People used to make fun of me for having my dirt bike frames powder coated but after years of riding, the coating is not rubbed off the frame where my boots rub. What’s the deal with leaving it raw though? Nah, Elf, my face would melt the ally…. **** yer seatpost it’s rubbish. check out my rm frame in the member gallery. Think I’ll Nitromors the bugger, then have a go at just getting it to look reasonable, before going mental with the aluminium polishing malarky…. There’s still some stubborn paint in the nooks and crannies of the swing arm I’ve got to get rid of. I've done some research on the internet and read sand blasting is too powerful and could possibly damage an aluminum frame. I can sell you a Kinesis frame that doesn’t need stripping 😉 Should I treat it in any way? How long are you leaving it? I haven’t had any experience with this process, so will report on it if that is the way I go with this fork. i’ve had two frames soda blasted and i’d highly recomend it,just had another done this week and dropped it off at the powder coaters yesterday.frames have always come back looking brand new. This process took about 4 hours, and yet  I still need to continue sanding with finer grade sandpaper to complete the work and have the frame ready for paint. The fork is well constructed, and deserved my efforts, I felt. Vinyl ones are ok though. Elfin: We’re in this together! Removing Paint from a Bicycle Frame the Safe(r) Way, Restoring Vintage Bicycles from the Hand Built Era, Simplex Tour de France Rear Derailleur Adjustment, Product Review: North St. Stripped a Cannondale rear triangle ages ago and it looked great – paint peeled off with minimal nitromoors. - YouTube like that old vertex that keeps changing it’s spots! I’ll walk you through the steps of how to prep correctly so your frame looks great for decades to come. Battered bikes look cool anyhow. We’ve got one for you. Before venturing out into this unknown territory I did some research to determine what materials and tools I would need for the job. Maybe just leave it raw. I was going to have it anodised but now I’m planning on leaving it raw. strip the whole bike down. I ended up with a blister on my thumb. Paint removing chemicals do the job nicely on DIY home spray jobs or with a softer material frame, but shot/sand blasting is the fastest and most thorough method on most steel frames. Really stubborn little flecks can be encouraged with a sharp point (like a needle). I blast hundreds of frames a year and 1 in 10 would be removing a powder coat job gone wrong. One of the biggest mistakes motorcyclists make is not cleaning the frame thorough enough before painting. That’s what I did, didn’t trust myself to do a good job. coating around here is 75.00 canadian so thats about 35 bucks in u.s funds, about 20 bucks to get it sandblasted. [Hijack] Does anyone know if anodising be stripped in the same way (ie. So will a powdercoaters dip, strip, polish and laquer? If I am going to get it redone, I’ll use them. Keying up the frame ready for painting; Final clean; Hanging the frame ready for application also, it’ll only work on paint, not powder coat…. Nitromors will stip powdercoat, it just takes longer. Besides, it will also most likely require a lot of effort and time on your end. So everything that's attached to the frame needs to come off. It is always best to remove the old paint from the frame before applying new paint. Start Stripping the Bike. Three fish is right, aluminium is much more reactive than iron but the oxide formed is tightly adhered unlike rust which flakes off. Any kind of painting might have an effect on the warranty. I just received the frame in the mail and have a question, what is the best way to remove paint from the frame so I can repaint it? Take off the gas tank. Powder coating is a durable and protective surface treatment that has become ubiquitous in automotive and motorcycle restorations. 1 • WIN THIS BIKE!! ), Overhauling Maxi-Car Hubs, Part 2 (hmmm…), Sunshine Pro-am Hubs vs. Ofmega Gran Premio. Forum Rules I’m doing my Cannondale one way or another. Have stripped several frames myself, by the time you’ve brought the stuff and all the time it takes imo pay some one else to do it. you would want to use no less than 360 grt, sand the area, clean with a prep solvent. Kev; that’s sort of part of the idea really. One thing to know:  it is most efficient to sand very quickly, mimicking the action of a power tool. Then, if you have a buffer, or access to a polishing wheel, you use that, but you can use metal polish by hand. Here's the … 😉. 1. It's only a little scuffed up. Choose a shoe polish with a color that is darker than the paint used on your bike. - Duration: 13:51. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. This is a very similar process. In my case, I used some ronseal stuff which you leave for plus 6 hrs. Got an old kona blast frame .which is now cooking in stripper…I figure I only need a few bits to build a awesome single- braked single speed pub bike.. Ok crankset, front wheel, grips, seat and seatpost required, but you get the idea, Yep, I stripped a cannondale mb a few years back with nitromors, no problem, tried to laquer myself but couldnt get an even coat. How to clean. One of me bikes is looking decidedly tatty, and I was wondering about stripping the paint off it, and polishing it up or something. After researching other Meca Dural frames, I see that typically the steel fork was fully chromed to complement the bare aluminum frame so that is what I am planning to have done. I’d call it a day’s job. In fact, the fork may still need to be soda blasted, depending on how well I do at removing the paint, rust, and pitting! Kev, you gotta keep the old Vertex mate. When done right though it is in my opinion a way better option than painting. Mending any broken parts. It's poorly sprayed with some black spray paint, and they don't seem to have sanded anything down before painting. Excellent work…I had to strip a 62 and 83 Schwinn…Had to do the same thing…time consuming but it worked..Greatly Enjoy your site….Thank You. Might not cost you much either if you wait for them to do another job. When I purchased the bike, I knew it had a… Clean the frame with water and soap and let it dry. to have the paint removed? You can see the progression in these photos. soda blasting is…..blasting with bicarb of soda. They’re very highly regarded amongst the Fixierati here, and can do some lovely colours. Don’t use nitrile rubber gloves, as Nitromors will melt through them. I know I could just buy new plastics, but I like to restore late 70s dirt bikes. What about polishing? 😆, Can I just get you to look at it Gary-C? Tried the same with a Giant Trance rear a few years back and was a real mess – different paint, didn’t come off cleanly and the ally underneath looked horrible. If so can anyone recommend a firm to do this? Again, I would contact the manufacturer about the specifics. shine it all. This topic has 79 replies, 34 voices, and was last updated. 🙁. Stripping paint off an alu frame- any tips? It's tougher and more durable than paint. I woon’t advise any sort of sand-blasting type method, as that can remove too much metal and weaken the aluminium apparently. You have to use clear lacquer afterwards otherwise the aluminium will oxidise. I’ve got about 99% of the paint off of an old Marin Riftzone. I knew that I did not want to use harsh, environmentally unfriendly chemicals for this job. Apart from a few bits like cables and headset, its all STW sponsored from past and present too…. I would recommend, to anyone contemplating stripping a Cannondale frame, to have it done professionally. Smear the shoe polish onto the scratched surface and spread it to fill in the scuff. That will be fantastic! ohh that so nice. Probbly less for just a strip and clear lacquer coat. Quite like the ‘battered’ look. Prepping the dirt bike frame after it has been stripped, will involve . 4. what bike? All based on advice from Randy at mytenspeeds.com who has done some very nice paint work on his collection of bicycles. SCHHHwiiing!! Maybe just leave it raw. Quite interested in the idea of polishing it, but that’s some serious hard work. Stripping the whole frame, blast and coat is not practical or affordable for everybody all the time. Wearing a mask is a good idea, since you will be creating a lot of dust in the process. shiney. It’s half done now anyway. Josh is referring to Soda Blasting, which is similar to sand blasting, only a bit better because baking soda is used, which is water soluble and has its own cleaning properties, as well as being much more environmentally friendly. 3. Quite fancy this for my FS [/Hijack]. Ooh I’m getting right fired up for this. I cannot wait to see the results along with the final build! The only thing I have ever known to diminish a stripped/polished frame is the marks from sweat dripped onto the top tube. Anyone heard about soda blasting? I can't say that for the factory KDX paint which was rubbed off down to bare metal after the first ride. So far my (2011) frame still looks like new. How thick do you apply the Nitromors? Troy Lee D4 Carbon Helmet – The King of Helmets? after dry, you can sand with 400- 500 grt and recoat with a good enamel or polyurethane topcoat paint. I’ve used a litre of Nitromors on it so far. Softens it a bit making scraping it off a bit easier, but that’s about it. The topic ‘Stripping paint off an alu frame- any tips?’ is closed to new replies. believe me , ive done every frame on my bikes and paint does not hold up. The Mx Factory Recommended for you And is it ok to leave it raw? Bike Insurance Discount? Using vigorous and speedy strokes with the emery cloth and sandpaper was the key to bringing the fork back to life. Every tank is different, so make sure you know where all the tank bolts are located. Id take it to someone who knows the score amd professional finish 🙂, Right. Some tanks have multiple bolts, but a lot of them only have this one bo… it’ll only work on paint, not powder coat…. A proper PITA? My bicycle got stolen on Saturday night. This effect of "flattening" to remove the appearance of scratches is not what a matt frame needs. I’ve spent the day frustrated that the paint on my Cannondale is still very much on! I could have listened to this in the beginning. Polished frames will dull a little over time, but a quick rub down with metal polish fixes that. Classifieds Rules Nitromors, a paint brush, a couple of toothbrushes, a load of newspaper, some safety specs/gloves and a damp cloth. Give the frame a scuff job using 320 grit sandpaper and leaving the original paint there for bonding and rust prevention. Cleaning and degreasing the frame. I've seen everything from 3mm plus thick powder and welds that aren't visible to frame rails with so much powder on them it looks like they are sagging. 😆. In my experience NAOH will strip most paints eventually, especially if it’s hot. This simply isn’t true. Can’t sell that. This is a How to paint a frame video associated with my Yamaha Banshee 472 Supercub build thus far. mansonsoul – Member Have it done professionally? Well I’ve had a good go at it, but the paint is tougher than anything, and Nitromors is doing very little really. While this bike's frame is made from duralumin, a form of aluminum alloy which needs no paint because it cannot rust, the bike's fork was steel. Avoid using metallic objects to "scrape" the paint off. posted it pikey second class and it still cost me the same as a pint! Allow the stripper to do the job. Fresher and newer feeling if someone else does it and you go pick it up, rather than huge effort on yer own part? Anyone heard about soda blasting? Link Removal the automotive one is a lot stronger than the house hold one. http://www.btinternet.com/~eric.guy/kits.htm. It is a tenner though and I used half of it so not recommended. Besides there’s powder coat and there’s powder coat. How to remove spray paint from dirt bike plastics. You can wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove dirt and then dry it by wiping with another clean cloth. Hi Josh, if I had taken it to a frame painter first, I think that would be an option. The blades are pitted near the fork crown. While I normally send all paint jobs out to the professionals, feeling that frame painters deserve their due, I decided that I wanted to prep this fork for painting myself so that I could assess the usability of the fork. Please don’t post any more shiny, I’m already wondering how I could get the 456SS that shiny. Excellent for removing rust, dirt, and varnish, stripping paint from exterior woodwork, and cleaning stone. A quick google came up with this place selling kits. Bead blast and powder coat only coast £40 down my way. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The only option seems to be something called Permatex Gasket Remover which seems to be nasty carcinogenic stuff, so I’m going to just sand the rest off. For some people, they resort into soda blasting when removing paint from their aluminum frame. what type of nitromors are you using? ALuminium frames aren’t pure alluminium though so that makes a difference. You stripped your Dynatech with nitromors no? Yep, if you get it stripped, polished and clear coated it will work out around £150. A neat finish can take anything from 10 mins to three or four hours. (Do not use a jet wash - … 😯. While I was working, I was reminded of the bicycle frame that I built, and the effort required to sand the frame and remove excess brazing material. well, inspired by this thread, I resurrected an old Kona Blast. Premier Partners for Singletrack issues & exclusive subscriber perks, Metcheck MTB Weather Forecasts At A Glance, Singletrack Cycle Of Good Inner Tube Belt, Slicy Products Smooth Tyre Inserts, Sealant and Valves – Reviewed, 9 Bike Locks, Chains and Anchors to keep your bike safe. It’s just quite expensive to have it dipped and stripped then coated. Good luck! The best place to have a bike painted is an an automotive body shop. Posted: May 4, 2008 at 10:22 Quote: just so all you guys know,the new "professional"way to get any paint,dirt,grease etc. “the steel fork was fully chromed to complement the bare aluminum frame so that is what I am planning to have done.”. I think for this frame, seeing as it’s quite old now, I’ll just strip it meself. Newsletter Settings, Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 80 total). No it bloody won’t. Just be careful to wet the frame thoroughly, spray on the cleaner and let it work, then hose it off and lightly go over it with a clean cloth. I’m off out to get some Nitromors…. powder coating is 10 times more durable. You can also use some sand paper for those harder chunks that won’t budge. I had toyed with the idea of polishing it up, but that’s a whole other world of pain I reckon. Great work Nola! Ear, you seen me email about me broken seatpost? There is usually one large bolt located between the base of the tank and the very front of the seat. What you have to do with the bare metal depends entirely on how it looks ‘au natural’ and what you want. Clear powdercoat? It’s quite popular to polish the aluminium swingarm on motorbikes. I had some for stripping doors already. Nice and gentle for thin ali tubes. You remove all the paint, then sand it down to like 1000 grit. The main sections of paint will come off very easily – it can actually be quit disturbing the first time you do it as the paint makes noises, bubbles up and falls away before your very eyed!! Your nasty face will be sufficient to strip the paint off. At those "fine" abrasives the paint has little or no adhesion. So it will feel quite different once I’m finished with it. so you know how evil that cack is. While this bike’s frame is made from duralumin, a form of aluminum alloy which needs no paint because it cannot rust, the bike’s fork was steel. What ever you go for, I’d advise against a clearcoat as it will look shit very quickly once it gets a few chips. Yes they do. When I purchased the bike, I knew it had a number of issues, the horrifically painted steel fork being one of them. Use a wire brush or scraper to get off the big chunks. I fired up my new (non-wimpy) Dremel to use for the hard to access areas near the fork crown, but for the fork blades themselves I wanted to do all the work by hand, the old fashioned way. Looks quite good; just basic and funktional, utilitarian. Any tips for stripping; Nitromors? Premier Club Reckon this would be a good idea for paint stripping? What about the fiddly bits? Earlier, it was just an idea. do it. do powder coaters not do the stripping as part of the process? I am curious, did you consider having this fine machine gently bead blasted (soda blasting, etc.) Because it is a pain in the bum. Cannondale Kev. Tips for removing spray paint from a bike frame? Thanks, Cecil! How to Teardown a Dirt Bike Step by Step to Frame • YZ125 Rebuild Ep. dipped or bead blasted?? A wire brush works fine in tight-to -reach areas just do not be too aggressive with it. I bet if you just go for black or white, a colour they do in batches, and go down the powdercoaters with all yer threads, headset etc sealed properly and give the bloke 35 quid, they won’t say no. It’s a process and can use different chemistries which will have different resistance to the chemicals in notromors (primarily Dichloromethane and Methanol). So you’re only safe around Titanium then? Privacy take out every thing.get the frame sand blasted,and then powder coat it. While my hands are now sore, I am happy with the results, and look forward to the finish work needed before I send this fork off to be painted. Extra-coarse #4 steel wool is the go-to grade for removing thick or stubborn paint. Armourtex in Clapton do some proper nice paintjobs, best to get them to do the whole thing really. The bare metal is more durable a finish and can easily, and quickly, be revitalised with just a few minutes of metal polish/buffing. this was an real old dog of a kona frame,made from easton ultra lite,a quick buff with a scotch brite pad and it was looking sooper shiny – then i spoilt it by painting it 🙁. Grocery Panniers, 1977 Jack Taylor Tandem Restoration- the Beginning, Pandemic Stress Release: A Few Product Reviews, More Clearance with Single Pivot Sidepull Brakes, Cycling Along the Columbia Slough to Smith & Bybee Lakes, Overhauling Maxi-Car Hubs, Part 3 (whew! Wonderful addition and, of course, I can appreciate your delicate approaches to ensure a proper and thorough restoration. perfect for short 4 mile work run though. Unfortunately, whoever painted the fork did so while it was covered with rust. Reckon this would be a good idea for paint stripping? The top coats of lacquer and paint came off very easily but the undercoat is a lot tougher. Bike was “free” as most of the bits were from the Shed. I’m not paying that! These are 1991 xr600 plastics. The general process went like this: Full spray in upright position Scrape down, wire brush, full cleanup Full spray in inverted position (upside down) It is less aggressive than other blasting methods, but the problem is that the use of baking soda is not as easy as it seems. A long day if it’s a FS frame as they’re fiddly and you’ll need to mask (or remove) the bearings. Most of what I've read say chemicals (manually applied paint remover) is the best answer. Nooks, crannies and around the welds usually needs a few applications and sometimes working at with stripper/toothbrush. No it won’t. For a very dirty bike, rinse with a low-pressure hose to remove the majority of mud and grit. One reason is it’s tatty; I noticed a fair patch of paint has fallen off the disc mount, and another is to get rid of the Cannondale branding which attracts the attention of too many scrotes. 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