rattle can power

[the schwartz]

my daughter has an orange Cleary Hedgehog (16")

she wants "a rainbow bike. or a pink and purple and blue bike."

do i need to prep the frame if i maybe gonna hit it with a few rattle cans? do i have to take everything apart, or can i just cover things with newspaper and tape?
i've never really painted anything before, except i once used rollers and a creatively named color, "traffic striping yellow" to paint the hood of a 1986 grand marquis. it did not come out well.

 

[shrpshtr325]

my daughter has an orange Cleary Hedgehog (16")

she wants "a rainbow bike. or a pink and purple and blue bike."

do i need to prep the frame if i maybe gonna hit it with a few rattle cans? do i have to take everything apart, or can i just cover things with newspaper and tape?
i've never really painted anything before, except i once used rollers and a creatively named color, "traffic striping yellow" to paint the hood of a 1986 grand marquis. it did not come out well.

if its a gloss finish chances are you have a clear coat on it, i would imagine youd need to do SOME prep work if you want the paint to last (sand it down some to get a rough surface for the paint to stick to), then take off w/e you can(can probably tape off the BB/headset bearings, but everything else id take off), masking tape and paper only does so much,

 

[jklett]

90% of the paint job quality depends on the prep. The more you can break it down, the better job you can do getting it ready for paint. On the other hand, being it's a kids bike that she'll grow out of in a few years you can probably get away with pulling some stuff off like wheels, cranks, and bars. Do some sanding to de-gloss it, mask what you don't want painted, then paint away. It won't be pro quality but it should be decent enough.

 

[Paul H]

I rattle canned 4 bikes and did a complete tear down and stripped the paint. Only 1 came out half decent but thats because i suck.

 

[Patrick]

what about vinyl wrap, razor blade, and a heat gun?
Probably get some cool results, and for the price, if she doesn't like it, just peel and start again.

Use some colored striping tape at the transitions - hit the top, down, seat tubes - ignore the stays and the fork.

check ebay.

 

[moose35]

what about vinyl wrap, razor blade, and a heat gun?
Probably get some cool results, and for the price, if she doesn't like it, just peel and start again.

Use some colored striping tape at the transitions - hit the top, down, seat tubes - ignore the stays and the fork.

check ebay.

You can actually do alot with vinyl and so far its been staying on my daughter's bike. Get the permanent type.
Here is what I did to my daughter's bike. She didn't like the yellow accents so the were covered with Cricut permanent vinyl.
Here are a few pics.

Before:

Halfway:

After:

 

[Mr.Moto]

Follow what others have said here. Prep is key if you want it to last. I would strip the parts off the frame, clean it well and sand. Primer / filler can be use if necessary. Use two or three lighter coats of paint rather than one heavy coat. Clearcoat it to help protect the finish.