I bought this bike from a girl I work with for very cheap before she left for South America. It's a great little machine, but I've always wanted a pastel bike. I figured since I bought it for so cheap I'd try painting it a new colour.
It's ridiculously simple!
Here's what you'll need:
Tape.
Newspaper.
Spray paint.
Spray Varnish.
And that's it!
(Optional: Sandpaper... you can sandpaper the metal parts of your bike before covering it in spray paint. It stops drips and helps the paint adhere to the metal better. I wanted to try it while skipping this part and it worked fine without it, even with stickers on the bike!)
One can of paint is more than enough.
Please remember to use a ventilated area or go outside. I used the painting area in the car park of my studio.
The paint I used was Montana Black - E2E Green, and the varnish was Montana Gold Tech - Varnish Matte (also comes in gloss).
And here's what you do:
Cover all the parts you don't want to paint with newspaper and tape. Things like the wheels, pedals, saddle, handlebars and especially the chain... you really don't want to get spray paint on the chain because it will mess up the oil on it. Also cover the floor or any near by objects.
Start spraying in quick, short bursts. Don't hold down the cap and spray for lengthy periods, this will cause drips and make your aim less accurate.
Cover your entire bike.
Allow the paint to dry fully before you remove the paper or else face smudges! It shouldn't take more than an hour for it to dry, depending on how ventilated the area is. I was relatively outside so it only took 20 minutes for the bike to be touch dry. Once the paper is removed fill in all the little spots that the paper prevented you from reaching.
Ta da!
Once it's dry start with a coat of varnish to seal it. This stops things like rain from stripping off the paint.
Repeat the same process with the colour as with the varnish. Because this is clear you don't need paper to protect the parts you don't want painted, except for the chain - always cover that.
Wait for it to be touch dry and then bring it for a cycle, this will help the varnish set faster and you'll get to show off your pretty bike.
Finished!
Isn't it so much prettier and brighter?
I absolutely love this colour!
As you may have noticed I also painted the helmet. I'm still planning a design for it so I'll be back with a tutorial on that later.
If you're planing on painting your bike please send me a link! I'd love to see it, especially the colour :D
Aoife x
