My commuter is an old steel Trek MTB that I bought at a pawn shop for $29. With my take-off parts from other projects and a new seat, grips and tires... I have a little more than $150 in it, tho it looks like less.

The frame was already uglified by a previous owner with three cans of spray paint (black, green and blue in decreasing order of coverage). Since it started out yellow and a bit of it shows where I removed the non-functioning front derailleur... it is easily one of the ugliest rides in any bike rack.

IMHO, stickers and tape don't fool anybody, but they might prevent paint chips when leaning the frame against stuff.