Can bikes be repainted like cars can?
I’m using a cruiser bike to get around my college campus next year, but (I think) it’s an ugly one. It’s red and beige and looks really boring. I want to spruce it up.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
Answers
Yes, you can paint a bike.
Yes! The best way is to powdercoat it. It costs around 400 dollars. I had my fixie custom painted by a shop in San Francisco.
It’s possible (though difficult) to do it yourself, since you really need to strip the paint of the bike (and without a sandblaster, it’s arduous). It’s important to do it correctly since the paint guards against rust.
Of course, I’ve had friends who used steel wool and spray paint, but their bikes aren’t as pretty.
Yes sure, but i’m not sure if it’s worth the money in the same way painting a car is. you abrely notice the color on a bike. But if you really want it then it’s absolutely possible.
@wilhel1812: Well, people notice this.
andrew: I got a guy in shorts driving a gold ball off a mountain peak in Alberta. DId he bike to summit?
@gailcalled : You need to be logged in to see what Andrew linked to. That is amazingly what the front page of myspace looks like.
was going to say powdercoat as well. i’ve heard cheaper quotes than andrew but i’ve never done it myself so who knows….but i want to! a friend did hers and it looks SWEET!
Allie, it depends on composition. Steel can be enameled. Aluminum requires an anodized base coat, with an enamel or laquer after that.
Ditto Andrew on powdercoat, but you may get the best results by sending it home. I used to own a Trek 760 – road bike made in the early 1980s. I sent it to the Trek factory to be repainted, they X-rayed it, and told me I had stress fractures around the bottom bracket. That was bad. The frame had a lifetime warranty. That was good. Instead of paying $400 for new paint, I paid $0 for a new frame! Got it in the color I wanted to paint the old one, too.
I just sanded mine with 220 sandpaper (wet), then used good ol’ rustoleum to spray it. Here is the final result. MUCH cheaper than powerdercoating, but you do need to take off all parts and make sure you don’t get any paint inside the frame or in the threads.
@brownlemur: Oooooh! Pretty rims!
Answer this question 
)
| asked 1 month ago
| 12 responses
| 
Topics:
