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Bicycle Paint Care: Essential Tips for Maintaining Your Bike's Finish
What to expect
We've finalized the design for your bike, and of course, you want your newly painted bike to look fantastic. I share that passion! I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care about the quality of my work.
Below, you'll find some bike painting tips, as well as information on how to care for your bike paint, and details on respraying bicycle frames effectively.
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The Paint
I predominantly use Custom Paints for my bike painting tips. There are numerous reasons for this, but the bottom line is it's the best stuff I've found. They offer a great range of colours, along with some impressive Chromacoats, like the frame on the right 👉. For respraying bicycle frames, I then use a variety of air brushes, from small ones for detailed work to a midi spray gun for the larger projects. Plus, it's essential to know about caring for bike paint to keep everything looking fresh.
Caring for your new paint work
Bottom line is that wet sprayed bikes can chip and wear; that’s simply the reality of respraying bicycle frames. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ride your new frame—it is a bike after all. A few chips and scratches here and there tell a story.
However, there are several bike painting tips that can help keep your newly sprayed frame looking fresh and new:
Once you’ve got the frame back, give the paint and lacquer time to cure. I’d suggest leaving your frame for about 3 weeks before building up your bike. If you can be patient, or if we’ve given your frame a flow coat, waiting 4-5 weeks is ideal. While you can build and ride your bike before this period, the lacquer won’t have fully cured, so be cautious. If you have as much patience as I do, it may be challenging to wait.
When working on your bike, avoid clamping the paintwork; always clamp the seatpost instead. If you absolutely must clamp the frame, use a soft rag or towel and keep the clamp pressure low. Avoid clamping any cables as well. This applies to any workshop handling your bike or building it for you.
Cables and luggage straps can rub and wear on the paint, so consider using protective stickers in these areas. However, don’t apply them until the lacquer has fully cured. You might also consider getting your frame fully wrapped to protect all the paintwork.
Keeping your frame clean is essential. Points of contact, such as cables or luggage straps, will rub against the paint, and if there’s grit between the two, the paint will wear away faster.
Using a resin type polish can be helpful as well. It won’t prevent your frame from getting scratched, but it can help mask fine scratches on the lacquer.
If you do chip the frame or the paint wears away from all the fun you’re having, we can do touch-ups to local areas. Please note that we only offer this service on bikes that we’ve sprayed; color mixing and paint compatibility can be a minefield otherwise.