Bianchi - repainted Celeste - teaser
 

I guess you could call this a teaser since i don't have all of the parts on yet. It turned out so nice, I had to put pics up asap. I have wanted a Celeste bike and for now this is what works with the budget.

So far I have done everything myself including the decals. Frame was stripped to bare metal, primed, painted, clearcoated, etc. The "Bianchi" wording decals were ordered off the Bianchi site but I made all of the other decals with my inkjet printer and " Testors" decal paper. I was actually quite impressed with the way they turned out. I was able to clear coat over them with great results. I wanted to stay away from the vinyl rub-on lettering.

I will post more pics when I get the components on. (should be this weekend) (O...fork is black)

I guess that art degree has finally paid off..............

That's NICE< love that color......

Nice job - I like the Celeste better than the red that it was.

very sweet, what color is that actually? Krylon Celery?

More details....nice work, I have a Japanese Bianchi that is in rough shape, where did you find the celeste colour? Is it Krylon Celery?

What a difference! Looks like a true Bianchi now.:D Nice work:thumb:

stan

Colour me impressed. Nice work!

The decals are Testors water slide. Not cheap at $10 for 6 sheets. (still cheaper than what I paid for the Bianchi Decals ($30 for the set of 5). I thought about doing a seperate thread on making and applying your own decals. I think the results are equal to store bought. Funny thing is the biggest problem I had was trying to find high res. logos to use for decals. You can't see it from the pics but there is a campy logo on the rear seat stays. If you study that decal closely you would be able to see the pixels/squares. Probably wouldn't know it if it wasn't pointed out. As for the World Cup stripes, I made those in a design program, so they came out perfect. The lettering of "campione d'italia" is also a regular font so no problems with that. I also made some small Look logos that are colored and will go on my pedals when finished.

Ok, as for the color it is "Rustoleum Painters Touch satin Seaside Green". This is Rustoleums crappier brand of paints. I had a few runs here and there that needed to be touch up. It is definitely thinner than their regular paint. It should be noted that I took my time with painting. One day to completely strip, sand and wipe with acetone and let dry. One day to primer and let dry, one day for green and let dry, one day for the black graphics and let dry, and finally one day for the clear, let dry and clear coat a final time. I looked into powder coating, but it wouldn't have worked for the paint scheme I wanted. I thought about professional paint job but didn't want to invest in that. Although it is rattle can, I feel like with the preparation I did, it is going to last. The clear coating really makes the difference. I did a scratch test on the head tube of the fork and was satisfied.

Mock up will start tonight. Picked up new tires today and will post some more pics Monday!

Marvelous results! The red looked very good, but the celeste/black looks awesome.
Definitely consider a detailed thread on the decal process. This is intriguing stuff for the rest of us DIYer/frugal C&Vers. I have numerous projects awaiting me that will need decals. This may be my solution.
Did you find any trouble using inkjet printing, as some inks are water soluble.

I rattle-canned my Specialized Sirrus as my first project. All automotive paint and primer, followed by 2 coats of clear. The results weren't bad, but prepping could've been better. I found that as long as you give it a lot of time for the coats to dry and stabilize, they will be a lot more durable. Patience is the key. I bought a reusable aerosol spray kit which is powered by compressed air. Others interested in DIY repainting might want to try one of these. Seems the perfect size for our application. Mix as much as needed, controlling thinner, and can get color-matched paint mixed for our frames.

Two thoughts: 1) Very impressive paint and graphics job! 2) You have the strongest grip I've ever seen! Holding the frame aloft by merely pinching the headtube between your thumb and forefinger... Wow. 8-o

I like the semi Argentine commerative paint but why the RC decals? why not put the components you have back on?

The Black rear triangle with the Black Forks will look really cool.

He's got a coathanger through the seatpost-bolt hanger (or whatever you'd call it). He's not suspending it on two fingers. :lol: