Has anyone tried to remove the logos from Ritchey "Classic" bits?

[akelman]

If you have, what method did you use? And how did it go? Please post a pic if you have one. Thanks.

[Ralph]

I believe the solvents that will do it will also remove the paint. Laquer thinner, etc.

I have repainted a black WCS Ritchey stem before. The paint was getting dull. I bead blasted it to a nice aluminum finish, cleaned it with laquer thinner, then spray bomb painted it satin black. Could have done it any color. It came out looking better than new.....with no decals.

[thirdgenbird]

If you have, what method did you use? And how did it go? Please post a pic if you have one. Thanks.

I used fingernail polish remover on an older wcs seatpost with a silver head. The emblem came off with little trouble. I'm not sure if the newer stuff uses the same process though.

[FlashUNC]

Two words: Belt sander.

(Don't listen to me)

[akelman]

I'll just stick with the vat of lye that I use to...wait, what were we talking about?

[phcollard]

Acetone not working?

That's black painted logos on polished parts no?

[akelman]

Acetone not working?

That's black painted logos on polished parts no?

Not for me, no. And yes, I'm talking about painted (I assume) logos on polished silver bits. Regardless, I ordered one of those posts you pointed me to the other day. And then a I found a matching stem for nearly no money. So thanks!

[phcollard]

My pleasure. Let me know what you think when you receive the seatpost.

Regarding the Ritchey logos you could also try polishing compound. The red/brown coarse one.

[choke]

I removed the logos from a Ritchey Classic handlebar using #00 steel wool. It took very little time. I can see some very light marks if I look closely but nothing is obvious from a couple of feet away; #0000 would have been better in that regard.

I'll try to get a pic of it tomorrow.

[mkbk]

Two words: Belt sander.

(Don't listen to me)

That reminds me back in the early 90's the phrase "belt sander" meant the shop I worked at was building a Colnago.
(and I still ride a Colnago)

[Jaq]

+1 for the "bucket of lye". As long as the stuff's just anodized aluminum, you can put it in a bucket and coat it liberally with Easy Off over cleaner. You can also soak it in drain cleaner. In both cases, the active ingredient is lye. The problem is that it'll take off all the anodizing, unless you can mask it somehow.

You can search youtube for various vids about using Easy Off. I stripped the anodizing from my current Mavic Reflex rims and polished them to a mirror finish. They're gorgeous wheels.

[Rueda Tropical]

Since you want to keep the silver ano don't use lye or a sander.

Steel or brass wool with acetone should remove it completely without damaging the anodizing finish.

[choke]

I took two high resolution pics of the steel wool results for you......here (http://www.cycle.ciocctoo.com/P1000694.JPG) and here (http://www.cycle.ciocctoo.com/P1000695.JPG).

[nighthawk]

Ari,
Did you ever end up doing this? I'm about to attempt the same and was looking for pointers.

Thanks!

[gomango]

I used fingernail polish remover on an older wcs seatpost with a silver head. The emblem came off with little trouble. I'm not sure if the newer stuff uses the same process though.

Is that what you used on my Ritchey stem?

I think it looks great!

[thirdgenbird]

Is that what you used on my Ritchey stem?

I think it looks great!

Probably. The old emblem was beat up pretty or I would have left it. Ive grown to really like the look. Keith removed a lot of the branding on his Klein build and it turned out great. I removed the emblem on both my stems and I have a tendency to remove rim decals. I've debated taking off all of the branding on my silver Campagnolo group as well.

[Columbus SLX]

...I've debated taking off all of the branding on my silver Campagnolo group as well.

Here's (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=126208) a sample of what it looks like. Everything comes off with Citri-Strip paint remover (nothing less like acetone etc. worked for me) except for the shifters - the logos are etched into the anodizing with them so you need to strip the ano.

My plan was to engrave the shield logo into 'em (Gruppo "Nuova Corsa"?) but my process wasn't yielding good enough results so I bagged it for now.

[thirdgenbird]

I debated it when I built my Tommasini and then decided against it till I saw that very build.

Edit: I guess I did do the front derailleur because it was already faded.

[nighthawk]

I just wanted to follow up after my experience with removing the logos from some Ritchey classic components recently.

By accident, I ended up using two different methods. The easiest way, is to just "sand" the logos off with 0000 steel wool. It removes the painted logos with no alteration to the anodizing. I did this successfully to a seatpost and handlebars.

Unfortunately, on the stem I made the mistake of trying a scotch brite pad before I tried the 0000 steel wool. This removed the logos but scratched the anodizing, as well. It looked like garbage. In order to fix this, I had to remove the anodizing, which I did by soaking the stem in Greased Lightning degreaser. Once the anodizing was removed, I polished the stem with Simichrome polish.

The finish on the stem is a bit more polished/shiny than the original anodizing... but I would have been just as happy with the dull polish of the original Ritchey anodizing. 3 hours of work for the shiny finish on the stem vs. 30 seconds of scratching the logos off the seatpost and handlebars.

Long story short... if you want to remove logos from any Ritchey classic components.. Do yourself a favor and just take a 0000 steel wool pad to them. It just scratches it right off.

[Dale Alan]

This is good to know,steel wool next time,I always go overboard on this stuff and create too much work for no reason.

[EricEstlund]

A little denatured alcohol and a lint free rag has worked for me. No need to scratch em up.

[nighthawk]

A little denatured alcohol and a lint free rag has worked for me. No need to scratch em up.

Maybe "scratch" wasn't the best word for me to use... But the steel wool did no harm to the underlying anodizing... Just took the logo off.

[54ny77]

About 5 or so years ago Ritchey told me it was a no-no to remove anodization when I inquired about doing it on a WCS black alu. stem. They said using a solvent could cause a structural issue that might weaken it.

Maybe hogwash, who knows....

I've stripped anodization from other parts with no issue or worry, chainrings and crank, specifically. But a stem kind of has greater ramifications if failure, so I passed and got me a silver anodized piece.

Now, since that time, they have silver "classic" stuff and if the logos can be removed just with denatured alcohol, that's golden.

[AlanKHG]

Necro-thread— does acetone work to remove logos from black shotpeened Ritchey Comp components?

http://i.imgur.com/g9VSPybl.jpg

[Clean39T]

Necro-thread— does acetone work to remove logos from black shotpeened Ritchey Comp components?

http://i.imgur.com/g9VSPybl.jpg



I've used it for Cannondale stems and Kalloy - just don't rub too hard, let the acetone do the work - and move to clean areas of the cloth so you aren't rubbing it back on so to speak..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cicli]

Necro-thread— does acetone work to remove logos from black shotpeened Ritchey Comp components?

http://i.imgur.com/g9VSPybl.jpg

Probably. I had some WCS stuff that was cleared over from brand new. Ended up using Jasco stripper. It removed the clear and the logos in one shot. Left the black finish untouched.