Deciding how I wanted to protect the frame I just built and what color it would be was a deep process. I had considered having the bike powder coated, but then I couldn’t do the process myself. Only due to the fact that I don’t have a big enough oven to fit the bicycle. So I decided that painting the bicycle myself was the best option.
The color selection was fairly simple. I knew I wanted a dark green color. Forest green is my favorite color. I’ve always liked it with bright white text I’ve seen on other frames. So I headed to my local auto parts store and looked at their paints. I picked up some Dupli-Color Perfect Match automotive spray paint that were color matched to a couple of Chrysler’s offerings. Those being in Bright-White and Forest Green Pearl.
I learned a lot of information on how to paint bikes from the YouTube channel ETOE. After, sanding the bike. I sprayed a two component epoxy primer from Spray Max. This paint being two components makes it harder than your typical spray paint, and more akin to that what an automotive body shop would use. I used two coats of primer and wet sanded with 800 grit after each coat.
I then sprayed on the bright-white color on the downtube that would be my name. Another light sanding and I applied some custom decals from lettering.com to mask it off and it was time for my main color. After spraying three coats of green it was time for more sanding. I then applied the frame decals provided by Columbus.
The last step was to clear coat the frame, and seal in those decals. I once again used Spray Max, this time for their two component clear coat in gloss. The bike shines and looks fantastic in the sun. I’m so glad I decided that painting the bicycle myself instead of having someone else powder coat it.
