I have an 06 Enduro that really could do with a respray. I have a couple of ideas in mind like primer grey or matt black and candy red. Assuming they can be done with PC.

Here is a pic of how it currently looks. Show me your bike colours as inspiration.

DSC_0009 by i_ache, on Flickr

the colour does rather clash with your house.

If that’s your front door then I think the bike might be a bit too big for you.

Pearl white worked well on mine:

I did mine Saab metallic grey, I quickly got bored of it so am going to have it done again in somethng a bit more vibrant..

the colour does rather clash with your house

Thats the main reason I want to change it. I can put pics of it outside my hose as it looks silly.

That does look nice gee but I don’t want too much white as my forks are white and I cant afford to change them.

Come on guys and girls show me some more bikes!

OK so how about going for British Racing Green mainframe, with a white rear end and those white forks? If you could get the BRG in metallic that would be really cool. It’s a very classy finish and will still be cool a few years from now.

My DH bike is/was this colour (the bike still exists, I just don’t own it!)

I love white bikes so naturally think you should do it like geetee’s! Might be a bit too much white with your forks as well though.

Candy red like Dialled Alpines looks good. Also, british racing green is usually a winner 🙂

Bare metal for me…

Full colour grey!

Nice…a show me your colours thread and someone posts a black and white photo??? However I am with them, raw looks great especially as there are plenty of welds on the frame. If not thought o would also recomend cyan blue.
Cheers,
Mark

I did think about stripping the paint and having it clear coated but wasn’t sure how it would look.

three fish do you have any more pics?

That tranny is nice Ian. The Enduro would look good in that colour. Hmmm.

The problem I’ve heard is that unless really well done I think raw frames tend to rust especially given that it’s a mtb which is probably ridden in the wet.

Very grey!

Nicolai Helius AM by paul winterbottom, on Flickr

Have a look here for some inspiration of what can be done with powder

Tom no need to worry about rust its an alu frame, a strip and a clear coat should do it.

Here’s the frame (now stripped for sale) as it looks now, maybe a year after the paint came off. It was gently rubbed over with wire wool and metal polish when first done, just to even out the finish, but has only ever been washed since. It’s not the first frame I’ve done and corrosion (rust!?) has never been even the slightest problem. My old BigHit frame (at the bottom) got the full mirror-finish.

Clearcoat finish is less durable and will deteriorate faster than bare metal.

Easy in photoshop, and quite fun.

Take a photo of your bike in decent light, open in PS, use the magic wand tool to select the frame only (you might need to use manual select to tidy up and make sure you get it all – and you can make sure you don’t get teh declas, ot leave thehm as they are)) then copy into a new layer and use the hue/saturation/brightness slider to change the layer with the frame only, leaving the background layer with components etc as they are. If you’re looking at doing the swingarm a different colour, you can always put that in another layer

You might surprise yourself and find a colour you hadn’t thought about. I wasn’t expecting to be so keen on the green:

Lime green

Three fish did you just use paint stripper on it or did you have it blasted etc?

I’m off the bike at the moment so just stripping it sounds like a good cheap option.

P1000078 by Tim Condran, on Flickr

The frame was completely stripped/dismantled and the paint removed using Nitromors. It’s more or less a full-day’s job, depending on how quickly you can strip/build a bike.

You’ll need a big brush for the most part, plus a toothbrush for the nooks & crannies and around the welds and graphics. Masking the bearings, with both masking tape and electrician’s tape, is vital. Nitromors will start to eat the rubber seals on the frame bearings. Wear safety glasses and washing up gloves, keep a bucket of fresh water to hand and make sure you’re in a well-ventilated space – it’s a nasty substance to work with.

Very tempted to do this. Will one of those litre tins of nitromors do the job? Am I right in thinking you paint it on and use a scraper/stiff brush to remove it. I guess a scraper will scratch the metal. A few evenings work should do the job. Don’t suppose heli tape is needed either.

Yes, the litre container, especially for a full-sus frame. It brushes on (nice and thick) and after a few minutes the paint will just bubble up and start falling away. As I said, a small brush is best for working it in on stubborn parts – paint tends to quite thick at the welds, for example. I’d recommend staying away from scrapers, even plastic ones, unless you intend working them out with a high polish.

I use clear frame stickers (visible just above the BB on the SX TRail) as hoses and cables will rub/polish the raw metal. Doesn’t matter if you’re not bothered by this, of course.

The good thing about stripping is that there’s not really any harm done. If you don’t like it, it’s off to the powder coaters.

Right frame in 3 pieces going to remove all the helitape tonight and then start stripping the paint tonight.

Red bikes go faster – fact:

How about Focus ST orange?
I know someone who could recommend a place 8)

ST orange or RS green would be nice. It was the RS500 that inspired me to want matt black. Im going to try the raw With possibly polished seat stays for now and when the bearings become too rubbish I will get it coated.

Red:

Pink:

Orange:

Lime Green:

White, black & red:

Red:

Gnnr – that turner’s lovely who did the paintwork on that?

+1 for red

ST 4 built not ridden by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Red bikes may be fast but they are generally really really heavy. Fact!!!