Your bike gets old over the years, the paint peels off, the parts on the bike like the neck, saddle springs, pedal feet, and struts begin to oxidize and rust. You can replace that old bike by buying a new bike. However, it would be more wonderful if you take a little time to manually customize that old bike into a unique new one with your personality.
For bikers who like to show their personality, it will be interesting to complete a product manually made by yourself. In this article, I would like to share a little bit of experience on how to paint a bike.
To learn more about this How To Paint A Bike, please watch this review video:
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Table of Contents
Why You Should Paint Your Bike
There are many reasons why you should repaint your bike. The important reason is that after using it, due to the influence of rain and sun, the exterior paint of the bike has decreased, no longer retaining the original color. In the process of moving due to the collision, the paint coating is gradually scratched, worse is the peeling of the metal inside the bike.
If you let the exterior paint peel off for a while, the metal inside will quickly oxidize, negatively affecting the bike’s appearance and quality.
Besides, avoiding boredom and expressing your aesthetic style is also one of the reasons for you to change the paint color of your bike.
Steps for Bike Painting
Before starting renewing an old bicycle, you need to prepare items such as a screwdriver, wrench, pliers and spray paint bottle, special stainless steel polishing chemical, sandpaper, gloves hand, mask, and rope.
To learn more about this How To Paint A Bike, please watch this review video:
Step 1: Disassemble the bike parts
Before repainting your bike, you need to determine what color your bike will be painting. Then you need to visualize how each part is painted and which parts you don’t want to paint. Once you’ve determined your liking, use a tool to separate each part you want to paint out.
Before removing, you need to pay attention to the initial installation positions. You can use the phone to capture the original positions so that the assembly will not be confused. The front part of the bike had many intricate details that required a logical arrangement. You should take out which part first, and then leave it first, and the following parts to remove it will be easier for you when assembling.
For axles and gears, it is necessary to carefully arrange the balls to avoid loss and at the same time add lubricant to make the balls slippery when reinstalled on the bicycle.
Step 2: Clean the surfaces to be painted and polish with a soft cloth
This step will help remove stains on new parts that need to be painted, and parts that need polishing, for a better paint color.
Before cleaning the components, wear gloves and a mask to protect the skin and respiratory system from harmful substances. Even if further work will be done with safety paint, the rinse water still contains toxic ingredients. You should only apply it after following personal safety measures.
Step 3: Remove old paint stains
You use sandpaper to scrub, remove the old paint and rust to return the desired surface paint clean, smooth. Sanding the surface not only removes the old color but also makes the surface rough, increasing the adhesion of the paint. If you have a protrusion, you can use a tool to straighten it back to its best state.
With carbon bicycle frames, there is no need to use sandpaper, just use a towel to wipe it off before repainting.
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Step 4: Pre-polish the parts that need painting and need polishing
You use a special stainless steel polish to polish the parts that need to be painted.
A stainless steel polishing product contains a blend of a special lubricant that is easy to use in the process of stain removal, oxidation, and fingerprint removal, lubricating and polishing the surface of stainless steel. You can buy polishes at bike shops or bike repair shops near you.
You need to shake the polish bottle well. Then, spray or pour a little solution directly onto the surface of the part to be painted such as the frame, neck, saddle springs, or bicycle prop.
Next, use a clean cloth to wipe the entire surface to be cleaned and have enough force to remove the stain. Finally, wipe it off once with a clean, dry soft cloth to polish the surface.
Step 5: Prepare the paint
Use a rope to hang the part to be painted. You should choose a cool place to make the bike painting easier. Note that you only hang each part at a time. You should not hang many parts at the same time. The paint color will stick to others.
You can go to the shop to ask for mixing paint colors to get your desired color. If not, you can buy ATM spray in paint shops. You should prepare some old newspaper behind the paint so that the paint does not get caught in the surrounding space.
Step 6: Paint the primer
For long-term preservation of color brightness, it is necessary to repaint the substrate in several layers. It is recommended to apply at least three coats. The first layer will be the primer. The second layer is up the primary color. The third layer is the varnish coating.
For the beautiful and smooth paint color, before painting the color you want, you should apply a primer to create a uniform surface for better color. If you have a steam engine and paint gun available, the layer will be even better. If you use an ATM, it should be lined with black color (code A212) if you want the primary color to be dark. If you want a bright and bright primary color, paint it in opaque white (code A200). Paint each part in turn and meticulously.
After painting the primer coat, it should be left for about 24 hours for the paint to adhere to the surface of the frame. You should pay attention to place the frame in a dry, cool place.
At the end of 24 hours, use moderately rough sandpaper to re-brush any paint that is too thick or uneven to create a smooth surface for the main coat.
Note: Keep all painted parts in a dry and cool place for 24 hours.
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Step 7: Spray the main coat on each part to be painted
After 24 hours of priming spraying, then you can start spraying on the main layer for each part.
This stage is very meticulous, not missing any part. Paint from the previous joints to the outside spaces.
If using a spray bottle, shake the spray for about 5 minutes before painting, spray evenly with thin layers. Paint from top to bottom. If you want textures, you can cut the paper and create your shape while painting.
While painting, remember to wear a mask as well as gloves because the paints are often not healthy.
Then let the parts dry completely. When finished painting, you should leave the frame in a cool place, with no direct sunlight or rain (within 24 hours), to avoid fading when the paint is not completely attached to the frame.
After finishing the coloring process, you should apply one more layer of polish. The varnish will protect your colored paint from fading and make the bike look new.
To learn more about this How To Paint A Bike, please watch this review video:
Step 8: Assemble the bike parts
After the paint dries out, reassemble your bike. You should also check if the parts are too old and damaged then replace them. Some parts are replaceable such as brakes, saddles, and tires. It is recommended to start using the bike one week after painting.
To learn more about this How To Paint A Bike, please watch this review video:
Types of Paint for Bike Painting
Paint for bicycle frames must be selected with all care and caution. Usually, cyclists prefer to use aerosols, which are very convenient to use and allows you to paint beautiful parts in minutes. Immediately after application, the paintwork shines, shimmering with attractive gloss, and looks like a new thing.
To paint a bike at home by yourself, you need to choose high-quality paint. Acrylic paints and varnishes for metals have proven themselves the best. They have high adhesion, are easy to apply with a brush, spray, have no unpleasant odors, and are non-toxic.
Nitro paints, however, are distinguished by their better concealability and faster drying, but they contain solvents, so you need to work with them with strict adherence to safety measures. Typically, only 250-300 ml of paint material is enough to update a bike.
The owner will have to decide what color to paint the bike. With high-quality surface preparation and complete removal of the old paint residue, you can completely change the nuance of the details, that’s just in the owner’s artistic taste. You can also consider current fashion trends and use the most popular shades of the season.
Many people use special reflective paint to fully color or design a part of their bike. Experts advise that since the frame of the product is quite thin, it is better to use the lightest color for it so that it is more noticeable. If you don’t want to use a monochrome overlay, you can use stencils or even apply exclusive drawings with a brush.
Currently, professional bicycle painting services often use high-end paints from big brands like MAX CARE, or OTTO. The use of premium paint helps to ensure the paint is glossier and more durable.
Some Special Tips for An Easy Bike Painting
In some cases, you don’t have much time to disassemble the whole bike and paint the parts one by one. I will show you painting tips for simpler repainting without removing all parts of the bike.
Before painting, you need to rinse and dry the bike to weaken the factors that affect the adhesion of the paint. Release brake cables as well as chains and brackets. Cover the parts or parts you don’t want to paint with tape or old newspaper, and then hang your bike and coat it with primer.
After drying, continue to spray 2-3 coats of the main layer. For areas that are not painted or uneven, you use a small brush to finish. This method is faster and simpler. It will seriously save time and budget, allowing you to update bikes at a minimal cost.
Some Notes When Preparing for Bike Repainting At Home
You should only repaint the entire hinge of your bike if you have too many scratches or too deep scratches, faded paint, or smudge. Temporarily repainting or buffing a bicycle will not return to its original state of beauty.
For bike painting, choosing color is very important because it determines whether the paint color after the painting is the same as the old color. If there is no color code, you can spray it onto the panel, then comparing it will help decide the right paint color.
There are many ways to verify the correct color code, possibly based on the supplier’s color code. Based on the color information, the painters will find the color code table. Then enter that color code into the color mixing software, from which there will be parameters on the mixing ratio to mix the original color.
To learn more about this How To Paint A Bike, please watch this review video:
Conclusion
I hope some of the experiences I have just shared will help you understand how to paint your bike at home. Have a great time redesign your bicycle.
FAQs
How long does it take to paint a bike?
Painting a bike requires a lot of work from disassembly to preparation and waiting for the paint to completely dry. It can take about a day or even a week to finish painting your bike.
How much does it take to paint a bike?
It costs an average of between $ 800 and $ 2,500 to repaint your bike. Some high-end bicycles require meticulous fabric painting and special stages. Paint services for these vehicles can be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Can we repaint a bike many times?
You can repaint your bike as many times as you like. However, repainting the bicycle many times will have some limitations such as time-consuming, cost of painting service, bad bicycle paint treatment reducing the quality of the bike.
Is it difficult to paint a bike?
Bicycle painting at home is not complicated, it simply takes time. Whether you choose to repaint the entire bicycle, or just keep the old color, restore scratches, the process is the same.
Can you paint a bike without taking it apart?
We can repaint our bikes without completely dismantling the parts. You only need tape and old newspaper to cover parts and details you don’t want to paint. Then start painting the rest.