1989Pre 

I have an Imron job on a frameset and I've tried two different types of paint stripper. They barely touched it.

Iride01 

Many paint stripper's today don't have the good cancer causing and other chemicals in them that we use to use long ago with little protection. I tried awhile back and couldn't find one to touch the paint on a vintage bike either. So I just sanded it down with sandpaper and emory cloth. At first I thought it was going to take forever. But once I got my technique down, I was through before the afternoon was out. And I didn't start till after lunch. And dust notwithstanding, less mess and cleanup. Wear a good mask though. You'll hack all night long if you don't.

Also consider that you really only need to remove the loose paint and just smooth and feather out the edges where bare metal is exposed.

coupster

Find a powder coater in your area and have him bead blast it. Shouldn't be too expensive especially if you monetize your time and aggravation. In the end, you might even consider powder coating, instead of paint. My poor abused touring bike came out great - even added mfg/model specific decals.

BTinNYC 

Wrap the stripper goo covered frame with saran wrap and put it in the sun. Takes about 3 go-rounds.

masonv45

Aircraft Stripper worked well back in the day.

1989Pre 

That's probably the way I'll go. I remember a few years ago, when I first bought my Moser, the Ready-Strip (brush-on) worked great, but they must have changed the formula, or Imron is harder to get off. There aren't any power-coaters near-by, but I use Superior Powdercoating in Flint, MI.

1989Pre 

What grit sandpaper did you use? I used 220 today, and I was getting nowhere.

1989Pre 

Any minimum-temperature requirements? We're getting about 65 tops here right now.

LarrySellerz

this idea is so fried it might just work.

BTinNYC 

No, it works in winter time too but I leave it on for a couple days. In the sun it's more like 45 minutes.

CrimsonEclipse

$50-100
Saves me 8-10 hours and my time is worth WAAAAAAAY more than $5-$10/hr

(had the guy paint it too... saving me another 8 hours. )

mstateglfr 

1- mediablast. Just pay the $ and it'll be done well and complete. This is only if the paint really is as hard as you say.

2- https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Sa...dDbGljaz10cnVl
use emery cloth. You get leverage thru the length of each piece and the cloth backing means you can put pressure into the removal.

phughes

Good luck. That is one of the most difficult paints to remove. You may want to contact a local body shop to see if they know what you can use. Great paint, wears extremely well, but really hard to remove.

50PlusCycling

I use Permatex gasket remover. Degrease your frame first, though paint strippers eat through paint, they don’t eat through grease. Wear gloves, and don’t get any on your clothes.

Aardwolf

I've stripped a couple of frames recently: 1952 Bertin + 1961 Holdsworth Cyclone.
But I'm fairly sure the paint wasn't original.

Used Bartoline TX10 Paint & Varnish Stripper - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bartoline-5...QXC/ref=sr_1_6

Actually worked quite well: (apply, leave for 1 hour, scrub with red scouring pad + washing up liquid) repeated a couple of times.
Finished using a dremmel with a wire pen brush

mstateglfr 

Oh the pitting! I get it, its a frame in its 7th decade of life, pitting is just a reality for many frames that old.
The pressed lugwork is cool and that seatstay cap design is really neat!

Aardwolf

The pitting wasn't actually a problem.
I thumbed some "Big Boy body filler" into all the pits and wet sanded it with 400 grit.
I've applied some primer + undercoat and there's no pits visible.

Don't have a pic of the frame yet, but here's the fork (1961 Holdsworth Cyclone):



Big Boy ultra fine body filler: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SILVERHOOK-...s%2C293&sr=8-1

There's also a gallery of the cleaned frame: https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/28595395

mstateglfr 

Hopefully my prior comment wasnt viewed negatively because it definitely wasnt intended that way. Pitting like that certainly neednt be a big deal and your solution is exactly what should happen- add some filler, sand, and get an awesome bit of history back on the road.

Aardwolf

No problems,
I read the comment the right way

I agree though, it's a shame that somebody let the pitting happen in the first place.
It had been repainted so it must have got a lot of surface rust at some point, somebody should have noticed and done something about it earlier.

Doug Fattic 

Methylene chloride is the chemical that was banned from paint removers in about 2018. That is why they don't work nearly as well anymore. It is nasty stuff to your health but of course worked great on polyurethane enamel (the generic name for the kind of paint like the brand name Imron that used to be made by DuPont).

DuPont used to make a primer by the name of Corlar. This is again a product no longer made but was awesome stuff. Its demise was caused by the fact is was difficult to use. It was very hard to mix up if the paint had settled. And it required an hour of incubation after the activator was mixed in. It was always the primer I used if I had to paint part of a titanium frame (I painted a lot of Moots many years ago) because it would stick the best. When I used to apply paint stripper with Methylene chloride on Imron, it would take off the color coat but still leave the Corlar primer that had to be removed by sandblasting. If any of you are repainting an Imron frame (like early Treks) I would recommend just sanding down smooth the paint because it makes a great undercoat.

One trick I do is take frames I am repainting to a furniture stripper. They have these vats of really nasty chemicals that they dunk the frame and leave for long time and I get them back without any paint left. I have a marvelous pressure pot sandblaster that can take care of any paint residues.

Painter removers with methylene chloride is still available to professionals of various trades. It wasn't banned entirely just to home products sold in big box stores. Those people that want to protect the public from bad chemicals complain it has not been banned entirely.

drlogik 

If you want the real deal, Get 100% Methylene Chloride. I know, I know, the stuff is nasty if not used with the proper protective gear but this is what the real strippers have in it. Amazon actually sells a liter of it for $38 bucks and it's 100% methylene chloride. I stripped a Triumph TR-6 sports car back in the day with this stuff by myself in my back yard.

Paint on a small section, cover with a thick plastic sheet for a few minutes to let it do its thing, then scrape. Repeat. Be sure to scrub all remnants of it off the surface before you go to paint.

As Doug Fattic said above, it is still available but do use caution with it.