strip the paint from my cannondale?

[vqdriver]

i'm not familiar with frame building, so humor me.
my rain bike is an aluminum c'dale synapse and has some bad chips. i wonder if i can strip the paint and just ride it bare metal. the joints are welded, but i don't know if that's fillet or what. it sure is smooth like fillet, but i can't imagine they put that kind of work into a lower end hi-volume frame.

[nahtnoj]

i'm not familiar with frame building, so humor me.
my rain bike is an aluminum c'dale synapse and has some bad chips. i wonder if i can strip the paint and just ride it bare metal. the joints are welded, but i don't know if that's fillet or what. it sure is smooth like fillet, but i can't imagine they put that kind of work into a lower end hi-volume frame.

Your frame is TIG welded. The welds are sanded.

You can strip the frame but eventually it will start to oxidize as raw aluminum will.

[bigreen505]

Should be ok. My friend has a stripped Cannondale R3.0 with all black components. Looks kind of bada$$ in a slightly ghetto way.

[Volant]

Strip it and clear-coat it to prevent oxidation. Or pick up a cheap air-brush kit ($25 at hobby store with paint and aerosol can) and do your own Pego-grafitti to it before applying the clear.