Painting components

[AgentScully]

Does anyone have any experience painting components? Probably just looking to black out my cranks... is it as simple as just using a specific spray paint or is there more to it?

[Tifosiphil]

All of the work is in the prep pre-painting. What cranks are you wanting to paint and what condition are they currently in as people will probably recommend different paints for different materials

[Maddie]

Exactly, preparation is key if you want a result that lasts. Regardless of Carbon or Alloy, you need to sand the parts thoroughly with 600 grit. Clean parts with alcohol while wearing gloves. Paint will not stick well if you touch parts with greasy fingers. Use good quality spray cans but check that you can use them on the surface you have (Carbon or Alloy). I’d recommend to clearcoat the parts.

Etoe has good YT videos on how to do it yourself.

[Marin]

Carbon is easy, sand & paint - the bare epoxy is as good as the best primer.

Painting metal - I'm leaving it to the pros. I never got a quality that would satisfy my own requirements

[Lewn777]

Why would you paint any component? Just makes it heavier! I don't blame you for wanting nice aesthetics as many who claim to be weight weenies are actually people that want a pretty bike with loads of bling. Personally I think paint is just a coating to protect steel and all other metals and carbon looks best as bare and light as possible.

[jfranci3]

AL cranks usually have a very durable baked paint on them. You'd want to send that to a cerakote or similar shop. Carbon, I'd just remove the finish from the current crank and clear coat them with a two stage semi-gloss or matte https://i.imgur.com/u5ee7jh.jpeg . Maybe test sand the backside of the driveside crankarm to see what the layup looks like. Even good spraypaint won't be durable enough though, you need the bake step.

Note: I've used this with decent results (2k= two part chemical that you break an internal seal when you use the paint; it's more durable) https://www.spraymax.com/en/products/pr ... lear-coat/

[c60rider]

Exactly, preparation is key if you want a result that lasts. Regardless of Carbon or Alloy, you need to sand the parts thoroughly with 600 grit. Clean parts with alcohol while wearing gloves. Paint will not stick well if you touch parts with greasy fingers. Use good quality spray cans but check that you can use them on the surface you have (Carbon or Alloy). I’d recommend to clearcoat the parts.

Etoe has good YT videos on how to do it yourself.

He does have excellent youtube videos on how to diy it with spray cans but I would avoid the Montana spray cans he tends to use. I as many others have found if you google it is they can splutter when spraying and even if they don't do that the finish left behind can be very gritty. Rustoleum cans certainly spray better in that respect. Excellent resources to look at are also Paint Society (A professional car sprayer but also has excellent home diy videos with spray cans) h[url]ttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7KWe8zbkwGG2KPVWk3ib-w[/url] and Brad Angove (who paints mainly guitars and other awkward shapes has some great hints) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl5TLl ... sXyEmbmw-w

Whatever you decide to do it's time and also I would say do a primer, colour then top coat depending on whether you want matt, semi gloss or gloss finish. For this I would 100% go with Spraymax 2 component topcoats. They are about as a professional looking finish you can get from a spray can. https://www.spraymax.com/en/products/pr ... lear-coat/