How to paint your bike:
a rough guide. And a bicycleweed.com exclusive.
Step 1: Use a chemical based paint stripper. I got mine at AutoZone, and according to all the chemists and biologists at CalPoly, it's deadly in quantities larger than a postcard. Do this outdoors and don't huff the fumes. Use steel wool to scrape off the stripper, and then go over the raw frame with 150grit sandpaper to get that shine shine.
Step 2: Primer that bling up. Note the windblocking sheet behind the bike and the stand. Also note the use of masking tape on the canti studs, BB shell, seat post collar, waterbottle brakes, deraillure hanger and headset cups. If you're uber pimp, removing the cups makes the job basically perfect, but these cups went in so deep it would take all day to remove them.
Step 3: Spray base colors. I've got some orange for my cliché, and white for the borders between colors.
Note the faint masking tape over the white.
This makes the little white borders between colors. Yizay.
Step 4: Making stencils is both fun and entertaining. Find some real glass. Real glass won't get scratched with a sharp utility knife, while human flesh will. Be carefull. Put some tape on your glass, use a Bic pen to draw what you want, then cut it out with the utility knife or razor blade. Then stick it over the part of the frame that you painted with the color you'd like the design to be. NORCAL will appear in orange on the final product.
So after you've applied the stencil, spray over it the color with which you want to frame the design. I sprayed lots and lots of yellow to cover up the orange, and it's still a bit orangey. In hindsight, some primer over the stencil might be a good idea, but someone will need to let me know if that would actually work. Note my fish Costello in the coffee maker in the wall.
After a couple days to dry, I covered the yellow with lots and lots of masking tape. The borders between the colors is where I stopped taping. After checking and double checking that no area was left uncovered, I sprayed the red and green. Do this carefully, and use a spray shield to be sure no green overspray ends up on the red, or whatever other dark colors you'll be doing.
I probably laid down half a can of Krylon on the red and green sections, and almost a full can of yellow in the mid section. Unwrapping the yellow to prepare for the MANDATORY clear coat, be carefull not to rip the stencil off too quickly. Part of my C came off from the NORCAL, resulting in NorLAL. Great. Don't drink coffee and perform physical tasks, kids.
After removing all the tape covering the yellow, it's time to clear coat. Use a lot of clear coat. I used an entire can of Krylon clear enamel. Take your time and try to get it on evenly. It even smells good, so enjoy yourself.
Ok, so after clear coating and removing all the masking tape, you're set to build your newly painted monstrosity and shred. See ya on the trails!
