I have a tt bike, it’s perfectly fine in every way other than it has a horrible paint job. Every time I look at it it make me wish for something nicer looking, and as such I’ve decided that once the tt season is over it absolutely needs a repaint

From checking out professional prices, looks like we are talking 400 quid min for a respray, and as such I’m asking myself if I could do it myself.

I think painting itself is going to be reasonably easy, using those spray bike cans and some primer doesn’t look like rocket science. The big question (and the thing that puts me off the most) is do I need to strip the frame of all the paint first.. I really dont want to be having to sand the existing paint down to bare carbon, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Is it possible to just rough up the existing finish to ensure the paint will take, then painting over? Frame is black but has some horrific neon yellow bits if that makes a difference (chainstays/seatstays/ seattube)

No rush to do this, time will be on my side, so I can spend a bit of time on it. The avoidance of sanding is more an issue as I’m convinced I’ll compromise the frame integrity through being an oaf, rather than being put off by the time it would take.

Argos will respray a carbon frame, if you’re worried about maybe being a bit cack handed they might be a better bet.
I’d be worried about exactly that if i was doing it tbh.

If you’re only trying to hide the dayglo bits then you might get away with some vinyl wrap. It’s non-destructive so you can have a couple of attempts.

Argos are looking at 450 quid for a respray, I checked. The frame only cost me 500 so I cant justify spending that

Thought about wrapping but after looking into it it isn’t that easy to do well and professionally it costs almost as much as a repaint

Painting myself will cost 40 quid for paint, 20 quid for decals, and hopefully give me the glowing sense of satisfaction that can only be had from a diy job well done.

Or I could entirely Fxxx it up and have to send it to the professionals to fix. But I’d rather give it a bash myself first

Question still outstanding is can I paint over the existing paint, assuming I’ve given it a once over with some sandpaper to rough it up a bit?

There was a dude on here who had done a few frames as a bit of a side business and I remember they looked mint. Any idea who it was…his advice would be great, but I’d also happily pay him to do it if he paints bikes for other folks..cost dependent of course

You don’t need to go all the way back to bare carbon, just to ‘key’ the existing surface.

The guy that has just painted my frame (JMJ designs) offers to go back to carbon for an extra fee, but only to offer weight savings to those that might want it. Doesn’t affect the finish if you don’t go all the way back.

A mate of mine does frames for a carbon repair place, in Ayr. Gimme a shout if you want me to ask him tp.

It’s not easy to do well. It’s a skill that needs to be learnt. Generally the paints that you’ll find in cans wont be a robust as those used by professional. They will have better spray equipment as well which helps massively with finish.

You won’t need to take it back to carbon. You’ll need to clean it thoroughly and degrease it with something like IPA and clean lint free cloths. Then light sanding. You need to roughen it to a mat finish which will give you the key required.

I’d shop around for prices. There might be non bike places that will do a good job.Lots of spray painters about just find out what type of work they do. IF they are working on fine finishes they’ll be ok. Maybe not ask someone who sprays heavy duty epoxy anti-corrosives or industrial PU finishes though ;).

offers to go back to carbon for an extra fee, but only to offer weight savings to those that might want it

If it was my road bike I’d be a bit ocd about the weight increase, but on my tt bike 300 extra grammes wont make a difference.

Generally the paints that you’ll find in cans wont be a robust as those used by professional

Agreed, and if this was one of my every day bikes I’d be seeking professional help. But for a bike that’ll be used max 20 times a year I reckon the spray bike cans will suffice.

I mean how hard can it be…😐

First issue I’ve seen is temperature needs to be over 10 degrees and you need to do it outdoors. Given I need to do it between the months of October and March in Scotland, that may be the first obstacle!

Dangerholm or don’t bother 😉
2k rattle cans are very good.
Etoe on YouTube for rattlecan tutorials.

Go for it. As said, if it needs to be proper tough then pro is the way, but if it just needs to look good then cans are fine.

Drop @thebigyin a line he does a good job and was very reasonable when he did mine.

Thanks Baz

I think he was the guy I was thinking of that posted a red cervelo that he’d repainted

I be done two frames and two pairs of forks with the spray.bike stuff. One frame was sanded down the other was to bare metal and then a zinc primer from Halfords. They came out pretty well in all honesty, not pro but good enough for a bike. If you look closely there’s some orange peel from the clear coat I put on top. The only real issue is the durability, it does chip fairly easily compared to a powder coat.

I setup a little spray area in the garage out of cardboard and used face mask and glasses.

I think he was the guy I was thinking of that posted a red cervelo that he’d repainted

Yes i believe it was, among others, the Cervelo wasn’t mine though 😀

I don’t think thebigyin is painting frames anymore. I seem to remember him mentioning that he’d changed jobs and can no longer do it?

Hi tpbiker, I was the bloke who was doing the bike frames. Drop me a pm if you like but my pms are a bit flakey.
Depending on what sort of thing you’re after you could self prep it and take it to a local body shop and ask how much it would cost for them to Chuck some paint on for you.
Happy to offer advice if you want some or can help with any decals you might need as I still have the vinyl cutter for and graphics etc

How about you just take it back to the carbon. Put some decals on and spray it with clear coat? Much easier to get a good finish but takes a lot of hard work. Raw carbon frames look great and no paint to scratch. Also saves money and 300g.

I’ve never really understood why people pay a fortune for a really light frame that’s painted. Then when the paint falls off they complain but the bike company is striking balance between finish and weight.