So inspiration wriggles its way into my head at all sorts of crazy times. The other day I was out in the shed and I happened to look over at my beach cruiser bicycle and think... that would look really sweet with a new paint job... The wheels in my head started turning and my hands got to work. It was very much a learning process and I thought I'd share the experience for any one else who gets this sort of wild inspiration for such a unique canvas.
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The Original Bike
The first task was to remove all of the stickers using a razor blade and some sort of sticker remover chemical to get all the glue off. I also cleaned the entire bike using some soap and water.
remove all stickers and clean it up
From there the fun really begins, I took the bike apart as much as possible removing everything that I could. A couple of key tips here:
- Take pictures as you disassemble so that you can reference them when you put it back together.
- Keep parts separated in Ziploc bags or some other sort of containers, it may also be helpful to label these parts bags (eg: shift assembly), and put them somewhere you'll remember later.
Take lots of pictures when you disassemble the bike.
Materials I used included 400/ 600 grit sand paper, water, soap, paper towels, rags, Acetone, blue painters tape, razor blades, primer, paint, clear coat, and any tools you need to dissemble the bike.
After I disassembled everything I used blue painters tape on anything still attached that I didn't want to paint. Then, I sanded everything with a 400 grain wet sand to remove the glossy clear coat.
After I taped it off and sanded it down, I had to improvise a way to hang the bike so that all paintable surfaces were exposed. With a little creativity I figured out a way to suspend the bike from the ceiling beams of my shed. Since I didn't have a tool to disassemble the chain I taped it off real good and had to figure out a way to suspend it without it touching the frame. Pure trial and error.
Find a good area to paint and string it up, remember to think about over spray.
Next I used acetone to clean the entire surface of the bike, wear gloves for this, and be sure not to touch the bike after you've cleaned it.
I love the smell of Acetone in the morning
Finally I was ready to spray!
Rock N Roll!
Since the bike was 2 toned I decided to go ahead and do a white primer coat to add durability and to make sure the final coat came out nice and even. I used Rustolium primer.
Multiple light coats of primer work best
primed up and ready for paint
After the primer dried off, I used a Rustiolum metallic black paint to coat the entire bike, again using multiple light coats.
back in black
After the paint dried off I spot checked the bike for any runs or missed areas. I did find a couple, so I sanded them down and did a little touch up. Then I waited for it to dry one more time, wiped it down with a clean rag, and got read to do the custom painting.
Now I ready to get crazy with the paint job!
Next up... flaming fish skeletons!?
