I’m asking, b/c I was searching around the net on the topic and there’s quite a bit of stuff out there … so I am assuming that quite a few folks do it (or contemplate it).
I’m assuming much of the success has to do with quality of paint and quantity/quality of prep work (as does any paint job … says those of us that have spent hours sanding drywall).
Anyway, I also have a neighbor (former student) that graduated from a trade school for painting cars and does that as a night gig (along with stereos, lighting, etc … pretty cool stuff). So, I would have that option which would likely be inexpensive.
Anyway, just throwing around ideas today (rain postponed my 2h run till later tonight) as I am putting together (albeit very slowly) a new desk for our, uhh, office.
Why do you need a repaint? If for purely cosmetics, send it to a pro - if looks matter. If budget is low and asethetics don’t matter you can do it yourself, better have a lot of ventilation for the paint stripping and painting, lots of toxics junk to breathe.
I’ve actually done it myself–did it with an old mountain frame just to see the results. Sanding off the old paint was the hard part…Took hours. I worked at a paint store that summer, so I had access to high quality paints and stuff. I used an epoxy that they put on water tanks and shit…it is hunter’s orange which means something if you are into OSHA regulations apparently. PM if you want the full story.
You can do it yourself by purchasing a couple of touch up spray bombs at the local auto supply store but you’ll probably not be happy with the results.
I had a classic frame painted by my buddy who owns a auto body shop and does some fabulous classic auto restoration work, but the paint job still came out like sh*t.
Apparently you need special fine paint nozzles and hard coat paint in order to do a frame properly. He used too soft a paint that is fine for autos but scratched too easily on a bike frame.
My advice would be to pay the $ and get it down by somebody who specializes in bicycle frames.
It’s just an idea I was kicking around and looking into. I’m a big Cardinal fan and the high school I teach/coach has team colors of Red/White … so I was investigating on how easy it would be to paint the bike an attractive red color. IMO, red bikes just look cool.
It appears that, in order to get the desired results, that it is more inclusive that I want … and likely requires time and skill I don’t have.
My bike looks fine … gloss black with neon purple trim.
I would likely be better suited in taking any money I would invest in a paint job and putting it into my new bike fund or getting a year’s subscription to trainingpeaks.com or something.
Thanks to all those that replied. You guys likely saved me money, time, and possibly frustration & disappointment.
The more I read about it, it appears that many do-it-yourself bike paintjobs don’t come out like they were envisioned. I’m smart enough to recognize my limitations.
Right after my race, I will be building loft bunk beds for my son’s room (I dig projects like this) and that involves getting some new power sandings/planing tools … so I was thinking, “Hey as long as I have the sanding tools …”. But, I really don’t want to mess with paint-stripping chemicals and all that. I have no way of properly collecting and disposing of them once done … and with young kids and dogs, I don’t want that stuff sitting around.
Getting a decent looking paintjob probably isn’t too hard. Getting a good looking paint job that will stay on as good as a factory job is another story. Man you can get a powdercoat as some shops for a couple hundred bucks. No way could the average Joe get that good of job at that price.
My favorite paint job is the powdercoat I got on my surly steamroller. Granted this was after I bought the frame and before I built it up so I can’t compare it to the original factory paint (Boston Baked Bean, yuk), but the powedercoat has lasted years and still looks fantastic even with a couple of scratches from abuse. If the frame in question is steel, I highly recomend a powdercoat, it’s well worth the $200.
If it’s anything but steel, save your $ for a new frame. I spent $450 or $500 on a paint job for my bike and sold it 12 months later, total waste of dough. I also had a carbon frame stripped and re-clearcoated, again a waste as it’s chipped up and thrashed again now. Custom paint (aside from powdercoating) is for sponsored pros or people with money to burn.
I do have a friend who painted his QR kilo, it looks great now, but that guy had lots of time to burn. If time is $ to you (with kids I don’t see how it could possibly not be) then stick with the bunk-bed projects.
Understood, but $200 on paint isn’t unreasonable for a $200 frame. My Surly frameset was $379 and the paint ran $200+ and then another $20 or so for the decals. It definitely added personal value to me, though. The bike I currently race on was $400 used, then I dropped another $250 to sand and re-clearcoat it. Retail on the frame is 1600+, so this wasn’t unreasonable to me as well, but I haven’t been as pleased with the durability of a new clearcoat on carbon as compared to a powdercoat.
Personally, I don’t have a problem powdercoating a junky old steel frame if you like the ride quality, no matter what it’s worth to someone else.
Then I would rattlecan gloss black instead of Cardinal Red for about $5. I had a rattle can beach cruiser that didn’t look too bad at 10 feet. With gloss or dead flat black you can sprayover a million times and it looks the same.
Here’s a couple of shots of a rattlecan job I did on an old MTB frame. Spray paint is really too soft for a permanent bike paint job, but this was a fun project anyway. Maybe I’ll have to re-paint it in a few years, but I would have to do that anyway. For the intended purpose of this bike (winter riding, the odd cyclocross race, and slower rides with my wife) it’s perfect.
