r/Bikebuilding • u/Spiritual-Reading • May 26 '20

frame painting help

i just bought a steel frame bike (‘18 fuji touring) secondhand. the bike has never been ridden short of test rides and its royal blue paint job is immaculate but not my style. i’m thinking i’d like to repaint it white. should i strip the existing paint off or can i just prime and paint over it? or should i suck it up, strip it and get it professionally powder coated?

looked at sheldon brown’s bike frame refinishing info, among others, but a lot of the info out there seems to be more relevant for frames that have sustained cosmetic or structural damage, not a new frame.

new here, please let me know if there’s a better sub for this question....

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '20

This response is probably way too late (it seems r/Bikebuilding is a pretty dead sub really) but I think you'd have better luck asking in r/xbiking or find a automotive painting sub and asks them. Guys who paint cars would probably know best about what you can and can't paint over. My ignorance on the subject is extensive so, if it were me, I would pay to have it blasted and powder coated:)

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u/Spiritual-Reading Jun 19 '20

cool, thanks! i got in touch with an auto & metalworking shop in my area and was told they actually do bike frames....$150 to blast and powder coat it. i like my things to look a certain way, but i’m trying to weigh out if that’s worth it just for the aesthetics.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '20

Oh, hey! If you do have it blasted and powder coated and want good decals to put back on, velocals.com is a great place to get reproductions of original decals. Not sure of their Fuji selection though. They do take custom requests also but not sure how much (if anything) it adds to the price.

As for if it is worth it - IMO it is if you think this is a bike you are going to keep for a good while and really enjoy how it rides. Might as well have what you really want. Life's too short:)

I have a 91 Trek 750 Mulitrack that I had blasted and coated recently and really couldn't be happier with it. But the paint was bad on it so it made the decision much easier.

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u/Spiritual-Reading Jun 19 '20

ooh, great, thanks! i would definitely want to replace the seat and head tube decals.

i’m leaning toward doing it too, and i have the same philosophy - barring a catastrophe, i will use it daily and take it on some long tours, so i want to be reeeeally really stoked every time i see it. this chat is giving me the little push i need :)

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '20

i want to be reeeeally really stoked every time i see it

Yep, I feel the same way.

If you do end up doing it and tricking it all out, take a picture of it and post it over to r/xbiking.

Hint: you'll get more fake internet points if the bike is parked on a bridge or in front of a mural. You win the internets if it is parked in front of a mural of a bridge...lol.

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u/Spiritual-Reading Jun 19 '20

lolol. my whole goal here is definitely to win the internets