Tuesday 26 May 2015

Chatty Tuesday | May 26, 2015

DIY Project: My Bike

About a month ago I decided that I wanted to over haul my bicycle in time for the summer because I do really love to ride bikes, but mine was needing some TLC. I got the bike when I was 12 (yes 8 years ago, yes it's still in great condition, yes I didn't really grow much). I was a bit of a tom boy at the time where as now I'm definitely not so I had the thought to DIY my bike instead of buying a new one.


This was the bike pre-makeover. It was yellow with way too many stickers on it. My first step was to take off the wheels, brakes and kickstand using a ratchet and a wrench. Honestly, this was the hardest part as the nuts were really adamant about staying where they were. I eventually got them to come off after much kicking of the ratchet handle ha ha ha. 


The next stage was absolutely the most time consuming. I scraped off all the stickers using a screw driver to start. Then I sanded off all the clear coat using an 80 grit sand paper designed for metal surfaces. After the 80 grit I used a 120 to smooth everything out and make an even base for primer. I then washed the whole bike down to make sure there was no residue from sanding. The next step was to tape off all the parts that didn't need paint (brake cables, chain, gears, etc). After everything was taped I did 2 coats of primer, sanded again with the 120, and washed the bike one final time. 


I was then finally able to spray paint! I chose this adorable pale blue colour that I love and did 3 coats of that.


After my 3 coats of paint I was able to remove all my taping and touch up all the areas that were missed. To do this I sprayed some spray paint into a little cup and used a small brush to apply the paint. Once that was dry I wiped down the whole bike with a wet paper towel.


The final step was to put back on the wheels, brakes and kickstand (which I forgot to take pictures of before I took it for a bush ride and got the bike full of mud ha ha ha). I'm really happy with how the bike turned out! It feels great to have done it on my own and it also feels great to be riding a super cute bicycle!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

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