bianchi10
03-08-2016, 07:46 PM
My buddy had a Ritchey C220 stem matte finish and was looking to take the logos off. Tried Acetone and paint thinner but it didn't seem to touch the logos because there seems to be a matte finish clear coat over the logos. Bike shop said to try again with Acetone, but give it some time to rub through. We tried doing so and after 5 minutes of constant rubbing, it started taking the logo off. The problem was that it started to take off the black anodizing as well. This left him a bit pissed off because now we had gone to a point where it was too late to stop and also too far where it ruined the overall finish.
I plastidipped my stem 6 months ago and it still looks good, so I suggested that, but he was wanting something more durable with an out of the box look. He looked into getting it anodized and they said it would be easy to do but he would need to sand it down. $30 later they anodized it, but it showed all the marring from the sanding. He wasn't satisfied with the results and had planned on throwing it away and buying a new one.
Since he was going to dispose of it, I took it from him and told him to hold off for a couple days and let me see what I could do. Went down to Home depot and got some spray can black matte finish. Took it home and sanded it down with a 1000 grit, rubbed it down with alcohol and let it dry. plugged the holes and threads with tape and the points that will have contact with the bars. Gave a very light dusting and let sit for 15 minutes. Came back and gave a heavier but still light coating. Sat my area heater in front of it and let sit for 25 min. Repeated steps 4 more times and let sit in front of the heater over night and the results were outstanding! Super even, super clean and looks stock out of the box with no logos! I tested the under side with my fingernail, but couldn't make any mark. Having thin coats was key to making it even.
Turns out there was product called Jasco Epoxy remover that will take off the clear coat and the logos without effecting the anodizing. So if you have a stem where the logos are under a clear coat and want to remove the logos, this stuff works like a charm.You can get this at Home depot for $6. He tried it on the face plate and it came off within 2 or 3 minutes and had zero effect on the black anodizing. He could have kicked himself for not trying this before, but live and learn.
Anyway, for a stem that we thought was ruined and didn't want to spend anymore money on trying to fix, the results were fantastic for a quick $5 spray job. Was hard to get lighting that shows its true color. To me, the photos make the stem look a little green. It is 100% matte black I assure you. I will update picts with the stem on the bike in natural light for a better idea of the finish.
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8690.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8697.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8699.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8696.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8693.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8694.jpg
I plastidipped my stem 6 months ago and it still looks good, so I suggested that, but he was wanting something more durable with an out of the box look. He looked into getting it anodized and they said it would be easy to do but he would need to sand it down. $30 later they anodized it, but it showed all the marring from the sanding. He wasn't satisfied with the results and had planned on throwing it away and buying a new one.
Since he was going to dispose of it, I took it from him and told him to hold off for a couple days and let me see what I could do. Went down to Home depot and got some spray can black matte finish. Took it home and sanded it down with a 1000 grit, rubbed it down with alcohol and let it dry. plugged the holes and threads with tape and the points that will have contact with the bars. Gave a very light dusting and let sit for 15 minutes. Came back and gave a heavier but still light coating. Sat my area heater in front of it and let sit for 25 min. Repeated steps 4 more times and let sit in front of the heater over night and the results were outstanding! Super even, super clean and looks stock out of the box with no logos! I tested the under side with my fingernail, but couldn't make any mark. Having thin coats was key to making it even.
Turns out there was product called Jasco Epoxy remover that will take off the clear coat and the logos without effecting the anodizing. So if you have a stem where the logos are under a clear coat and want to remove the logos, this stuff works like a charm.You can get this at Home depot for $6. He tried it on the face plate and it came off within 2 or 3 minutes and had zero effect on the black anodizing. He could have kicked himself for not trying this before, but live and learn.
Anyway, for a stem that we thought was ruined and didn't want to spend anymore money on trying to fix, the results were fantastic for a quick $5 spray job. Was hard to get lighting that shows its true color. To me, the photos make the stem look a little green. It is 100% matte black I assure you. I will update picts with the stem on the bike in natural light for a better idea of the finish.
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8690.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8697.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8699.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8696.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8693.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/blknslvrgsxr/IMG_8694.jpg