How to Paint a Bike

So you just bought off your friend's bike for less than half its actual price but you have to paint it to get rid of the chips and scratches. What you need is a dummy's guide to painting a bike that will allow you to be the owner of the most unique bike in town. The process of learning to paint a bike is time taking but definitely not difficult. You just need to decide how you want your bike to look and refer to this article which gives you a step-by-step breakdown on painting a bike and give it a look that will rival a professional.

How to Paint a Road Bike

Learning to paint a bike will take some effort on your part as to make the bike look as if a professional has redone it, you will need to have patience. It is also important that you pay attention to the details of painting a bike. There are some things that you will need before you start the process painting a bike.

Things you Need

• Handyman kit
• Sandpaper
• Glass cleaner
• Blade
• Masking tape
• Wire
• Primer
• Paint
• Lacquer

Once you have everything that you need in order to start the process of painting the bike, place everything (including the bike) in an area that is well lit and has a lot of space. When you are just learning to paint a bike, it is also important that you understand the different types of bicycles. This is because when you paint the bike you will need to take it apart and in order to do so you will need to understand the mechanics of the bicycle. Now let us take a look at how you will go about the process of painting a bike.

• The first thing that you will need to do before you start painting the bike is to stick masking tape over all those parts that you do not want to paint. This is important especially for bolts as after painting it may block the process of putting it back together.
• The next step is to remove any signs of grease from the bike. For this you can either use a degreaser of some sort of use a car wipe.
• Now comes the difficult part; removing all the paint that is on the bike so as to smoothen the surface of the bike. Use 80 grit sandpaper for this purpose.
• Before you start painting the bike you will need to hang it. When you do so use the wire and tie it by the head tube so that the bottom bracket of the bike is not blocked by the paint.
• Now start applying the primer according to the instructions given on the can of the primer. Use proper spray painting tips and techniques to spray the primer on the bike in thin coats in gaps of fifteen minutes. When you buy the primer, remember to match it to the color that you have chosen for the bike. Also look for a primer that is rust resistant.
• After you apply the primer, it is important to allow it dry for at least 24 hours. After that use a 220 grit sandpaper to sand the primer coated surface of the bike.
• Now apply the paint you have chosen. Remember while learning to paint a bike that, according to the type of paint chosen, metallic spray paint or glow in the dark paint, or neon colors, or any other kind of paint, there are certain specific instructions you will have to follow. Also it is important to follow the same spray painting tips you followed with the primer.
• Once again sand the paint coated bike with the 1200 grit sandpaper. After this you will have to wet sand the bike. This is a process where you will take the glass cleaner and spray it on the bike and then use the sandpaper on it. Keep spraying the bike with glass cleaner so that the surface is never dry.
• Once this is done apply a lacquer coat to get the shine you want. Spray at least two to three coats of the lacquer to ensure that the glossy effect stays.

Before putting the bike together you will need to wait for at least a week so that the lacquer dries properly. When you are spray painting the bike remember to always wear gloves and a mask so that you do not inhale toxic fumes. Also the primer, paint and lacquer should be from the same company so that they do not react violently with each other. You can easily follow these steps to give your bike a completely new look.