Bike respray pricing in the UK is all over the place — one shop will quote £60 for a powder coat, another wants £1,200 for a "custom" job. This guide lays out real 2026 prices from an actual Devon-based automotive painter (that's us — DentDash in Tiverton), what drives the number up or down, and why respraying a frame you already own almost always beats buying a new one.
UK Bike Respray Prices in 2026
- Basic industrial powder coating: £40–£145. Cheap, thick finish, baked in an oven — fine for a knockabout steel hardtail, wrong for carbon or e-bikes.
- Automotive wet-spray single colour (road or standard frame): £150–£300. What we do — thin, colour-matched, factory-quality finish, safe on any frame material.
- Full-suspension mountain bike frame: around £350. More surface area, more pivots to mask, more bench time.
- E-bike frame: from £225. Extra work removing and masking the battery, motor, display and cabling, then refitting.
- Carbon and custom work — fades, two-tone, hand-masked graphics, re-created decals: £650–£1,000+. The longer the bench time, the higher it climbs.
Turnaround is typically a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the finish, and every exact price is confirmed from WhatsApp photos.
What Actually Affects the Price
Five things move the number:
- Frame material. Steel and aluminium are straightforward. Carbon needs mechanical prep only — no chemical strippers, no heat.
- Frame type. A hardtail is faster to mask and spray than a full-suspension frame with pivots, links and shock mounts.
- Electronics. An e-bike takes real time to strip down and rebuild safely around paint work.
- Damage and prep. Deep chips, dings and cable rub need filling and levelling before paint.
- Design. A single colour is quick. Fades, two-tone, hand-masked graphics and re-created brand decals all add bench hours.
Wet Spray vs Powder Coating — Why the Price Gap
Powder coating is a bulk industrial process — dry powder, oven baked, done. That's why it's cheap. But you can't fade two colours together, you can't safely put a carbon frame or an e-bike near the oven, and the finish is thicker and slightly textured. Automotive wet spray is what car paint shops use: liquid paint out of a spray gun, cured at room temperature, thinner and glossier, and can be colour-matched to any car code. The extra cost buys a better finish and a process that's actually safe for modern bike frames.
Cheaper Than Posting Your Frame Off
A lot of national bike-respray specialists advertise low headline prices, then add £30–£50 each way for insured courier, plus your own boxing time and the risk of transit damage. DentDash is a Devon-local painter — we collect and return within 25 miles of Tiverton, covering Exeter, Crediton, Cullompton, Wellington, Honiton and every village between. No couriers, no boxing, no risk of a carbon frame arriving cracked. Drop-off at our Tiverton workshop is welcome too, 7 days a week, 7am–8pm.
Respray vs Buy New
A decent replacement road, mountain or e-bike frame is £800–£3,000+. A full wet-spray respray on a frame you already own — one you know fits and rides right — is £150–£350 for most bikes or £650–£1,000+ for full carbon custom work. For most riders, a respray is a fraction of the cost and keeps the bike you actually want to ride.
Get an Exact Price
Send clear WhatsApp photos of your frame to 07572 114436 — full side-on, close-ups of any damage, and a note of the colour or design you want. We'll come back with a written, no-obligation quote, usually the same day.