Take off the tape and ride!

Step 4: Take off the tape and ride!

Hope these tips and ideas helped. Can't wait to see some designs people come up with.

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devein says: Nov 16, 2012. 2:10 AM

another option for "harder" coat is to have it painted using paint gun. The paint gun allows to use acrylic hardener, exactly like in professional coat in cars etc. it is impossible to add hardener to a spray can - the can content would turn into solid in hours.

cheapest compromise: make base and color using spray cans, and then take the frame for coating to car painting shop.

spraying over powder coating has one more advantage: powder coats are limited to RAL color palette (at least in Poland). you can fill cans (for spray or gun) with every car color possible or have a custom color, with pearl and metalic gloss.

BrockGrimes says: Apr 20, 2010. 8:01 AM

Give Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy paint a try.
I use it on anything metal, it bond better than most paints and hold up to beatings. I sprayed a Jeep frame and axles and suspension parts, and they held up great to offroad abuse.

Remember like most things the key is prep.

If you want black, use a product called POR-15 then cover it with their chassis black. It needs no primes and can be put on straight over bare metal as it's a rust preventer. This would be perfect for a mountain bike.

I've also sanded the stock paint to give it texture then sprayed it with various liners. (Rhinoliner, Line-x, etc.) My favorite is Raptor liner it's tintable and can be matched to your paint.

madugly says: Oct 10, 2006. 7:16 AM

Awesome paint, great write up. The guide is right: pick warm, dry, still weather. I've sprayed in cold, humid, windy conditions and won't do it again. One thing I didn't see in the guide was the reminder that spray can coats typically do not have the hardness of a decent powder coat. I've tried engine enamel (supposed to be harder and more resistant than, say, regular lacquers) with professional urethane coating on top, and it still chips far easier than powder coat. Again: great job on this post!

regomodo in reply to maduglyAug 27, 2007. 12:07 PM

i second the dry, warm and still weather policy. 2 years ago when respraying my motorbike i had hell of a time picking still days. Living by the coast is a killer for me. For steel i spend forever getting the surface cleaned up and degreased, A few layers of primer, many coats of paint and then a few coats of clear lacquer. Unfortunately for my mobike i forgot to use petrol resistant lacquer. For alu, stripdown to the metal and plenty of polishing. Remember, LOTS of THIN coats.

brianhabicht in reply to regomodoMar 5, 2010. 6:37 PM

like he says, "THIN COATS"

sarita in reply to maduglyAug 17, 2007. 6:03 PM

Powder coat? What's that? Is it comparable to the bike manufacturer's paint? I want to change the look of my new bike. I mean, who needs to ride around on an aluminum advertisement? But the question is, will the new paint job weaken my bike? Could I paint over the original stuff to keep the same amount of protection? Maybe I should slick with stickers.

buckeyebuck in reply to saritaJan 21, 2008. 5:13 AM

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94244

Not entirely true. There are consumer level powder coat systems. With enough practice and patience, one might achieve a decent finish. Have not tried it myself, but the day is approaching . . .

fjordtjie in reply to buckeyebuckMay 13, 2010. 2:30 AM

yes, the sprayer for applying the powder coat is relatively affordable, but powder coating also involves baking, as far as i know. an oven on the same website is $350, so not really consumer level...
http://www.harborfreight.com/powder-coat-oven-46300.html

i don't know of powder coating that doesn't involve the heat for curing the coating, but i may be mistaken. i'll stick with spray paint on my $30 bike : )

heheheha in reply to saritaDec 19, 2007. 4:18 AM

Powder coat is a type of paint; I believe that it is what all bike manufacturers use.You will NOT be able to replicate this; basically, a statically charged powder is sprayed onto the frame, then thrown in an oven to bake.

benpic10 in reply to hehehehaMay 18, 2012. 6:34 PM

in other words you would have very little success replicating this at home, I would suggest not even thinking about it :/

static in reply to saritaAug 31, 2007. 1:20 PM

Aluminum does corrode and where the corrosion will leave black marks on clothing and skin that rubs on it hard enough, I have the believe your bike frame has some sort of protective finish, possibly the frame has been anodized or has a clear coating. or even an aluminum colored powder coating. Often it isn't practical or even necessary to get back to a bare metal surface if the current finish has a solid bond to the metal and may be a suitable substrate for a custom finish. You will need to decide what fish method will bond well with the current surface finish. So many variables it's almost impossible to cover them all in an instructable

Panda Face (author) in reply to saritaAug 18, 2007. 2:34 AM

If your frame is aluminum it will be fine with or without paint. If it is steel you want to keep all the bare metal covered to prevent rust. DIY paint jobs will chip easier so you will need to retouch from time to time.

dorsey in reply to Panda FaceSep 11, 2007. 6:41 PM

panda face,i am going to strip down and paint my cervelo,it is alluminum,what do i prep it with to accept my primer and paint,it keeps peeling on me.HELP

Panda Face (author) in reply to dorseySep 13, 2007. 12:14 PM

With aluminum you can sand it down or use a stripping chemical. After sanding make sure to leave it a little rough so the paint will stick. If you use a chemical stripper then make sure to wipe off the excess. After that just use a good quality primer and paint with many light coats, drying in between. It is hard to avoid some amount of chipping because rattle-can paint doesn't cure or bond as well as professional spray gun paint.

taken67 says: Sep 15, 2007. 12:51 PM

Great Bike! I just attempted my first rattlecan job, and like you used Rusto products. However when I put my clear coat on the paint started to crackle in some areas and not in others. Did you experience that at all?

brianhabicht in reply to taken67Mar 5, 2010. 6:35 PM

the paints are curing at different speeds. The clear is drying and shrinking therefore it is cracking. sounds like a lacquer on enamel. enamel takes a long time to cure.. days, I would probably let it sit for a week before I put anything on top of it.

Panda Face (author) in reply to taken67Sep 15, 2007. 1:17 PM

I've had that happen on some wood furniture I was painting. Basically you should wait extra long between the last color coat and the clear. Also remember to use thin even coats. To much clear on 'not quite dry' paint is what causes the color to separate and crackle. Sometimes that can look cool though.

mrclean5262 says: Aug 12, 2008. 7:34 PM

I have an old bike that has been stored away for a long time. The bike frame needs to repainted,and the rust taken off. It seems the rust might be heavy(maybe) When I go and srtip paint,what do I do with the rust? What type of sandpaper do i USE,and how do I treat the rust before I prime it.

brianhabicht in reply to mrclean5262Mar 5, 2010. 6:31 PM

Get some Naval Jelly from your local hardware store and brush it on the heavily rusted spots. Your still going to have to sand it with some low grit paper to smooth it out but Naval Jelly will get rid of the rust. Use whatever grit you need. I would use paint stripper first on the whole bike and then hit it with some 150/200 to rough it up good. Wipe it down with wax and grease remover. Then use a tack cloth to grab anything extra and PRIME!

wushufanatic says: Sep 6, 2008. 1:52 PM

This was a nice instructable and I just repainted my bike. Stripping was definitely not an easy job but I did paint my bike two colors. It took quite awhile overall but I was happy with my results .... until I noticed that when I set my bike up outside against a wood post, it totally chipped this huge line across one of the main tubes of my bike. It looked nice but now it seems like a gust of wind will take off the paint. I added quite a bit of clear coat too which didn't really seem to help out at all. Used rustoleum paint as recommended. I am going to hate touching up like once every month so is there anything else I can add to make a protective layering?

brianhabicht in reply to wushufanaticMar 5, 2010. 6:18 PM

I think you used an acrylic lacquer over an enamel finish. Enamel paint never actually "dries" (enamel is oil based, it will cure to a certain hardness but that is it). This means that the lacquer clear will create a hard shell on top of a malleable/soft layer of paint. Think of Skittles..

Either that or you simply didn't let your paint coat dry before you put the clear on.

Sorry buddy, but your best bet is to strip it down and repaint again. I wouldn't add anymore paint layers to it.

I would use dupli color acrylic lacquer paint.

aznenemy in reply to wushufanaticSep 19, 2009. 10:39 AM

use krylon fusion and make sure you strip it well pm with your results

jon_murph in reply to wushufanaticJul 10, 2009. 9:59 PM

It is possible you did not rub down the bike enough to get rid of residual paint stripper or you may have painted in too high of humidity.

bryandhispup in reply to wushufanaticMay 27, 2009. 1:33 PM

use a spray polyurethane. It also sounds like there was a problem durring prep. I use Valspar and Krylon. (Lowe's) . i always suggest alleast 1 week "sitting" time after painting for the paint to completely harden. Also remember that cold weather can cause paint to dry slower... always paint between 60 and 95 degrees. also you can try drying in the sun...

paintthetownred says: Jun 29, 2009. 4:00 PM

I never thought to put plaid on a bike. I repainted two bikes, and am in the process of painting another. The one that I'm riding has a really crappy paint job, which is due to the fact that I used whatever sandpaper that was lying around the house, and painted with whatever paint was yellow. But after reading this, I just might strip it down again and paint it like that. Thank you!

hansonl says: Jan 8, 2008. 8:19 PM

For those interested in Powdercoating, go to www.eastwoodco.com they sell powdercoating kits,and supplies. Its very possible to powdercoat at home, it just takes time,and some investment.

gibbo_gunner2496 in reply to hansonlJan 9, 2008. 2:27 AM

im am being very serios (spelt wrong i know ) but you have a good chance of applying for a job at muddyfox bike designing. some good work there keep it up

bryandhispup in reply to gibbo_gunner2496May 27, 2009. 1:35 PM

dont worry about petty mistakes.. I mak them all the tiem... :) we are a community on here, not a battle zone.

altmaker in reply to gibbo_gunner2496Apr 6, 2008. 1:50 PM

hes only doing the spray job... muddyfox designs are for the WHOLE bike, frame gears etc, to make the bikes altogether riding experience a pleasure for you and the bike, designed for each bike for a specific purpose.

t_menace says: Apr 27, 2008. 9:03 AM

i'm painting my bike and it seems that after the priming, the surface is rejecting the paint. the surface being handlebars and paint being rustoleum metallic gold, it just wrinkled up like foil almost. does anyone know what that means and or how to fix it?

fastback570 in reply to t_menaceApr 8, 2009. 5:13 PM

poor prep, cheapo paint, temperature, but probably too quick to recoat or one type of paint, lacquer over enamel or visa versa

amando96 in reply to t_menaceJan 23, 2009. 6:39 AM

handlebars always have that problem... i know Y people that that happened to them...

lilscskater in reply to t_menaceMay 26, 2008. 8:04 PM

the paint under it probably is makeing the wrinkles

nkk07 says: Dec 15, 2007. 1:11 PM

my bmx is scracthed alot when ive fallen off i mighnt paint it but i wont make it boring since its a bmx.

shamen71 says: Sep 12, 2007. 9:07 AM

there was also a nice painting box on here using a carboard box for spray painting.

Nachas says: Jun 23, 2007. 5:38 AM

Great write up, inspiring me to paint my old Claude Butler!

yoghürt says: Apr 19, 2007. 3:32 AM

more simple design of mine

Golem100 says: Mar 12, 2007. 8:44 PM

A bike shop owner once told me that appliance paint, like for refrigerators, was the best thing for DIY bike painting. Haven't tried it myself so I can't vouch for it.