stripping my paint of a ti bike

[cap111]

Ok,

I have no knowledge of this so bare with me please.

I contacted Serotta, they told me that since my Legend was painted I can't strip it down and leave it bare. They say once painted always painted.

I'm trying to get the same outcome as the way non polished lightspeeds look.

Can I just take it to a shop that will strip it of all its paint and leave it bare?

I was under the impresion ti doesnt rust or decay?

input please,

Thank you, Christian

[tsarpepe]

Hi there. Just do a search on "stripping paint" and you will find several threads. One of them was started by me when I had to get the paint off my Merlin Extralight. The advice from forumites was good, and I ended up doing a pretty competent job of it.

[AndrewS]

Ti is non-reactive, so I would buy the most potent chemical stripper available so I don't have to do any scraping - hopefully it would all come off with cardboard and steel wool.

That said, there are usually some pieces bonded on Ti frames - a seat tube insert to make it 27.2 and sometimes head tube inserts. Don't get stripper on those parts.

Brushed finishes are done with strips of 3M Scotchbrite 7447, which I believe is "metal - very fine". I think it works better dry.

Otherwise, have the whole frame bead blasted with the appropriate grit - removes paint and leaves a popular finish in one go.

One would hope Serotta's paint policy has more to do with the uneven finish you'll find under the paint, rather than covering something uglier (though I can't think what that would be).

Want a look no one else has? Attach 1" Scotchbrite pads to the end of some sort of drill attachment and jewel the whole frame!

[SoCalSteve]

My Serotta Hors Categorie spent a couple months at Joe Bell's shop. It went from 3/4 paint 1/4 raw to 1/2 paint 1/2 raw. It can be done whether you send it to a professional bike painter or do it yourself.

You can see it here (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=12559)

Good luck!

[11.4]

If a new frame is to be painted, it isn't going to get the finish and prep work for the Ti surfaces themselves, since they will be covered by paint. If you go to paint, you have to do the missing finishing.

You don't want to sandblast the frame or you'll get little pits and marks that tend to collect grease and dirt and make it look grimy. Even beadblasting does some of this too (witness bare beadblasted Independent Fab frames). Better to strip it by hand, polish the frame very clean, and only then apply the satin finish with Scotchbrite.

[cap111]

If a new frame is to be painted, it isn't going to get the finish and prep work for the Ti surfaces themselves, since they will be covered by paint. If you go to paint, you have to do the missing finishing.

You don't want to sandblast the frame or you'll get little pits and marks that tend to collect grease and dirt and make it look grimy. Even beadblasting does some of this too (witness bare beadblasted Independent Fab frames). Better to strip it by hand, polish the frame very clean, and only then apply the satin finish with Scotchbrite.


ok, understand.

So if I used a chemical to take the paint off I would notice lots of rough surfaces?

[AndrewS]

I would bet not. Ti tubes come from the mill pretty nice looking, and the raw welds are very clean. You may just be able to go right to the Scotchbrite (which tends to hide imperfections, anyway).

[Blue Jays]

cap111, did you speak with Serotta about professionally refurbishing the bicycle or this a project you specifically wish to do yourself?

[AndrewS]

Just an opinion - it is not a difficult job and not worthy of even the shipping cost to and from Serotta. Paint yes - brushing and even decals, no.

[Peter P.]

I'm gonna hazard a guess at this and say that a since a painted ti frame needs less surface prep, when/if you strip it, won't you see discoloration at the welds?

And if so and you choose to Scotchbrite the areas, then won't those areas then look different than the rest of the frame. Result; you wind up Scotchbrite-ing the entire frame anyway?

[mosca]

There was this thread a while ago:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=77066

You can see my frame on page two. It was quite rough under the paint to the point that Scotchbrite alone was not effective. I had to use some emery cloth to smooth the surface before I could get a nice final finish. YMMV.

[happycampyer]

Maybe Serotta's policy has changed, but when I had my Ottrott refinished, I was told that Serotta was only willing to refinish painted ti to a brushed ti or repainted, but not polished ti; and painted carbon to painted carbon, not nude carbon. Here are some previous discussions of this topic (the second link includes a link to tsarpepe's earlier thread, but you'll need to fix the link manually):

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=77066&page=2&pp=15

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=63262

[cap111]

bv

[cap111]

cap111, did you speak with Serotta about professionally refurbishing the bicycle or this a project you specifically wish to do yourself?


Yes, I called the Lady told me once painted always painted. If I would of know this I would of saved the money on the paint job and left it raw.

So is this correct, if it's painted you need to get it refinished to Matte?
I have no knowledge of this so is this Matte a paint or is this their way of cleaning up the frame?


Thank you

[AndrewS]

Matte is generally bead blast. Mill-brushed means as it came from the tube supplier. Brushed means even and concentric scotchbrite. Polished means mirror-like and is done on a lathe before welding.

You have the means to do the first and third. No one does the last one on assembled ti frames.


Here's a bike I refined from bead blast matte to brushed:http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=69411

[buldogge]

I just did this on my powdercoated Sampson Z7 recently.

Coat the frame, sections at a time, with aircraft stripper. Let it sit about 30-45 minutes...compressed air and a plastic scraper will then make quick work of it. Wash with soapy water, rinse.

I followed that by wet sanding the entire frame with 400 and followed that with maroon, green, and grey scotchbrite. Finish with a pledge lemon wipedown.

I think it looks pretty decent...a smooth, but not completely matte finish.

-Mark in St. Louis

[merlincustom1]

I'd call Tom Kellogg and pick his brain.

[happycampyer]

Yes, I called the Lady told me once painted always painted. If I would of know this I would of saved the money on the paint job and left it raw.

So is this correct, if it's painted you need to get it refinished to Matte?
I have no knowledge of this so is this Matte a paint or is this their way of cleaning up the frame?

Thank youThere are 3 general paths:

1. Have Serotta refinish it. Serotta has limits on what they are willing to do. I would double check the info you received—my understanding is that if you want the paint removed to bare ti, Serotta will do so, but will only refinish it with a "matte" finish.

2. Have someone else refinish it. Other painters may be willing to refinish the bike to a polished finish but, given how labor-intensive it is, will probably charge a lot to do it.

3. Do it yourself, as others here have done.

To give you an idea of what the matte finish looks like, here is a picture of the finish on my Ottrott:

http://gallery.me.com/threadgill/100023/DSC_0009_1/web.jpg?ver=12782545790001

[Peter B]

<snip>
I have no knowledge of this so is this Matte a paint or is this their way of cleaning up the frame?


Thank you

This is matte. Looks fine ATMO.

[11.4]

Matte is just a light media blasting to remove the original finish and create a relatively consistent surface at all the corners, braze-ons, etc. You can do it without a blasting, but it will really take a horrendous amount of time and effort. Businesses that do media blasting do NOT know how to do a frame -- you can get rather prominent pitting or other problems, and the finish can just look funky. Only a few titanium framebuilders are competent at a blasted finish. I've never found a blasted finish that doesn't pick up fingerprints, perspiration, and dust more than a brushed finish. And once blasted, it's hard or impossible to get it to a brushed finish. I've stripped half a dozen Serotta titanium frames that had been painted in team colors, and can attest to the issues here. We wanted to get them to bare ti for use as training bikes after sponsorship changed, and we got a Serotta-quality brushed finish. The key trick is you have to get to a very very smooth, consistent finish before going to the scotchbrite. If you try to scotchbrite a beadblasted surface, it just wants to look ugly. If you have a scratch showing, or discoloration from welding, or any other marks around braze-ons, it all comes through and makes the brushed finish look really poor. You want a virtually glossy surface -- very bright and shiny with no visible scratches or deformities that you wouldn't want if you were just riding with the bright finish. It's doable, but it's a lot of handwork even if you start with blasting to remove the paint. If you want to do it yourself, I'd suggest using stripper most of the way, then very fine carbide papers (400 to 4000 to crocus cloth), and then start with the finest colors of Scotchbrite and actually go towards the coarser ones until you get the brushed finish you like.

[Louis]

Christian,

What does it look like now? Post some pictures and maybe we can convince you to leave it as is.

L

[cap111]

I guess it's nice but, I have had it for 5 yr's and like anything else the paint is starting to see ware. I have used lots of touch up paint on nicks here and there. I would like to just have it stripped and maybe a brush look to it.

Thank you for taking the time to explain things to me. :beer:

[Pete Serotta]

I guess it's nice but, I have had it for 5 yr's and like anything else the paint is starting to see ware. I have used lots of touch up paint on nicks here and there. I would like to just have it stripped and maybe a brush look to it.

Thank you for taking the time to explain things to me. :beer:


You can do it and get new decals or send it to SEROTTA to be done, check all alignment and put new decals. (come back looking new) PETE

[cap111]

Ok,