Painting is the best way to give your bike a complete makeover, without hurting your pocket. Read below to know more on how to paint a bike.

How To Paint A Bike

Giving a personal touch to our most prized possession is something that most of us wish to do. Be it the room, car or bike, we tend to let our imagination fly, and give them an individuality, notwithstanding how outrageous it may be. For most youngsters, a bike is the first touch of freedom, to race against the wind, basking in the aphrodisiac thrill of speed. Thus, no sooner than we lay our hands on a bike, it becomes a part of ourselves. But unlike a car or a room, individualizing a bike presents less creative freedom. Other than painting it vivid, there is pretty less that one can do. And it is with painting that we can turn a drab bike into a charismatic head-turner. Of course, this depends on how well you paint it and how artistically you choose your colors. Even old and worn bikes can be given a brand new look with proper painting. So, you need not feel ashamed to take your bike with pride to your school or college. Painting a bike can look difficult at first, but as with every other task it doesn’t prove to be that much difficult once you get started, provided, of course, you are familiar with the task at hand. So, if you are looking to give your bike a new look, read the article given below for the various tips on painting a bike.
 
Painting A Bike
  • Decide which areas of the bike you don’t want to paint. Cover these areas with a painter’s tape. These areas of the bike can be the bracket or forks or the threads of the frame.
  • Take the bike apart carefully. Make sure that you remove the handle bars and forks from the frame carefully. The rear wheel axle should also be safely removed.
  • Remove the grease from the bike, using a bike degreaser. Using a sandpaper, remove the paint and also polish the surface smooth.
  • If the bike frame is made of carbon, then take care not to sand the carbon. Fill up all the dents using putty and then sand to smoothen it.
  • Now hang the bike by the head tube. Hang the bike in such a place so that you can move around the bike and also underneath it. Also, the place where you hang the bike should be well ventilated and well lighted.
  • Apply a thin coat of primer. Spray the primer at the joints and the bottom bracket of the frame. After the first coat of primer has been applied, leave it to dry. Then apply a second coat. Apply several coats of primer and let it dry after each coat. The primer that you select should be rust resistant. The color of the primer should depend upon the color of the paint that you will be painting it with.
  • After the final coat of primer, leave the frame to dry for 24 hours. You can simply leave the frame hanging or lay it down on newspapers spread on the floor.
  • After the 24 hour period, use a 220 grit sandpaper to sand the primer. Sand it gently so that you get a smooth surface on which it is easier for the paint to adhere to.
  • Before applying paint, dust the bike thoroughly with a brush. Then apply the paint just like you have applied the primer. Make sure that you apply only a thin coat of paint. This will make it easier for you to get a uniform finish. Again you should allow the paint to dry after applying every coat.
  • When the paint dries, use a 1200 grit sandpaper to sand the paint. This will give a matte finish by taking the gloss off the paint. But don’t worry about the loss of gloss as this is necessary for the lacquer to stick to. The lacquer will bring the gloss back to the paint again. Your personalized bike is now ready to take you to a roller coaster ride!

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