Painting a bike frame.

[gsdkain]

Hi, my names Greg I ride in the Camden area and have just recently joined this site. I'm fairly new to cycling, I have been a runner and cricketer all my life but I'm getting a bit old and the joints don't like the impact too much these days so cycling has been a great alternative to me.

Anyway, I have a Kojima 700 Road bike that was given to me and I would like to paint it black. I was hoping I could get some suggestions as to what type of paint to use and whether or not I should sand or anything I would need to do to do a good job. Any suggestion would be great. Aluminium frame.

Thanks and regards

[uMP2k]

I have re-painted a number of frames over the years. Usually I use a chemical paint stripper followed by fine sandpaper for the tricky bits. For aluminium you will need a specific aluminium primer but then you can use automotive paint in a normal spray can. I have found the trick to use lots of light coats (anywhere from 3-6 depending on the finish I want) and then a couple of coats of clear. Give it a week or two to harden and then you should be right to put it all back together.

[LuckyPierre]

I've done (or should that be 're-done') my kids bikes a couple of times. It is worth stripping the frame back, but you can get away with just sanding it thoroughly if it isn't too chipped. Wet'n'dry is the way to go and the more time you spend preparing the frame, the better it will look. The 'wait a couple of weeks for it to harden before re-assembly' is good advice. The first time I did a bike, I whacked in the bike carrier the day after I'd painted it and the top bar got ruined.

[gsdkain]

thanks for the replies, sounds like good advice I will give it a go next week. Thinking of going black.