Don't do this on an expensive bike – it's almost impossible to get anything like a professional finish doing it at home. But it's a cheap and cheerful way of tarting up a shabby metal (not carbon fibre) frame.

First, clean and degrease any areas you plan to repaint. Dry thoroughly when finished. Then, using a small piece of wire wool, rub down the areas to be repainted until you see the shiny metal beneath the old paint. Soak an old rag in paint thinner and clean the spots again, wiping dry with another old rag when done.

Using a small paintbrush, sparingly apply paint to the damaged areas. Leave to dry for 24 hours and then repeat if necessary.

Back in the saddle: how to spruce up a boring bike

There are plenty of cheap ways to give an old bike a facelift. These are especially useful if you are trying to convince a younger child to graciously inherit an older sibling's bike. Switch enough of the components and respray the frame and you might just have them fooled.

• Replace the handlebar grips, saddle and/or pedals. All are straightforward jobs, just remember to put the pedals on the correct side. Most, helpfully, are marked left and right. You unscrew a left-hand pedal clockwise (bear in mind this will feel wrong), and a right-hand pedal anticlockwise. When fitting new items, apply a little bike grease beforehand or else you'll have a nightmare getting them off later. Wellgo makes fun pedals (wellgo.com.tw); Charge makes good saddles (chargebikes.com).

• Replace boring black tyres with colourful ones, such as those made by Halo (harobikes.com).

• Cover scratches with stickers – some bike shops give them away for free with other purchases.

• Replace old chains, cranks, hubs and chainrings with new ones – the brighter the better. Look out for BMX brands such as Gusset (gussetbikes.com). Fitting these parts is really a job for a pro, but bike shops may do it for free if you buy bits from them.

• Repaint the frame. You'll struggle to get it looking as good as professional spray job, but if you sand the frame down first with wire wool and take off or tape up any bits you don't want painting, it should improve matters.

• A cheap way of customising a child's bike is to decorate the spokes with Spokey Dokeys, those little plastic widgets beloved of 80s children, or by slotting in laminated cards between the spokes.