When I was a little girl I had a red radio flyer tricycle. I loved it. Let me say that again with all the emphasis that text can allow... I
LOVED that tricycle. It was kind of sparkly. Maybe it wasn't, but it is just sparkly in my memory. It had the double deck back that neighbors of varying heights could ride on. The seat was metal but was gently concave and cradled my little booty comfortably enough to ride as far as the end of the driveway and back all day long. It was one sweet ride.
Fast forward to my 40th year of life. I'm not a mommy, but I AM an auntie and a godmother. This means I am officially allowed to spoil children without having to live with my mistakes. Plus, my nieces and nephews and baby BFF are the cutest children in the WORLD (please don't argue) and deserve it all. So my niece, Stella, is almost three and really loves "bikes". Anything with pedals and wheels is a bike, dontchaknow? So, in memory of my red radio flyer, I knew she needed a tricycle. And not just ANY tricycle. She needed THE GREATEST TRICYCLE IN THE WORLD. Funnily enough, they don't sell the greatest tricycle in the world at big box stores, so I had to make it myself.
By the way, I don't build tricycles from scrap metal. So I bought an old rusty one from a person with older kids who don't ride tricycles anymore. I was super excited to make it, so I forgot to take a picture of the trike before I started and took one after I'd already removed a good bit of rust, but this is pretty much what the trike looked like when I got it. Add lots of rust in your mind.
So, I used rust remover and steel wool and got all the rust off I could. Then I sprayed it down with Simple Green and hosed it off and let it dry in the sun. Next came the primer. I started off by removing the old rubber handle grips and wrapping the tires and pedals in aluminum foil. Please note the aluminum foil for later.
I used Rustoleum grey primer. I sprayed everything. As a result, it looked like a zombie trike. The I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch on the decks, fender, seat, and pedals. The Rustoleum Painter's Touch comes in a gajillion colors and bonds to plastic, which is why I was able to spray the pedals. I also painted an old bicycle bell with the same paint color. I used Berry Pink on the seat, pedals, and bell, and Grape on the decks and fender. You can buy Rustoleum Painter's Touch at Home Depot. I used several thin coats. And by several I think I mean like maybe five. I sprayed them maybe 10-20 minutes apart and let the whole thing dry for 24 hours. It was pretty humid here, so, after the stink had died down and it was touchable, I brought it inside to the AC for a full dry. Oh, and I also spray painted the spokes and inside of the wheels white with plain Rustoleum. I realized that my aluminum foil idea was a bad one. Paint had gotten all over the tires by seeping in. A friend had a FABULOUS idea to use Glade Press and Seal on the tires and it worked beautifully. I applied it to the tires and used an X-acto knife to cut around the edge of the tire. Perfect.
I didn't worry about getting paint on the tubing because I knew that it wouldn't matter. When it was completely dry, I decoupaged the piping. I used acid free scrap book paper, but I imagine cloth would work great, too. I also used clear acrylic gel medium because I have tons of that, but Outdoor Mod Podge would also work great. A few tips for decoupaging paper on rounded items: cut your paper into relatively small pieces, and, because of that, use a pattern that is small and busy; wear gloves; use the decoupage medium in three places before you apply the paper...on the pipeing, on the back of the paper and on the front of the paper; place the paper then use your brush and your gloved fingers to rube it into place. If the paper wrinkles, thats cool, just make sure the wrinkles are all glues down. The paper should have a good covering of medium OVER it after it is applied to the piping.
Next it's time to clear coat it. Keep the Press and Seal on the tires!!!! I used automotive clear coat and I used five coats. You have to be CERTAIN the decoupage medium is 100% dry before you use enamel over it, so I left it for over 24 hours in the house in the AC just to make sure.
After the clear coat was totally dry, I added new pink rubber handle grips and white sparkle streamers, attached the bell (also clear coated), and put on pink spoke beads. It truly was THE GREATEST TRICYCLE IN THE WORLD!!!!
And my niece agreed. She was pretty thrilled with her new wheels. Ride on, little lady!!!!!
