Custom painted MTB is great if you don’t want to look similar to any rider and if you’re going to keep your bike from corrosion. Also, if you have an old bike, you can give a fresh look to your bike. This article will talk more about that.
- Part 1: Why You Should Choose Custom Painted Mountain Bike
- Part 2: Considerations When Painting a Bike
- Part 3: What Kind of Paint Materials Do You Use on a Bike Frame
- Part 4: The Right Bike Paint to Use on a Bike
- Part 5: Tips for Spraying Paint Well
- Part 6: Options for a Custom Painted MTB and How Much It Will Cost
Part 1: Why You Should Choose Custom Painted Mountain Bike
Customize the Appearance
You buy a bike that looks like a standard bike model most of the time. You might see the same model as someone else when you go out on the streets. Some bikers might want to fix up their bikes and paint them to make them look more different. In this case, you can choose the color and style of your bike and give it more of your own style. Bikers often change the whole frame of their bike and paint it with whatever color they want.
Protecting Your Bike
Some people choose to paint their bikes to protect them from the elements. Indeed, bike paints or coats protect your bike directly from things that can potentially harm the metal structure. Most bike paints can protect steel or aluminum bike frames from water and dirt. These substances can cause corrosion, which will potentially harm your bike. It is best to treat the rust and repaint your bike, so it doesn’t spread to the rest of the frame.
Transforming Old to New
Many bikers have trouble getting rid of their old bikes. After a few years of usage, your bike will look old and need a fresh new look. Painting or spraying your bike is the best way to make it look like a brand-new bike.
Part 2: Considerations When Painting a Bike
There are some essential things to think about before you start painting your bike. It makes sure that the process of painting a bike goes well.
Rust Removal is Important
Rust and dirt will build upon the surface if you’ve had an old bike for a long time. Before painting the bike, you should clean it and get rid of any rust. So, the paint will stick well to the frame of your bike. Therefore, you can get rid of the rust on your bike with sandpaper or aluminum oxide paper. Also, it’s best to use a mouse sander or a small orbital sander to get rid of the glue. Make sure you get all of the rust off of your bike.
Degreasing is Also Very Important
Degreasing is another way to make sure that painting a bike will go well. White spirit or soap can remove oil that sticks to your bike frame. It’s essential to clean your bike of grease an hour before you paint it.
Steel Treatment
Steel treatment is one way to keep your bike from getting more rust and corrosion. You can treat your bike with a rust converter or an anti-corrosion primer. You can put thin coats of these things on your bike and let them sit before painting. The anti-corrosion primer is an excellent way to stop rust from getting worse. It can also help keep your coat from getting chips.
Paint Color
This is dependent on who you are. Before choosing a paint color, you should have a plan for everything. You have an idea in your head of how your bike will look after it’s been painted. This way, you won’t waste your time or money and won’t harm your bike more. You can also talk to a professional about custom bike paint. Make sure you get the color you want and try it out in the daylight to see if the shade is right.
Paint Brand
Having the best paint for a bike frame requires a reliable and reputable paint brand. If possible, avoid using a generic brand of bike paint. It cannot give the desired protection and coating for your bike. Some paint brands might readily deteriorate, causing you to waste money.
Part 3: What Kind of Paint Materials Do You Use on a Bike Frame
Paint Primer
A paint primer is just an undercoat and not a real paint. Even so, it’s an essential part of the painting process. For one thing, a primer keeps the frame of your bike safe. Since it is the first layer on the frame, it keeps the frame from getting scratched and protects it from bad weather. A primer makes your bike frame last longer and is more robust in the long run.
A primer also helps the main coat stick to the surface better. It gives the main coat of paint a good place to stick. If you don’t use the primer, your main coat could start to peel, making your bike look bad. Additionally, you should put on two or three thin coats of the primer. This paint primer stops rust from happening and also stops mildew, peeling, and even blistering. So, it says that it will protect the frame the best.
Main Coat Paint
After putting on the undercoat and letting it dry for about 4 hours, the next step is to put on the main coat. Most people call the main coat “the paint” because it can stand on its own. Nevertheless, you won’t get excellent results. Most of the time, a half-pint of the main coat is enough to cover the whole bike frame, and you should put on three thin coats.
Top Coat Paint
After putting on the main coat and letting it dry for about 4 hours, you put on the topcoat. This is the last step. Like the base coat, you need to put on three thin coats of the topcoat. It’s important. But each coat dries before the next. Overall, the topcoat is clear or translucent, which is why it’s called a “clear coat”.
Part 4: The Right Bike Paint to Use on a Bike
Here are some suggestions for the best bike paint you can use to cover and change your bike. You can choose the right kind of paint for you based on how much money you have and how good you are at painting.
Brush Paints
The most traditional way to paint a bike is with a brush. For the best paint job on a bike, you can use the following:
- Plasticote Enamel Paint: This oil-based paint doesn’t show where the brush was used. When you coat your bike with Plasticote, it gives it a hard, glossy finish. Also, the paint is easy to use and dries quickly, so you have to move quickly while painting.
- Humbrol Enamel Paint: This is another brand of paint you can think about. It is an oil-based brush paint, just like Plasticote. It is a thick substance that makes the surface bumpy when put on very thickly.
- Johnstone’s Professional Undercoat: This oil-based chemical is great for giving your bike frames a white topcoat. After painting your bike with Johnstone’s, you can sand it. It needs to be sanded because the paint can leave marks where the brush touched it.
- Household gloss paint: The paint is hard to spread and takes a long time to dry. After coating your bike, you have to wait at least two weeks before you can sand it. Even if it is used slowly, it can still give great results.
- Hammerite: This kind of paint can be used as a base coat. It has a very thick texture, making it hard to use on your bike. It’s sold as a paint and primer in one, but it’s hard to use a paintbrush with it.
Spray Paints
If you can’t paint well with a brush, you can buy spray paint for bikes. Your bike frame will look more uniform if you use spray paint. It also doesn’t need to be sanded after the paint is on. Painting bikes with a sprayer is easier than painting them with a brush. It has a spray head that lets you put color where you want it. If you use the spray paint correctly, the result will be good. Spray paint is the next most popular choice for bikers after brush paint. The paint color is already mixed, so all you have to do is open the bottle and spray.
But you have to be careful when you use spray paints. It’s important to keep much space between the spray head and your bike. So, you can control how thick or thin the paint is on the surface of your bike. Hold the spray paint vertically and spray the mixture slowly for the best results. You can use the Fusion All-in-One Spray Paint from Krylon or the Enamel Spray Paint from RUST-OLEUM. When you spray paint a bike, both of the finishes are shiny and can keep the bike from rusting.
Airbrush Paints
Another creative way to change your bike is to paint it with an airbrush. You will need an airbrush gun, a compressor that works well, and paint that has been diluted. The coating can be as thin as possible with this kind of paint. It won’t need paint thinner to make the paint flow better. You can also spread the paint out more evenly. For accurate results, we suggest you use the Badger Airbrush.
Airbrush paint can be used to coat and color a bike made of any material. When you paint with an airbrush instead of spray paint, the coating is more even and thin. It makes a fine mist on the surface and can be put on in several layers without looking too thick. One of the best ways to paint your bike is with an airbrush. You can use most airbrush paints on any kind of surface, giving you more options when you paint.
Part 5: Tips for Spraying Paint Well
The Distance from the Spray Gun’s Tip to the Surface
It is between 20 and 25 cm. If it is too short, the paint won’t spread well and will pile up. On the other hand, if you put the spray gun too far away, the paint will spread wide, the layer of paint will be thin, and dust will stick to it easily.
How Fast the Paint Sprayer Moves
It would help if you made it 3–4 m/s; watch how fast or slow the speed makes the paint film uneven. Also, it will help if you are careful when moving the spray gun perpendicular to the surface you are painting.
You Must Spray Shapes in Sequence
The normal way to spray is from left to right, then from right to left or top to bottom, then from left to right again, and so on. Spray paint looks best when you spray it repeatedly until the whole surface is covered. Remember that the next coat of paint should cover about 1/3 to 1/2 of the width of the previous coat to help the paint film spread out evenly.
Furthermore, let it dry in a well-ventilated room with a fan about a meter off the ground to keep dust out. The wind in the room shouldn’t be too strong. A room must have good airflow. You should make sure that fans are always clean.
Part 6: Options for a Custom Painted MTB and How Much It Will Cost
DIY
DIY painting is the cheapest way to give your bike a custom look. You can do it all by yourself—you’ll just need to buy a primer and a topcoat. It will only cost you between $50 and $80, but the quality of the result will depend on how good you are at painting.
Bike Brand Options
Like Trek, Orange, and Orbea, several bike brands let you choose from some custom paint options. Even though there aren’t many paint designs to choose from, you can get your bike painted the way you want as soon as you buy it. An extra custom paint job on your bike will only cost you a few dollars.
Specialized Custom Painters
Specialized custom painters have many skills and creativity and can help you design and paint your custom bike. You can choose from many painters, such as Fatcreations, Kustom Flow, and Ooey Custom Paint. They charge between $250 and $550, but it can be more if you want custom decals or more parts painted.
