DMC707

Having fun today -- i had to take a small break from my job to clear my head and work on some C&V awesomeness

Stripping paint today ---- first up was a nasty little track bike that had been fixie-ized by the OP --- I bought it to hit the boards --- when i posted a pic or two of this thing, i was told to "abandon ship"
--- Track frames dont come up as often as road frames so i decided to proceed and my mechanic told me to strip it to see what he had to work with (the OP had water bottle bosses and internal brake cable routing installed )

----- This is after 1.5 cans of "Aircraft" paint stripper --- sheesh -- this paint does not want to go gently into that good night (channeling my inner Dylan Thomas)

If anyone has any tips on paint stripping above and beyond the chemical means, - im listening

nefore pic - doesnt look bad- but its a disaster in person






This one is more of a "mid school" machine --- Litespeed Classic
It means a little bit to me as it has been with me since 2002 --- 1st pic is how it looked originally - I got it on a "club deal" from Colorado Cyclist and it was labelled a Team Issue --- i was never sponsored by Co Cyclist per se', but they gave me a sweet deal through my local track racing club

--- Rode it for years --- it had one of the first D-A 7800 groupsets on it ------- Now that i am a little removed from my racing aspirations, -- i was a bit tired of the yellow/red color scheme so i decided to strip it too





MAn - i love the battleship gray look





I applied paint stripper and the paint just started wrinkling -- it was weird and i wish i had gotten a pic of it , but after i rinsed off the paint remover residue, -- i just started pulling on the stuff --- I think it was shrink wrapped or something with a big decal as opposed to paint --- it started coming off like pulling a vehicle wrap off or something - but was tedious








I am hoping the track bike doesnt turn into a PIA, -- but im psyched to rebuild the mid schol Ti bike

Lascauxcaveman 

The only really good strippers are chock full of incredibly noxious fumes and probably aren't even allowed in some states. I had some good stuff when I took my Lambert down to bare metal, but next time will save myself the effort (and we're talking 3 - 4 coats of stripper, scrubbing between coats with metal brushes, heavy rubber gloves, wearing a respirator etc) by taking it to a media blasting place if I ever do another home strip-and-repaint.

I lieu of stripping, I now just wet sand where the original paint is rough and get it smooth and clean enough to hold a good primer over what's left of the old paint. As long as the the old paint isn't flaking or something, why bother stripping it when you're going to lay down a coat of primer anyway? Primer works just as well over old paint as it does over bare metal, you just have to get it smooth and clean. I've found this to be a lot less work overall; prepping the old paint as opposed to stripping it.

If I ever get a frame with really "bad" paint (repainted with latex, or sloppy, heavy brushwork, or flaking off) it goes to the sandblaster.

Prowler 

Disclaimer: I've done this just once, on a 73 Gitane with gooy glop for paint. Aircraft stripper was OK but a big PIA for slow progress. Being just a steel frame (probably 2030 or something) I tried a well sharpened scraper (a high carbon 'babbitt scraper" from my ill spent youth) and progress jumped ahead. No damage to the frame either. No fumes. Good for nooks and crannies too. I then did the final 'wash' with chemical stripper to get residuals.

Nor sure where you purchase scrapers like that now (possible wood working or machinists tool places) but its a very good tool to have in my drawer. Large enough to last a lifetime and then pass on to my grand daughter.

Wileyone 

I tried the method of just sanding the old paint smooth and applying primer and never liked the results. And as far as sandblasting goes it's to expensive and in my mind to evasive to quality lug work. Media blasting is less evasive but also expensive. If I am going to do a full out Resto it's kind of nice to see the quality of the frame underneath all the goop.


Best advice I could give is use a quality stripper course or medium steel wool and LOTS OF ELBOW GREASE. And patience, lots of patience.

easyupbug 

There is no good way but paint strippers like these can help speed things up: Eastwood Company: Search Results for paint stripper inproducts

clubman 

Look for set of carbide wood scrapers similar to these. The various profiles allow you to get at all types of nooks, crannies and shaped surfaces. The carbide edges stay remarkably sharp, mine are 20 years old and still work very well.

unterhausen

I've heard of people applying the stripper and then wrapping it with plastic wrap. It does seem to lose effectiveness as it dries, so I have thought about trying this even though I'm skeptical.

I miss the stripper we had at Trek, put the frame in, pull it back out after a few minutes and the paint was totally gone. Of course, it was impossible to use without getting a few minor chemical burns, even with proper PPE. I always thought it was funny because at that time Dupont said Imron wasn't affected by chemicals

Bikerider007

Man, that seems like such work. And the reason I have not done one frame in particular. Excited to see the results on yours though.

Just throw a set of these on and go for the TI bike.

johnnyace 

Hahaha, "Mediocrity in Motion" — that's hilarious, and perfectly sums up my thoughts on CF bikes.

The Golden Boy 

I love that!

Not that I have anything against carbon or anything- Just as someone who's as into labeling, but doesn't like labeling, but is against removing labeling, but is still very into labeling.... these are awesome!

repechage

I have found Saran wrap or equal does help the stripper stay active.
Methyl chloride is the nasty and key effective ingredient in "aircraft stripper".
The right gloves, fresh cartridges in the respirator, long sleeves, wet towel at the ready to wipe any off you while working outside. All help.

Wire brushes set in wood too, the stuff will consume plastic.

When I was young, auto parts machine shops had a "hot tank" that stripped well... Those nasty days if chemical warfare are long gone locally.

crank_addict

For cast iron engine blocks only, we would have them hot dipped. Far too wicked for thin gauge metals.

I recommend spending for a quality chemical stripper like Jasco (Bix), saturate the frame and let it sit in a large garbage bag. (Don't bother wasting time and money with gimmick aerosol types). Be patient and let it work in. Get that main layer off, wipe it down and then repeat. Pieces of hard plastic for scraping are great. Cut and shape the plastic to conform radius of the tubes.

Not a fan of blast bead for bike frames but it does help around cast lugs and crannies.

I'm finding it makes more sense and time saving to simply sand a frame down and leave some of the original finish as a substrate. If its a good sticking finish, why not? You can still fill and fix the pits, bare or corroded areas.

DMC707

I saw this on Northern Tool website --- I have a large quantity of walnut media I use for cleaning brass firearms cases for reloading already ---- I'm curious if its even worth gambling the $26 -- calls for a 15 SCFM compressor at 90 psi and mine might put out 10 --- meaning it would take forever as I couldn't spray continuously

Would be easy to make a makeshift little shield out of a tarp and some 2x4's to keep the media from littering the driveway

Might be a useful tool to have around for other small projects though as well ---- (or it could be a useless paperweight without a large enough compressor )

Allsource Bottle Blaster — 1-Qt. Capacity, Model# 4001244 | Portable Abrasive Blasters| Northern Tool + Equipment

DMC707

Yes -- I am looking at the ti frame in a whole new light now that the tattered looking yellow stuff is off for the most part

Completely different mission parameters for these 2 bikes though --- truth be told, I was stripping the Litespeed because I thought bare Ti might be an easier sell than painted Ti, ---- now I want to ride it again

I quit messing with this bike and purchased a Cannondale Synapse a couple of years ago when I could no longer get comfortable on it because of weight gain ---- now that the scale is turning in the opposite (better) direction for me now -- it might be a comfortable machine again

Lascauxcaveman 

That's worked really well for me on the last two frames I've painted. And it turned out to be a lot faster and a lot less work than stripping. 1 - 2 hours wet sanding and a couple quick coats of primer; the frame's ready to topcoat in one afternoon.

USAZorro

Dumb question. What meaning does "OP" have in the initial post? I'm trying to "frame" my perspective of the bike's history, but getting stuck on that.

DMC707

PO --- Previous owner. I likely have more typoes than most as im usually on an i pad and the digital keyboard is a pain

USAZorro

Thanks. Was my leading guess, but that puts things into better perspective. Looks like one of my projects... only less in slow-motion.