How To: spray paint a bicycle (like a pro)

There’s a couple tutorials on the web about how to go about painting a bike frame using spray paints. Since a powder coat often costs $150 or more, many people opt to head over to the hardware store and give their bike a D.I.Y. paint job. However, it often comes out looking cheap and ugly because they use budget paints or don’t prepare the bike correctly first.

After discussing this with Lew Edinger of Memphis Bargain Bicycles, he was kind enough to re-write a tutorial I saw online to reflect his extensive experience painting bikes. Lew has carefully restored many vintage bikes and knows how to get a truly professional finish from paints and supplies you can get at any hardware store.  Check out this tutorial after the jump, as well as some pictures Lew sent me of the finished results.

Read the full tutorial after the jump…

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