iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Here's some close up shots of some of the paint that got under the mask and some other imperfections and also my favorite bit in the drop out hoods.

140

okay I know you've all been on your toes waiting for the results and here it is! it's pretty rough but I'm so obsessed.

140

finally mounted my drink holder i got for Christmas last night on my ebike. tested it out this morning and it worked alright. definitely splashed on the bumps. I ordered a medium drink in a large cup to try to account for it. probably need something with more lateral suspension.

020

Finished the touch ups and honestly was really frustrated with this one. since I was doing spot touch ups the paint really globbed so I have two spots that kind of puddled 😭 I hope it at least dries smoothly i don't feel like doing another sand down and prep before I put the top coat on.

A photo of a bike hanging on a maintenance stand in a garage mostly covered in white garbage bags and green masking tape. the exposed parts have been painted purple.

up bright and early, waiting for my first coat of the color to be touch dry (I think 10 min?) before I go back and add to any spots that need more coverage. forgot to set my coffee pot to auto brew this morning so I got started a bit later than I planned.

a photo of a black-gloved hand holding an orange coffee cup with a generously creamed coffee. a bit blurred in the background is a bike frame held aloft by a bike maintenance stand in a garage lot brightly with a work light the bike frame is mostly covered in white garbage bags and green masking tape except for a thin lineof purple paint along the top.

this is where I ended up for the night, going with a simple half tube color. all ready for another 5am paint sesh tomorrow morning!

a photo of a bike hanging on a maintenance stand in a dark garage masked with garbage bags and tape only exposing the top half of the bike

oh! forgot to share how much better the new coat of blue looks! still far from perfect but good enough to move on

a close up photo of a blue bike frame sitting on a carpeted floor showing a smoothish appearance

000

I thought masking for the second color was going to be the fun part because ✨️creativity✨️ but I am not a preparation girly and I'm over it already

a photo of a blue bike frame sitting on a carpeted floor with green masking tape on sections of the frame. There is an orange pair of scissors on the floor in the foreground and a teal couch in the background.

Caught up to this morning when I was up for another 5am painting sesh with my new fresh learnings. Sanded, re-masked, and cleaned the frame for a second (hopefully smoother) coat. I also added the first coat to the fork.

A photo of a blue bike fork laying on a concrete floor of the garage.

A photo of a blue bike frame with masking tape on parts.

When the paint dried, i went to start masking for the next color but found the paint really rough and it was dusting off on my hands. 😭 on spray.bike's website i found out this can be caused by spraying too far away or when it's too hot out.

a close up photo of the bike frame head tube with a rough-textured blue paint.

And the results after a 5am painting sesh (can only paint between like 55°-70°F). I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, really good coverage with little paint.

A photo of a bike frame on a blue maintenance stand painted blue and with masking tape removed.

120

Here's where i ended up before painting. I sanded the entire frame with 400 grit sandpaper and then wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol. I added rolled up masking tape in the threaded holes in the frame to prevent paint from getting in there and masked the bottom bracket and parts of the head tube.

A photo of a gold bike frame hanging on a blue maintenance stand with tape in the threaded holes.

100

The bike shop also convinced me to remove everything and assured me they'd be able to help if I couldn't get anything back on 😅 so I grabbed a crank arm removing tool and a chain removing tool too. And voila suddenly naked bike. There's no going back now 😵‍💫

A photo of a gold bike frame with all components removed hanging upside down on a blue maintenance stand in a garage.

The next day I went to the bike shop to ask how to remove my fork (apparently just a couple of smacks with a rubber mallet? easy peasy!) and I ended up getting a maintenence stand which has been a godsend. Moved to the garage for the rest of the work. And look at this shit show 😅

A photo of a gold bike hanging upside down on a blue maintenance stand with the handlebars hanging off the bike held on by brake and derailleur cables. The handlebars are resting on a cardboard box on a garbage can.

Here's where I got the first night: removed the racks, fenders, wheels, seat, and headset. at this point I was still convinced I was going to mask off the crankset, brakes, and derailleurs because these were the most intimidating parts to me.

A photo a bike with many components removed, set upside down and resting on the seat post.

Another angle showing the bike upside down.

A photo with the bike now leaning on its side with a bin lid under the crankset.

120

Disassembly started in my living room since it was so hot out and I didn't have a maintenence stand. It got a bit messy but it was nice to be comfortable while I spent 70% of my time looking up how to remove a part of my bike 😅 Baby making a cameo behind the bike 😂

A photo of a road/gravel bike on a bike stand in my living room on a colorful rug.