In this tutorial, I will be showing you the steps to painting a pocket bike.
Before we begin, you will need a few things...
Prepare
1. A Sander - I recommend a small electric hand sander, you can get them for as low as $10. Overall, it really doesn't matter, but you need to make sure you will be able to get curves with it.
2. Sand Paper - You will need 80 type sander paper and 100-120 type sand paper.
3. Paint - Paint is the key thing to painting your bike, without it, you wouldn't be able TO paint it! Some great paint is Krylon FUSION, it runs about $4 a can, but it's great quality stuff. You will need 2 cans (or 4, if you are doing a scheme - such as a racing scheme), that will give you a good amount of extra paint for touch up and painting the rims if you want. Also, read the tips section below if you want to do more than one color (such as a racing scheme).
4. Paint COLOR - This isn't something you can buy (I'm not talking about actual paint here). You will need to decide the color scheme you want your bike to be, before hand. You can choose anything you want, and Krylon has a very nice selection of colors. To all white, all black, all green, all blue, or red with racing stripes, the choice is yours.
6. Old Clothes - Don't wear good clothes WHENEVER you work on your pocket bike, or any vehicle for that matter! You WILL ruin them and get spray paint on them! Just don't wear them.
TIPS: If you are painting your bike multiple colors (such as a racing scheme), you will need to buy more than one color of paint. You will need 2 cans of paint for your primary color, 1 can for your secondary color, and 1 can for your other color (such as the stripes).
Disassembly
Now that you have your sander, paint, and paint scheme (selected colors), it's time to disassemble your body kit from your bike! Depending on what kind of pocket bike you have, they are are regularly the same. Study your bike for a little bit, and find where all of the screws are. Once you have, unscrew all of them, and take off your body kit.
TIP: Keep all of your screws for your body kit in a plastic bag.
Sanding Down Your Body Kit
Alright, now it's time to get down and dirty. Take your sander, and start off with the 80 type sand paper. This will get it rough and remove the paint. You do not need to remove all of the paint, just get it nice and smooth, and where it isn't glossy or messy! Once you have done that, put on your 100 or 120 sand paper type, and sand it down again. Now it should be smooth and nice. Either get a damp cloth or a towel, and remove the sand dust from the body kit (wipe it with the damp cloth, or swipe it off with the towel).
TIP: Spend time sanding your pocket bike, the better sanded, the better.
Painting
Here comes the fun part - painting your pocket bike! Depending on if you're doing the same color all over the bike, or if you have a scheme (such as a racing scheme), it will vary. If this is your first time painting, I recommend you stick with one color overall, until you get the hang of it. If you want to, you still can do a more advanced scheme. There are 2 methods of painting your bike below; method 1 - all the sane color; method 2 - paint scheme. Choose the right one for you.
Method 1 - All the same color: First, shake your spray paint for about 2 minutes with each can (total of 4 minutes - 2 minutes with each can). This makes the paint much better, and it comes out of the can a lot easier and cleaner. Spray an even coat over the bike, about 6-10 inches away from the bike, on this first coat you want to get everything - don't do it close enough where you get paint dripping down! Let your first coat dry for an hour. Depending on how it looks, and how much sanding you did, the amount of coats you will do depends, slightly. After that first coat, do another light coat, this time about 8-12 inches away - you still want to get the bike. Repeat this step 2 more times, until you have a total of 4 coats. If it still needs more, and doesn't look very glossy (with krylon fusion your bike will look pretty glossy), apply another coat(s). Wait an hour between each coat you apply. Now you are done painting!
Method 2 - Scheme: If you are doing a scheme, such as a racing one, you will spend more time and effort, and it is a little more challenging. You will need some tape (painters tape - the blue stuff, or freezer tape). You will also want some newspaper or normal paper. Depending on your scheme, you will need to make lines with the tape across the body. Make sure they are even with the other side. Make the lines spaced out, with at least 4 inches between (you can alternatively space them out however you want). You will need to have a total of 3 sections; primary color (on top), secondary color (on bottom), and your other color (in the middle), you can change these if you like. Now take your newspaper/paper, and place it underneath that tape all across the plastic until the end (lift up the tape halfway, and place the paper underneath, then press down and make it stick - this protects the rest of the bike from getting different color paint on different parts). Now paint the first section (the top section) your primary color, on both sides. Now take your secondary color, and paint it on the bottom section, on both sides. Now take the other color, and paint the middle section, on both sides. Let the paint dry for an hour, and then repeat the painting process another 3 times, until it is glossy and looks nice. Paint about 6-10 inches away from the body on your first coat, and on the remaining ones paint about 8-10 inches away from the body. DO all of this on ONLY ONE section on your body kit (the biggest piece of your body kit, usually the lower part underneath the engine and the working parts). For the other parts, paint it one main color (use your primary color). Get it nice, even, and clean. Now you are done painting!
You will need to do this on ALL of your parts, not just one piece; this only applies for Method 1.
TIP: If you are doing Method 2, and you need help or are doing a different type of scheme (such as diagonal lines), or you need more help, feel free to PM me. Remember to wait an hour before you apply the next coat on your body kit!
Assembly
Assembly is just the opposite of disassembly. Once all of your pieces are dry (wait overnight or a few hours once you're done, even if you've waited one hour like I said in the painting directions above), reassemble them.
Finished
Now you are finished painting your pocket bike! It's not very hard, and it's cheap. The only thing is that it takes time.
Thanks for reading this tutorial, I hope it helped you. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to write them below! If you have any questions, send me a PM!
I'm going to sticky this for you and lock the thread.
I use automotive paint and wetsand and clearcoat. Directions for those will be added when I get a chance.
