well as a professional job. Once Christmas expenses are out of the way (apparently the kids want presents), I'm putting the fixed gear frame in to get powder coated in the hope for more durability.