Night Bike!

Step 5: Prime and Paint

Once you have hung up all your bike parts you are ready to prime and paint your bike!  After you prime the bike, let it dry for 24 hours and then spray paint it white.

Ensure that you put enough coats of white paint on your bike to REALLY make it white.  The phosphorescent paint dries clear, and glows better on a very white background.  So basically, the whiter and neater the better, because that is what your bike will look like.



Remember:

Primer isn't meant to cover extremely well.  It is merely a first layer, so don't get discouraged when you've run through two cans and still see that firetruck red peeking through -  this is what you want!  The white spray paint will then cover up everything.

Shake the cans really well before you begin.

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation!

Don't put on too heavy of coats, and keep that can 6-12 inches away... read your paint instructions.  You don't want drip marks, so many lighter coats are preferred.  

Your patience will be rewarded!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------24 hours later-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the white spray paint has had adequate time to dry you are ready for phosphorescent paint!

Using a paint brush, apply the phosphorescent paint in very EVEN coats.  Please, Please be patient, this will take many many coats to ensure an even, bright shine.  I didn't realize that uneven painting resulted in uneven glowing, so I had to put on more coats. 

After you let the phosphorescent paint dry for 72 hours after the last coat, apply your clear protecting coat.


Tips:

Lay it on thickly for the spokes, imperfections won't be seen while riding.  The thickness on the spokes make the bike look even cooler while glowing.

If painting in the garage, it can be hard to see the phosphorescent paint on white, since it paints on clear.  So you can turn off the lights to double check to see if you missed any glaring sections. 

Allow plenty of time for the phosphorescent paint to dry between coats, this takes much longer then the normal coats.

Comments

[the mastereggroll]

my fixe bike is an obnoxious florescent highlighter green color and i was wondering weather i can keep the color without having it all white and still have it glow (obviously green) in the dark. is this possible ?

[Adobi]

Yes, you could keep the bike a neon green. However, the glow paint won't glow as brightly as if it had a white background. Also the glow paint has a slight tinge of color so it might clash with the neon green you already have. Plus the flat white spray paint helps give the glow paint something to stick on. These are just some things worth considering, hope it helps!

[the mastereggroll]

oh okay then thank you!

[jreyes20]

Did you ever try sanding the paint off the frame before painting, or do you know of anyone who has? I plan on painting my bike and I'm trying to decide whether to sand then paint or just prime then paint like you did. Also, my frame is already white, so would spray painting it white be redundant?

[Adobi]

I did not try sanding the frame, although it might help give the bike a cleaner look and help the spray paint stick better. However, the work it would take to sand the whole bike might outweigh the benefits of it looking better. Also, I don't think it would be too redundant to repaint the bike with a flat white gloss, I think it helps make the glow paint stick better. However, I would try painting a sample of the phosphorescent paint on the bike before you spray paint it to see if it meets your satisfaction, this way you could possibly save time and money. Hope this helps, good luck!

[unboundglory]

Do you think that sanding or possibly wet-sanding the parts (specifically the frame) before painting would help the paint job turn out better/ reduce the amount of paint needed?

[Adobi]

I have never tried wet-sanding or sanding the frame, but I don't think it would help reduce the amount of paint used, however it might give a smoother, cleaner look. You would still have to paint the frame white, but it would still be worth a try!

[jemaus]

How do you think all this paint will work on a carbon fiber bike frame? I noticed that there is something kind of like a sticker over the whole carbon frame that makes it smooth and shiny and has the trek logo. I'm thinking about taking that outer coating off before painting, but I wonder if the paint will damage the material.

great instructable

[Adobi]

As far as I know, you can paint a carbon fiber bike depending on what the original color of the bike is (if it is dark you are going to have to add a LOT of paint to it). For instance after we painted our bike white, we used 6 cans of spray paint (could have used more) and 8 ounces of glow paint, so for a carbon fiber bike that will add a lot of weight.

I am not an expert on carbon fiber bike frames but as far as I know the carbon fiber strands are mixed with epoxy which is VERY hard to damage and is durable. Seeing as the paint is water based I would assume that it would not damage your bike. I might recommend that you test this on a small part before you paint your entire bike just to see.

Try some Goo Be Gone (at least that's what I call it) if you can't get the sticker off completely so painting over it will turn out better.

Hope this helps!

[Adobi]

Oops, after I posted comment this I realized I used 6 cans of spray in total, not 6 additional cans of white spray paint.

[Kinnishian]

Best bet would be to wait for a commentor who knows more, or call a bike store that deals with carbon fiber frames. That said, I would be surprised if this wouldn't work on carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is set in an epoxy, and you can paint on epoxies (in general). If your carbon fiber is wrapped in some extra flimsy sticker, then maybe that could cause some issues (is it falling apart in places?). But I've definitively seen painted carbon fiber.

A bit unfortunate that I can't give more than this half-answer (there is a way, maybe someone can confirm it).

[jemaus]

Thanks for the reply, that's a great answer. Yes, the sticker is falling apart in places, how did you know! I'm going to get some paint and try this. soon :)

[stumpster]

Many hardware or paint stores carry a product called "preval" spray equipment... basically just an aerosol that you add your own paint to, though you will have to thin it with the proper reducer (solvent) to be able to spray it with the preval sprayer.

[killbox]

use a cheap blacklight to charge it up as you paint, you can see where you are thin/thick.

[Adobi]

good idea!

[brycesommer]

What's the consistency of the glow paint? If it's thin enough, I think I may use my spray gun rather than a brush.

[Adobi]

The glow paint is fairly thick, it is described as "creamy". I would say it is like the consistency of regular acrylic paint. It would be so much easier and neater to spray it, but I don't think this will work in your spray gun.