# Duct tape "paint" job



## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Been meaning to post this...

I found a Centurion Accordo road bike at the Salvation Army store about three years go and used it as a commuter. I couldn't stand the passe toothpaste green color and white fade paint job. I affectionately named it "Fluoride" even though I couldn't stand the color.

Fluoride needed a makeover.

So last year I decided wrap camouflage duct tape around it. I stripped off all the parts and rattle can painted the lugs red. Let it dry for about a day then the duct tape fun began. I just wrapped the tubes lengthwise and the trimmed the tape at the lugs to expose their shapes. It's not the most precise tape job, but the camo color scheme made it easy to overlap and looks decent.

It's been over a year and it's still held up through rain and being locked up to meters, fences and racks. It's hearty tape, so it fends off scratches and nicks so, no rust . The red spray painted lugs have chipped over time and you start to see the white and green, but the tape has endured. I came out of the art store one day and found that my lock had been fussed with, but luckily I have a flat key lock  .

It's now known as "Camo"


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

saaaweeeeeeeet!

i have been meaning to get to painting my ss rockhopper conversion. its her 19th birthday this year, and i was tossing up the rattlecan john deere green, or primer. i really wanted camo, but didnt know ow to paint it up. looks like this might be the way to go...


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## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

Looks cool, meat. I like it. Today I stopped to buy a tube at a little bike store on Venice, close to Western. It's run by a old Mexican guy, and they have a pretty good selection of older used road bikes. Good future fixie projects.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

northcoast said:


> Looks cool...


 Thanks! Today was the first time I've ridden a gear bike in over a month and I almost rode into the shrubs because it just felt to odd compared to my fixed. Took me about 1 mile to get used to it again. 

Did you notice the prices on those old road bikes at that little ol' shop? I am always looking for old project bikes like this camouflage ride.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

There are several different style camo tapes out there. The duct tape variety, seen on my bike, is semi glossy in finish and has a slight texture. The camo pattern is on the cold side. Duct camo tape pic below (notice texture):










Had I known about the camo gaffers tape, I would have gone that route. The color is nicer IMO, kinda warmer with browns in the mix. It has a matt finish and has a fine canvas texture that is hardly noticeable. Since it's matt in finish, you can always see the camo pattern. The gloss on the duct version makes it hard to notice the pattern at certain angles. The gaffers tape comes in a variety of colors too. Go here to see https://www.identi-tape.com/camo.htm
Matt camo gaffers tape pic:


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

What's up with having one REAR brake?


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## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

meat tooth paste said:


> Thanks! Today was the first time I've ridden a gear bike in over a month and I almost rode into the shrubs because it just felt to odd compared to my fixed. Took me about 1 mile to get used to it again.
> 
> Did you notice the prices on those old road bikes at that little ol' shop? I am always looking for old project bikes like this camouflage ride.


Was in kind of a hurry and wasn't really paying attention to the prices.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

filtersweep said:


> What's up with having one REAR brake?


 Several reasons for no front brake:
- Took it to put on my fixed gear Pista
- I used to ride BMX with just a rear brake
- Front rim is worn out
- The bike stops just fine at the mellow rate that I use this bike for
- Some beach cruisers just come with a rear coaster brake  So it's okay


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

filtersweep said:


> What's up with having one REAR brake?


 And forgot to mention in that list that I only weigh 130 pounds. So the rear brake is stops me just FINE. Also I live near the beach, so it's flat grade riding around here. As a matter of fact it stops me even better than the front only setup on my fixed gear bike.


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## JTS628 (Apr 22, 2003)

That's great! I've done rattle can camo style jobs on old city bikes but your method looks a lot cleaner.


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## gotmilk? (Nov 28, 2004)

meat tooth paste said:


> And forgot to mention in that list that I only weigh 130 pounds. So the rear brake is stops me just FINE. Also I live near the beach, so it's flat grade riding around here. As a matter of fact it stops me even better than the front only setup on my fixed gear bike.


That bike looks great! But here's what you do: give it a apha-numeric designation like the MTP A1. Call it a prototype. Take it to the Pentagon and tell them it's an energy efficient 
stealth urban assault vehicle. You may come away with a Dept. of Defense contract and you can sell them for 50K a copy. If not, your bike is still cool.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

gotmilk? said:


> That bike looks great! But here's what you do: give it a apha-numeric designation like the MTP A1. Call it a prototype. Take it to the Pentagon...


 Ha! Funny. It's my grocery store attack vehicle. 

Originally, I was going to make it into a dictator theme bike and make laminated spokecards of Mao Tse Tung and Kim Jong Il and have a rear "Wheel-O-Dictactors" of the 20th century.


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## haiku d'etat (Apr 28, 2001)

what's with the felt "n" headtube badge?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Silly boy!*



J's Haiku Shop said:


> what's with the felt "n" headtube badge?


So he can spot his bike in a crowded rack.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

MB1 said:


> So he can spot his bike in a crowded rack.


 "n" for my name "nat". my girlfriend made it for me. it hasn't survived the rain very well though. when it falls off, i'll stick one of these rollo clown headbadges or stickers on it


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## haiku d'etat (Apr 28, 2001)

Lol!!!


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

meat tooth paste said:


> "n" for my name "nat". my girlfriend made it for me. it hasn't survived the rain very well though. when it falls off, i'll stick one of these rollo clown headbadges or stickers on it




I NEED ONE OF THOSE STICKERS! Hilarious!
Where?


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

donkekus said:


> I NEED ONE OF THOSE STICKERS! Hilarious!
> Where?


 You can order those from Bianchi's Rollo the Clown online store.

more clowns on more bikes sticker
https://www.rollobikes.com/gags/product_info.php/products_id/59










Head tube sticker
https://www.rollobikes.com/gags/product_info.php/products_id/38










Metal head tube badge
https://www.rollobikes.com/gags/product_info.php/products_id/30


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

That kid is crazy looking!!!

I found what I am going to tape my bike with....

http://www.identi-tape.com/phosphor.htm

I wonder which will be best. And, is it a crime to do that to a Steelman?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

i looked at those as well. i opted for the pink camo.also grabbed a roll of orange camo and forest camo. my wife thought the pink camo looks too junior high chick.

anyway, didnt take too long to wrap up my 94 rockhopper. its a 19" and 1 roll just fit. i still have a few places that need to get wrapped, like the inside of the ds seat stay.i also didnt wrap the fork. i have an old green rock shock up front. the pink and green are lovely ugly together. hope to get it out this weekend, if i can shake this lung infection again.


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## gpsser (Oct 25, 2003)

donkekus said:


> That kid is crazy looking!!!
> 
> I found what I am going to tape my bike with....
> 
> ...


That definitely may be a crime to do to a Steelman. I would reserve the taping for a lesser ride than that. I think I would use the long life one, ride it to work, let it sit in the light and then ride home. fine way to spook motorists.


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

gpsser said:


> That definitely may be a crime to do to a Steelman. I would reserve the taping for a lesser ride than that. I think I would use the long life one, ride it to work, let it sit in the light and then ride home. fine way to spook motorists.


I know... a full glowing bike frame would be awesome.

The question remains then: How do I commute on my Steelman and not have thievess eye it? Do you s'pose thieves look for more popular names? Like Trek, Specialized etc, and shocks and stuff that to the novice eye looks expensive? Hmm...


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

I think thieves eye everything. I think the ones who steal to resale tor to hawk at a pawn shop may stay away from Steelman because of the obscure name. But a thief out for a personal ride, will steal anything. 

Are you going to be locking it up in the city?


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

meat tooth paste said:


> I think thieves eye everything. I think the ones who steal to resale tor to hawk at a pawn shop may stay away from Steelman because of the obscure name. But a thief out for a personal ride, will steal anything.
> 
> Are you going to be locking it up in the city?


Locking it up in Berkeley on the campus. So, not completely in the thief area but at the same time a lot of bikes get stolen and there are a lot of crack heads.

Thanks for the PM btw, I'll keep my eyes peeled.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Off topic...

Did they ever find the guy on the bike that shot into that car and killed the passenger in Palo Alto?


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

meat tooth paste said:


> Off topic...
> 
> Did they ever find the guy on the bike that shot into that car and killed the passenger in Palo Alto?


Unsure... this is the first I have heard of it. Uh oh, is there going to be BIKE RAGE now?! I think so... the other day there was a group of fixie riders in front of a car and they were taking up the whole lane going pretty slow and the guy in the car honked (but, nothing over reacting) and these guys just laid their bikes on the ground in front of the car and started to talk sh!t to the driver and flip him off. It was kind of sad... it was just a normal little plain couple in the car totally unaware of what they had ignited with the honk...

On the other hand, off topic, the other day at school there was this crack head or similar stealing a bike and riding away, then a cop came way out of the blue and super Ronnie Lott tackled him off of the bike. It was freakin' awesome!!!


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

Just found out that there is a cool pilot program going on at Berkeley... unsure about its security level, but seems cool. This is the campus I am referring to. So most of the spots are secured for students and faculty though, I think some are open to other non UC people.

Check it out:

http://pt.berkeley.edu/programs/secure_bicycle_parking/


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

donkekus said:


> then a cop came way out of the blue and super Ronnie Lott tackled him off of the bike.


Did the cop have his pinkie amputated so he wouldn't miss his shift? Now that would be a serious homage to Ronnie Lott.


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## donkekus (Oct 13, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> Did the cop have his pinkie amputated so he wouldn't miss his shift? Now that would be a serious homage to Ronnie Lott.


That would have taken it to another level! I don't normally like cops, but I normally dislike thieves more... It was pretty surreal.


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