Acetone does not take this off

[drewellison]

I used acetone to de-logo this Ritchey alloy seatpost. This also removed the glossy coating over the logos, but it all came off with acetone just fine. Now it's a flat black anno.

My precess was I soaked some paper towel with acetone (nail polish remover), wrapped the post with it, then wrapped that with cling wrap. Let it sit for anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours, came back, and wiped/rubbed off. Sometimes it took a couple of applications.

Aceton does not remove the logo and height markings. I tried just gently scraping with a blade, but it doesn't do it either.

What can I do to remove it with also taking off the black anodizing?

[Caballero]

Might be etched ??

[jtbadge]

Are you using 100% acetone nail polish remover? It is sold in various concentrations. Switching from the regular strength formula to 100% acetone worked wonders for me.

[drewellison]

I don't think it's etched. It looks like some sort of silver paint. When I scrape it with a razor blade, it makes it more reflective, like polishing a silver piece.

I think it's 100% acetone, but I I'll check. Good thought.

[false_Aest]

ru sure it wasn't masked before being anodised?

[Gsinill]

If it is painted, wrap a rag around it and soak it with DOT 3 brake fluid.
Let sit overnight and unless the post was clear coated, the paint should come off.

[drewellison]

ru sure it wasn't masked before being anodised?

Oh, you mean it might be the silver alloy of the post? I will look at it closely and see if I can determine.

If that's the case, what's the best black to cover it up? A Sharpie or some kind of black paint?

[gospastic]

I have used Citristrip on Ritchey parts before and it takes off the logos and whatnot quickly and painlessly. I apply and let it sit for about a minute, then wipe off.

[Tickdoc]

gel paint remover usually does the trick....let it sit for 10 min or so, it will bubble up and wipe right off! (usually ;)

[oldpotatoe]

Can I ask, why do you want to take this stuff off or otherwise cover it up?

[Lewis Moon]

I have a dt hub that is marked specialized. That would NOT do so I drenched it in paint stripper. Real paint stripper. No go. Something weird going on because paint stripper has never failed.

[cderalow]

that looks like its anodized in which case there is no removing it.

you can paint over it, or if you're feeling frisky, try to home anodize it black.

[Bob Ross]

If that's the case, what's the best black to cover it up? A Sharpie or some kind of black paint?

I have never had success de-logo'ing a black seatpost (or stem, or rim, or bar) with a Sharpie. They look great for about two weeks...after which they just look like gray logos.

[drewellison]

Can I ask, why do you want to take this stuff off or otherwise cover it up?

I'm just trying to re-brand it to match the bike it's going on, so I'm trying to remove all the Ritchey logos. I've got some frame-matching decals to apply to the seatpost. That's all.

The seatpost is kinda beat up and I found it free in the road. I think it fell off someone's car when they were leaving a bike show a couple of years ago and there it lay in the middle of the road. So I picked it up. It's a nice alloy post.

[Dead Man]

Try methylethylketone ... MEK

If that doesn't take it off, likely no commercially available solvent will.

[rrudoff]

Could be laser marked, in which case nothing will remove, they are bare metal,

[drewellison]

MEK sounds like some pretty nasty stuff. Probably effective, but care is needed in use. I think I'll pass on this stuff.

In the interest of ease and minimal impact and using what I've got in house, I'll probably mask the logo very carefully, spray with some flat black paint (with all the partially used cans of Krylon in the garage, I have to have one that'll match), and cover it up with a sticker.

I'll post a photo when completed.

[Dead Man]

You do have to use some care with MEK, as it will dissolve all sorts of stuff.. but if you just soak a little into a cloth and rub the post with it you're not going to have any problems.

[Idris Icabod]

You do have to use some care with MEK, as it will dissolve all sorts of stuff.. but if you just soak a little into a cloth and rub the post with it you're not going to have any problems.

I doubt if Acetone didn't work that MEK would. It's almost acetone just an additional methylene on one side. Sorry, 20 years as an organic chemist.

[Dead Man]

I doubt if Acetone didn't work that MEK would. It's almost acetone just an additional methylene on one side. Sorry, 20 years as an organic chemist.

As an amateur organic chemistry enthusiast, I always love hearing real chemists perspective on stuff - no apologies needed!

However, it's been my experience that MEK does actually eat up quite a bit more stuff than acetone. Most recent example - I pulled a head badge off a titanium frame, leaving an ugly blob of epoxy on the head tube. NOTHING would even start to soften the stuff - tried acetone, toluene, lacquer thinner, then finally MEK - instantly dissolved it. Acetone does a perfectly good job on paints and some coatings, but doesn't even dent epoxy/resin type stuff.

Not to try to come into your lane or anything, but, as you know, three extra atoms can make a significant difference in the reactivity of a chemical compound

[Idris Icabod]

As an amateur organic chemistry enthusiast

I love this sentence! Makes me think of Heisenberg from Breaking Bad.

[mcfarton]

I remove ano with Crystal draino. I mix it with water and it will eat it off. I do it outside and far away from where my wife can see what I am doing lol.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[drewellison]

Upon closer inspection, I've decided that the graphics I can't remove are etched in! That's why I can't remove them - it's the raw (?) alloy showing through.

I can run my fingernail across the alloy and detect an ever-slight bump when it gets to the black anodizing. It's not easy to tell, but the little bump is there.

Solution: mask and paint, then sticker over!

Thanks, all, for the input. I've learned a lot here.

[dvancleve]

Sounds like it won't work for you, but I had some logos that straight acetone on a rag didn't really touch. On a lark, I put that same acetone on some 0000 steel wool and with a little rubbing the logos came right off.

YMMV, Doug

[drewellison]

I masked off the logo, sprayed with a little flat black spray paint (semi-gloss might have been a better match, but no matter), applied the sticker, and voila!

[Clean39T]

I masked off the logo, sprayed with a little flat black spray paint (semi-gloss might have been a better match, but no matter), applied the sticker, and voila!

But, dem pedals still say Ritchey :bike:

Sweet looking ride though - I'm just being sarcastic..

[drewellison]

But, dem pedals still say Ritchey :bike:

Sweet looking ride though - I'm just being sarcastic..

Dang! I missed those. Maybe I'll turn those into ... Look pedals! :banana: