So I have a crank its silver i kinda want to paint it, but I want to do like a drawing on it. I have no idea how to do it. do i sand it down first, or can i throw the paint over it, I had an idea on how to do it, my idea was primer over the crank, then a solid white, do the painting/drawing, then a clear coat over it. does that sound right? can you help me out?

Sounds good. Just remember it is a crank and portions of the paint will rub off. I love it when people get creative with their bikes.

Powdercoat will stay a lot longer than paint. But it'll be a lot more expensive.

Cranks are normally aluminum, so they don't powder coat very well.

****ty finish.

Paint doesn't do too great either unless it's primed.

You need to know what you are starting with - are the cranks anodized? You want to remove all that which involves some chemicals or a lot of abrasives. Probably both.

To get anything better than a flaky job you'll need a chemical reaction. So either two part catalyzed paints, heat-cured paints, or something that reactions with the aluminum itself, like a darkening agent.

Or spray paint.

"BFSSFG: Over complicating the uncomplicated."

Painting them makes them heavier dude. You wanna go the other way fer sure.

Acidwash/fade/splash anodizing. I say this just because I haven't seen much exotic anodizing work in the cycling industry, it all seems to be solid tones.

And you don't need to take the cranks off the bike. Leave the pedals on too. Just spray around that stuff.

+1 this. Maybe find a bunch of other people who want to do their cranks as well and get them done all at once so you can split the cost.

^ I must be lucky, there's a powdercoater near me that does frames for $50-75 and parts like h-bars and cranks for $15-20

also,this is amazing

Wow - On the right bike, that would look very nice.

so this is the finished product, so what do you think. nothing will happen if i clear coat it right?

You painted it without taking it off the bike or even removing the pedals?

so meta

THat's nice.

That doesn't look right.

well yeah, seemed pretty easy.

What about Shenron doesn't look right?

dragon balls yo.

Ouch, well, i like colors. so yeah

THANKS MAN!, you get it.

Dude, it totally depends on how you prepped it, what you used for the artwork, and what you use for the clear coat. As those are all single-speed-fixed-gear-specific questions you came to the right place!

First, prep the artwork by spraying it with mineral spirits. Then rub it really hard with steel wool soaked in Acetone. Finish off with a soft cloth with a bit of Naphtha or Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). That should be all you need!

Huh?

it's going to rub off when you ride regardless of whether or not you clearcoat it.

It's Shenron, from Dragon Ball Z.