thehammerdog

got a sweet in good shape bianchi 928 c2c. bike fits well rides well but is 10 yrs old. some cosmetic clear coat issues.
i love this comfy fast lightweight bike.
new paint is an idea but not cheap. called Calfee got estimate $600.00
silly idea.

Gresp15C

Ride it. New paint will look like old paint soon anyway.

martianone

Answered your own question, "I love this bike "
consider powder coat or a rattle can paint job?
or just ride it !

dmanthree

If it fits, ride it. Paint is still cheaper than a ew ride.

chaadster

It’s a silly waste of money to repaint it from most perspectives because it’s a common, mid-range, nearly vintage, carbon fiber bike which isn’t really worth much from a resale perspective. Of course resale probably isn’t your primary concern, so investing some money for your own satisfaction and pleasure does make sense.

Depending on the vintage/finish, and where the bothersome issues are, this might be a prime candidate for vinyl overlays. Some of the 928 Coast to Coasts had blocky, geometric shapes which would be easy to “color change” with wrap.

You could pay a shop to do it, or spend $100 bucks on a vinyl roll and knifeless tape and have a go at it yourself. You wouldn’t be wrapping the whole bike in either case, just parts of it, but it could solve issues and look really cool.

The logo would be hard to do that way, but I did trip across a bike shop on YouTube which was making logo overlays on a vinyl cutter in house, so maybe you could get transfers done for those.

Maybe worth considering.

Koyote

Buff out the clearcoat, or put stickers on it, or just deal with it. But that bike is not worth a repaint.

Still riding my '03 LeMond, warts and all. When I'm on it, I don't see any scratches or dings.

_ForceD_

I second the powder coating. Got it on one of my bikes for $150.

Dan

mstateglfr 

Asked and answered.

mstateglfr 

powdercoating doesn't stick too well to that which isn't metal.

Maelochs

Powder coat is baked on .... not sure I would want to bake a CF bike.

jay4usc

just cover it with a bunch of stickers.

sean.hwy

Since the bike is carbon fiber can you just sand it down yourself and then put some clear coat with uv protection? I think a naked CF would look great.

indyfabz

Enve had no issue with Cerakote, which is also baked on, on my fork. Wonder if there is much baking temperature difference. Now I’m curious.

Thomas15

Where there is doubt, buy new.

chaadster

The first problem with powdercoat is that it requires a conductive material to attract the paint particles, and you can’t electrostatically charge CF like that. I suppose it’s theoretically possible to preheat the frame and then spray the powdercoat, cutting out the electrostatic part and having the paint melt on contact. Getting an even finish might be tricky...

With regards to heating, Cerakote is super thin and low temp is all that’s needed to get the bonding. I’m not sure of the curing time, but I bet it’s shorter and lower temp than powdercoat, too, which may make it more suitable to CF.

AlmostTrick

$600 can't be the only viable option for a nice paint job. If you're handy (and have done it successfully before) you can paint it yourself. Or just pay up and let the pro's do it.

Paint it and make it mint again, you won't regret it. Post pics!

blakcloud

Not silly at all. You have a bike you but starting to look like it's past its prime. A paint job would be perfect.

Just something to remember, the price isn't the price. There is the cost of stripping the bike, if you can't do it yourself and that means taking out a the BB and headset. Next there is shipping the bike both ways unless you find somewhere close. The rebuild will cost and there will be new consumables, cables etc. Not trying to talk you out of it but just be informed.

Two months ago I was riding and met a woman on a pristine carbon fiber Trek with 10 speed. I asked her about her bike and she said she just had it custom painted at Velocolour. She said "I know it's not the latest and greatest but I really like my bike and I don't need something new". The bike looked great. I have also had a three bikes painted, two at Velocolour another at Todd the Painter. I just went to Velocolour last week to talk about having my Trek repainted so that it is unique to me.

Nothing wrong with investing money into your bike looking good.

_ForceD_

My bad. Didn’t realize it’s a CF frame.

Dan

Rolla

Spending money to fix a purely cosmetic flaw is nature's way of telling you you have too much money. Ride it 'til it breaks, then worry about the next one.

Litespud

I'm a big believer in maintain rather than replace - if the bike fits and you like riding it, there's nothing wrong with showing it a little love, and I don't think that love needs to cost $600. However, even if you pay full whack, it's still cheaper than replacing it. But even then, it's not really about the money - you have history with this bike - honor the history with some new paint.

aclinjury

$600 for a repaint is a fair price. I'm paying $800 for my repaint. I went with my own logo in pearlescent, and for the base I went with a shifting color base. There is no way most pepole would be able to do this job at home like the pros can do in a shop.
I don't plan to sell the bike so I'm not conserned about resell value. What i care about is that the paint job makes me happy, makes my riding experience a happier one, and I can afford it.
Almost all pro paint jobs I've seen look amazing, much better than boring big brands.

thehammerdog

thank u for the pep talk. i love the bike but nee is new and i lack the 2-3k needed to replace. i can do most mechanical so shipping and paint..but as it is carbon i want someone who knows the material to review repair before psint.
illlook into velocolour.

genejockey 

Can you powdercoat a carbon frame?

Looks like THAT'S been covered.

I guess the question boils down to 1) How bad is it now? 2) How much money do you have lying around to have it painted?

bruce19

We all have our opinions but the one that counts is yours. Weigh all of the variables and do what feels right. Just enjoy.