Carbon Bike Frame Painting
Factory-spec restorations and one-of-one custom bicycle paint, done in our own booth by painters with fine arts backgrounds. Frames arrive from all over the country and go home painted.
Every frame goes through the same three stages
Clean the frame
Each frame we receive is stripped to its bare substrate.
Primer and sealer
The frame is primed and sealed to ensure that the frame will hold the new paint.
Final coats
Every paint job is finished with a clear coat that protects the frame for years.
How a paint job comes together
Design and consultation
We first plan out the paint job and mock up what it will look like.
We will collaborate on the design until you are happy with the result, then we begin work.
Prepping the frame
Whether we are painting a carbon fiber repair or something completely unique to you, the paint job is only as good as the foundation.
We remove all the factory paint by hand, which takes 8 to 20 hours on a typical frame, so the new paint sprays on clean.
Base coats
With the frame clean and sanded we begin to apply the base layers. This layer of primers and sealers ensures that the paint will spray onto the frame smooth and ensure that it adheres completely.
That usually takes 2 to 3 coats.
Any color we can mix
TW Carbon uses automotive-quality water-based paints. We are able to mix any colors we need to achieve the results you’re after.
One customer wanted Alfa Romeo Verde Montreal on a Canyon Aeroad, so we mixed it.
Stenciling
TW Carbon does all graphics and logos in-house. These custom additions (or factory recreations) are always done in paint; we never use stickers.
The clear coat
Every custom paint job regardless of the final finish will get a high solids gloss clear coat. This serves two purposes, one it allows us to sand the clear back to “bury” the paint lines created when masking and creating designs and logos.
The second is a finish that lasts for years. If you want matte, the matte clear goes on last, over the same buried lines.
Painting road and mountain bikes
Road bikes
On a road frame the finish is the whole point, so the work goes into how flat the surface is before any color goes down and how far the clear coat gets polished after. We spray the fork, seatpost and bars to match when you send them, because a frame that matches its own components is what makes a repaint read as a factory color instead of a respray.
See how this Canyon Aeroad was painted
Mountain bikes
We paint hardtail and full suspension mountain bike frames. Hardtails start at $1,200 like a road frame, and full suspension frames start at $1,300. The finish is the same one a road frame gets: high-solids gloss clear, sanded back and polished so the paint lines are buried under it. The one thing we steer mountain bikers on is matte. Matte clear cannot be polished, so a scuffed matte panel has to be resprayed instead of buffed out. This Nukeproof Forbes enduro frame went out in gloss for exactly that reason.
See paint pricing by frame typeCustom paint starts at $1,200
| Paint work | Starting at |
|---|---|
| Double-triangle frame (road, gravel, hardtail) | $1,200 |
| TT, tri or full-suspension frame | $1,300 |
These are starting prices. The design sets the final number, so a more involved design costs more than a simple one on the same frame.
Every design is different, so the exact number comes out of the design consultation. Send us the frame and the idea and we will price the actual work.
Not local? Ship us your frame
Most custom paint frames arrive by mail. There is no reason to settle for whoever paints bikes nearest you: riders ship frames to Kirkwood, MO from all over the country, and the frame goes home painted.
- 1
Settle the design and the quote
Send photos of the frame and the idea you have in mind. We work out the design and price it before anything ships, so you are not paying for a conversation that happens after your frame is already in a box.
- 2
Strip and pack the frame
Components off, frame clean, padding around every tube. It is the same packing job riders do for mail-in repair, and we wrote that one out step by step already.
How mail-in shipping works - 3
We paint it and keep you posted
On arrival we photograph the frame and confirm the design against your quote. You get progress photos as the base coats, artwork and clear go on, so nothing about the finished color is a surprise.
Fill out the check-in form - 4
It ships back to your door
Once the clear has cured and been polished, the frame gets packed the same careful way and shipped back.
How long a paint job takes
A boxed frame with no wheels or components is a manageable package, and it costs well under what shipping a whole bike costs. What you pay depends on how far you are from our Kirkwood shop, the carrier, and the value you insure it for. Any local shop can box a frame for a small bench fee. More on shipping a frame to us .
Dig deeper into custom paint
Bike paint designs
Fades, candy, honeycomb and hand-painted artwork, with a note on how each look was built.
How a carbon frame gets painted
The full process, including the 8 to 20 hours of stripping that comes before any color.
The Joker
Crackle texture under candy magenta and green, built for a national champion.
Piet Mondrian
A De Stijl grid masked and sprayed block by block onto a curved road frame.
Mail-in service
How riders outside Missouri get a frame to us and back.
Carbon fiber repair
Damaged frames get repaired and repainted in the same shop, so the finish matches.
Recent paint work
A few of the frames that have come through the booth. Every one of these was sprayed here.
Trusted by Cyclists
"Nick and his team refinished my Trek Domane Project One bike to brand new condition after ten years of hard use. These guys are true professionals and the very best at their craft!"
"Nick is worth every cent you pay. I've had two bikes painted at TW - a 1989 Guerciotti steel frame and a 2006 Giant carbon. Both frames came out looking brand new. Just added new components and I had two new bikes essentially. I wouldn't hesitate to use Nick again for any project."
"I chose to have a bicycle fork and fender painted only a minor amount. Small potatoes compared to some of the jobs they handle (full frame, auto parts, etc) but they still treated me as if I was a big spender. Excellent work! Can't wait to see what they paint and/or repair next!"
Custom paint questions, answered
Can you paint carbon fiber?
Yes. Carbon fiber takes paint like any other material, as long as whoever is sanding it knows to stop at the primer and never cut into the weave. We strip every frame by hand with 80 grit rather than media blasting or chemical stripping, both of which will damage carbon.
How much does a custom bicycle paint job cost?
Custom paint starts at $1,200 for a double-triangle frame (road, gravel, hardtail) and $1,300 for a TT, tri or full-suspension frame. The exact price depends on the design and comes out of the design consultation.
How long does a custom paint job take?
Door to door, 5 to 7 weeks at our quietest and 8 to 11 weeks at our busiest.
Is the paint work warrantied?
Yes. All of our repairs and paint work come with a one-year warranty on defects.
Which lasts longer, matte or gloss?
Gloss, because gloss can be repaired and matte cannot. A scratch or a dull patch in gloss clear sands and polishes out. Matte clear has no polishing step by definition, so the only fix for a damaged matte finish is respraying the panel.
Do you paint frames that are not carbon?
Yes, we paint steel, titanium and aluminum frames as well as carbon. Recent metal work includes a 1989 Guerciotti steel road frame, a Speedvagen, and a Schwinn. The prep changes with the material, but the paint and clear are the same.
Will you paint the fork, bars and seatpost to match?
Yes, and we would rather you send them. A repaint reads as a factory color when everything matches and reads as a respray when the frame is new and the fork is not. On a marbled Scott build we carried the pattern across the frame, fork, bars, seatpost and the cable covers.
Send us the frame and the idea
Photos and a rough idea are enough to start. We will come back with a design and a real number.
Get a free quoteGet a Free Quote
Tell us about your bike and what you need done.
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