DIY Paint Job?

This is not a question thread. For once, it’s an action thread. I’m already committed.

Who wants to see me ruin a perfectly good bicycle out of boredom and curiosity? Even though it’s already painted in the best colour, I’m ready for a change.

I’ve decided I want a messy, multicoloured graffiti style finish so I went off to Halfords and the local craft shop and came back with these…

I’m not thrilled with the colour selection but it’ll do. I was confronted with a wall containing almost every shade Montana make which was totally overwhelming. To make it worse you don’t have access to the cans so I had to select them with pointing and voice commands. The young woman doing the picking would quite obviously be rather doing literally anything else so I settled on these. I wish I’d swapped the yellow for a pink but I was too scared to ask for another switch.

I’ve got some of these cheap sanding pads to remove the glossy finish.

I’m not using chemicals or paint stripper because it’s a messy PITA and I’m not going down to bare metal because it takes forever and is probably pointless. I’m just going to roughen it up and not stress too much. It’s a cheap BMX so being a bit rough around the edges will suit it.

Temperature was -6 this morning so I’ve picked the perfect time to do it.

Place your bets on the quality of the outcome now.

I’ve thought about paining a bike a load of times and have always chickened out. I’m curious how long it takes you from start to finish. I always thought it would be 20h not including drying time.

Splatter affect and baking less precious about the finish are probably what I should aim for

I was wondering this last week as well.  Would love to see how you get on along with photos of others.

I’m watching 🙂 . What’s the frame and significance of the “Jewel Runner” sticker? That’s not a brand or a model name is it?

Minus six really doesn’t bode well for a lasting finish….

The bike is a Fit Series 22. It’s a pretty basic, cheap BMX but with 22″ wheels. Looks like the real deal until you park next to a kid on 20″‘s and it’s much easier to ride for a 6’2″ body with one knackered hip and a stiff back.

The sticker is a Run the Jewels sticker in the Blade Runner font. To answer your next question….

Wish I’d never asked about Jewel Runner 😉

I hope you’ll do some paintbrush splatter as well as using the spray cans themselves, it should look great.

cans in hot water and a fan heater on the frame will help hugely

Buckets and fan heater on standby!

I’ve got some ideas for raising the temperature a little. I’m stuck at work currently so there won’t be any progress today.

that font looks to be stolen from Blade Runner

Good Luck! Montana cans are very nice to use, but as with all rattle-can jobs the finish won’t be particularly durable.

Looking forward to seeing the result.