Pretty stoked on my 89 GT Avalanche, but it is a little let down by how fucked the paint is. My mate has a bit of a spray booth setup, and wondering if you think it's worth stripping it all down and doing a respray, or just vibing out the beaten nature of it?
by rowan_my_boat
21 Comments
no. its not worth the time efford and cost.
the only thing that semi-makes sense is dropping it off to get powder coated, its much cheaper and easier.
I tried it before and it went really poorly, but I’m dumb as hell so your results may vary
(All jokes aside, if you’re a careful and meticulous cat who will put in the work to strip the bike, prep the surfaces, and apply the new paint correctly then you can really get it looking nice as hell and it might be worth it. I’m none of those things)
Is this gonna be your project bike (worth painting), commuter (maybe), or beater bike (not worth it)?
An inbetween option is to clean it up as best you can and give it a fresh glossy clear coat. That can make a huge difference speaking from my experience cleaning up a 92 Kona in worse condition than yours. It was supposed to be a bit of a beater/spare parts build but the new gloss makes me wanna turn it into yet another project haha. 3/4s of the fork was severely pitted and the paint was rusted off. But now with the clear coat it looks like it’s got some unique character!
I vote for letting the years show. Im sure many will disagree. But I think its cool when you see a frame that shows it’s age, still rolling around with all new shiny parts. But hey to each their own ! 🚲
If you like the bike then sure. Bikes are forever machines. As long as the frame isn’t cracked or bent you can always replace or upgrade the components. It may not be worth money but sometimes that’s not the point.
If you need to lock it outside not at all if you ride it and keep it inside hell yea.
Yes! The bright red paint on my ’93 Karakoram was trashed so repainting was pretty much a must. I had this frame media blasted ($50 usd) and then did the prep/prime/paint myself. Materials cost me less than $30. I planned on having it powder coated but the guy I went to said it wouldn’t turn out very good because of all the nooks and crannies of the GT frame (particularly the underside of the top tube). He said he wouldn’t feel good about taking my money.
https://preview.redd.it/tj62aygvk62h1.jpeg?width=1746&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c34937fdac76fd5614661731283c909b1476c469
Treat it like a car. A good wash, clay bar, tar and iron remover plus a polish and sealant will make it look night and day better. No it won’t be perfect and won’t fix the stone chips and what not but it will make it look substantially better.
I think if you enjoy tinkering and being creative it is 100% worth the time. What else would you do with those couple of afternoons? Keeping a ratty frame alive also has its perks But it sure feels nice riding out on a fresh ass paint Job.
Make sure it’s as smooth as possible,then put a clear coat on it 🤷🏼
Definitely vibe out! Being old enough to have ridden this new, it’s great to see tried and true old frames still kicking about with newer shiny bits!
Having painted up a bike or two before, it’s very easy to get a painted bike that looks decent, but it’s very hard to get a painted bike that has a high quality finish. Clear coating in particular is really hard to get right if you’re just running a DIY rattlecan job (even with the good clearcoat you see rec’d by pros).
So, if your bike is aesthetically letting you down, but still has good coverage in terms of what makes paint a durable/protective layer, then you gotta decide whether you care more about looks or function. If the metal is all exposed and needs protecting anyway, then worst you’ll end up doing is scrapping your decals (which can make re-selling tough since there’s a lot of folks who try to pass lower models off as higher ones by repainting).
Unrelated: How’s your fork alignment / headset lower fit? It’s impossible to be sure from pics, but your front forks look like they might’ve been in a head-on at some point.
I had my 98 Zaskar LE repainted and found reprints of the original decals. I though it was very worth the $175 I paid and the guy even put the decals on. However mine was a different goal though and it was always my plan to fully modernize and repaint.
I immediately scratched it of course but I ride this bike actually so it’s all good 🚲
https://preview.redd.it/6ga7onky372h1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d01059f8fc78292839e4e26c3cae7878963d576a
Beasage
Heck yeah. Painting a bike is fun! Do something amazing with this bike.
Nah Clean it up
Let it ride baby. Reelin in the years and showing it off
I personally love seeing a beat to shit frame with updated components.
The patina you’ve got isn’t that interesting. If my friend had a spray booth and some skills I’d 100% strip this frame and repaint it. I’d make my own water slide decals for it afterwards, too.
If your buddy has a spray booth setup I say take advantage of it. Not many ppl get that opportunity and it really can make a world of a difference in a paintjob having a lil booth versus just outside in a front yard
Looks like you stole a ghost bike, find a funky color scheme and go for it!