Stripping paint from ALU frame ......now PSA

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by azrider

HA....good one

I totally thought the pink was cool, still do, but for some reason I just kept thinking I couldn't pull it off......maybe when I was younger but for Dad who is north of 40........not so much

As for aesthetics of raw bikes........i just love 'em: brushed or polished alu with all black bits.....thats haute atmo

haha I just mean stripped bikes (raw) but no decals. I think the look is great otherwise.

[CSTRider]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Thanks for your PSA. Especially the part where you note how nasty even the nice version of the stripping compound is. I've done site cleanups where methylene chloride is a contaminant of concern - it is not a joke, even in extremely dilute amounts. For anyone else thinking of trying this, please have a plan for protecting yourself (including compatible gloves and safety glasses and probably not flip-flops), for responding to an accidental spill, and for disposal when the process is finished (a lot of fire departments will have a no-questions haz waste dropoff day).

So if the stripping compound is as hazardous as everyone says, how do you safely remove it from the frame and dispose of it? I assume from looking at the pics that most DIY'ers are just hosing it off and it ends up in the soil or street. If i'm correct, that sounds like a great way to turn your property into an EPA cleanup site.

[azrider]

Originally Posted by charliedid

haha I just mean stripped bikes (raw) but no decals. I think the look is great otherwise.

Well you bring up another question that I asked previously but no one answered and that's: "will decals even stick to polished aluminum...should I clear coat over the decals?"

If you know answer Charlie i'm all ears

[azrider]

Originally Posted by CSTRider

So if the stripping compound is as hazardous as everyone says, how do you safely remove it from the frame and dispose of it? I assume from looking at the pics that most DIY'ers are just hosing it off and it ends up in the soil or street. If i'm correct, that sounds like a great way to turn your property into an EPA cleanup site.

So I did it in an area that gets little to no foot traffic, and each time I scrapped the paint off I'd lay down a piece of cardboard to collect 'most' of the droppings

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by CSTRider

So if the stripping compound is as hazardous as everyone says, how do you safely remove it from the frame and dispose of it? I assume from looking at the pics that most DIY'ers are just hosing it off and it ends up in the soil or street. If i'm correct, that sounds like a great way to turn your property into an EPA cleanup site.

Do your work over a drop cloth that won't get burned through. ball everything up, put it in a bag, take it to the fire department.

You're probably correct about most DIYers not doing this and the product ending up in the soil or street. The quantities used (unless you are doing this as a side gig) aren't enough to capture the attention of a regulatory agency. At least you'll never get weeds in that spot again. Or anything else.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by azrider

Well you bring up another question that I asked previously but no one answered and that's: "will decals even stick to polished aluminum...should I clear coat over the decals?"

If you know answer Charlie i'm all ears

I'm no painter. Vinyl decals should do just fine as far as I know.

[azrider]

Nasty......but finally making progress on the actual paint. For quite a while I thought that I had ruined my frame but luckily it’s starting to look halfway decent.

Towards the end I thought the paint was coming up easily enough that a high powered DIY wash would help......no such luck.

I’m over it and will probably just lightly sand off the remaining paint stuck in welds.

Not looking forward to the polishing process








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[Hindmost]

What were you using to strip it? A second or third effort is sometimes called for in order to avoid use of abrasives.

[azrider]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

What were you using to strip it? A second or third effort is sometimes called for in order to avoid use of abrasives.

Dude.....you're over here talking to me about second or third???

I have to giggle because this is after 8th or 9th "effort". Application temps are so important and for me to tackle this in middle of summer in AZ was HUGE mistake. The stuff would dry out too much to take affect and I was putting on coat after coat after coat............

I used aircract stripper first.....good but suuuuuuuper nasty to work with

also used aerosol by JASCO and found it to be far superior in multiple facets:
application
results
clean-up
ease of use

Imma tellin ya........one of my least favorite bike projects ever..........

[Hindmost]

Apologies! Sounds like you've made the efforts and tryed the right stuff. I am puzzled about the outcome so far. High temps, yeah a significant problem.

[wildboar]

Any chance someone could soda blast (the rest of) it? Must have been a different thread where someone was asking about it.

[charliedid]

Just build and ride the GD thing

[azrider]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

Apologies! Sounds like you've made the efforts and tryed the right stuff. I am puzzled about the outcome so far. High temps, yeah a significant problem.

Yeah I've made tons of mistakes.......so others don't have to

Originally Posted by wildboar

Any chance someone could soda blast (the rest of) it? Must have been a different thread where someone was asking about it.

So i inquired with local companies around town and no one could do it. I take that back........they could do it, but for the medium I wanted (nut shells, glass, etc) each place conveniently didn't have that on hand which required me to buy a crap done of it and then most would go to waste cause all I needed was a little bicycle frame done.

[azrider]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Just build and ride the GD thing

Soooooo much anger. Those muggy Chicago summers can realllllly get to a guy

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by azrider

Soooooo much anger. Those muggy Chicago summers can realllllly get to a guy

73 and a north wind today!