how do you make a fresh coat of paint look old?

[teetsboy95]

i was thinking that if i lay down some white paint on fenders (like schwinn used to do and how vintage english bikes are) with just a nice white line on the front and bottoms of the fenders...

not my bike just an example...how can you make it look like its been there since the bike was new but make it dirty and rusty and half weatered off of there? thanks -teetsboy95

 

[ratina]

scuff it with steel wool or lightly sand it

 

[scrumblero]

let my kid ride it... :roll:

 

[M.Martian]

Just don't let Scrumblero ride it. He might break the fork headtube. ouch

 

[Anonymous]

Paint it with an "off-white" or "antique white"... Just dont use "white-white"

That will get it pretty close to start with.

 

[teetsboy95]

haha dont let him ride it lol thats a good one i like the idea of an off white which would make it look vintage and then sand it or steel wool it then make it rust...cool! do you think it would look good on a full front fender and a boobed rear fender? (even though the rear doesnt stick out below the seat that much) i was planning to put it on my bike...look it up its called "mr. skymaster" and i started posting AFTER i bought it off of bigblockthing. youll see my name on the postings after the build pics.

 

[Lonewolf]

I didn't mean any harm by my post ,earlier. I guess it could easily have been seen as not in line with the thread, but it was a simple attempt at humor and all in good fun.

I'm not here to ruin anyone's time.
Good luck with the bike!

Sorry.

 

[Tailwinds]

Had the same problem recently, the white spray was WAAAAYYY too white for the rest of the old bike.
Wet sand the white paint w/ 800 to give it some texture, then wipe on a coat of walnut colored wood stain (you know, the Minwax stuff in the yellow can, nothing special). Let it sit for 10 minutes and wipe off the residue. Give it a second or third coat as desired, when you wipe it on then wipe it off it makes the color change VERY subtle so you really can't mess it up. Let it dry for a day and then clear coat over that. Done.

 

[teetsboy95]

thanks man! and its definately good humor lol i got a kick out of it haha oh and great idea with the minwax stain! i never thought of it and im really inspired!!! and the good thing is that my dad is a carpenter and he has so many cans of it!!! plus he loves to stain old furniture and now we can do my fenders haha i will definately try it!

 

[Tailwinds]

Just a couple of other thoughts related to your bike. The seat, I also use a vinyl spray paint (available from Autozone, etc.) for soft surfaces like bike saddles, I tape off the seat and respray the white portion, but when it's done the white portion looks brilliant white so I use the wood stain on it also to antique it.

Then, to even out the color tone on the grips I remove them from the handlebar and soak them in a jar of 50/50 bleach and water for a couple of days, shake'em up a few times while they're in there. They'll come out looking as good as new, not glowing white, but much closer to that off-white color you're looking for.