Removed (past tense) paint from frame ...

[Q.]

I'd like to thank everyone who replied to my original post, it really helped! I ended up doing it,
and here's how it turned out ...

I had two options to remove the paint from the frame, sandblasting seemed like a bad idea on an
aluminum frame, so I went with everyone's favorite ... Aircraft Remover (c:

Man, that stuff works pisser. I mean, you can HEAR it working. It took two applications to take all
the paint off completely, but all I had to do is sponge off the majority, and use a little steel
wool on the rest (which wasn't much). About an hour all together. Word of caution, don't get this
stuff on your skin. Burns like hell. Get even a splatter on your skin, and you'll start treating
this stuff like it was the ebola virus. Kills the grass too.

Now, I had three options to finish it off. Powdercoating, anodizing and polishing. Powdercoating
would mean having to heat the frame up to at least 350 degrees so that was out of the question. I
still could have anodized it, and seriously considered that but it would have cost money and
taken time. Besides, I'm sure I'll scratch this frame up, and after a while it would start
looking bad (again).

Well, I just got done polishing the frame, and it looks spectacular! Some steel wool and Mothers mag
and aluminum wheel polish is all it took. Almost too shiny now ... I kinda like the brushed look
myself. Now it looks more like chrome. Still, I'm sure once the bike is back together it will look
even better since the whole bike will now be nothing but black and silver. When I get her back in
shape I'll post links to pictures if people want.

I definitely recommend this to people, especially if your bike is all scratched up and the stickers
are coming off like mine was.

Once again, thanks for everyone's help!
C.Q.C.
--
All e-mails scanned with Norton AntiVirus, updated weekly.

 

[Mike Beauchamp]

I also did the same thing to my bike.. But the stripper I used took a lot more time, and still
didn't get ALL the paint off. I think my bike had a LOT of paint on it.. I remember the worst part
was the final layer of silver-ish paint, which must have been the sparkly undercoat.

I ended up having to lightly sand the rest of the paint off (i felt bad sanding the aluminum frame,
but I made sure not to take off metal). Then I polished it off and it looked GREAT!

Stupidly, I decided to clear coat the frame.. The clearcoat SORT OF stuck. Now the frame looks more
like a permanently dirty brushed aluminum because of the half-assed clear coat. No idea why I did
that... seemed right at the time. SHoulda done it right..

Either way.. I think the bike still looks way better than stock (I made the clear coat thing sound
worse than it is). I applied a few orange "mikebeauchamp.com" decals too..

I think the custom paintjob is a good theft deterrent too. Nobody knows what my bike is, so they
can't just assume that it is worth money because it has a well-known brand name on it. Further more,
they can't exactly strip it down to make it look different.

Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com

"Q." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I'd like to thank everyone who replied to my original post, it really helped! I ended up doing it,
> and here's how it turned out ...
>
> I had two options to remove the paint from the frame, sandblasting seemed like a bad idea on an
> aluminum frame, so I went with everyone's favorite
...
> Aircraft Remover (c:
>
> Man, that stuff works pisser. I mean, you can HEAR it working. It took
two
> applications to take all the paint off completely, but all I had to do is sponge off the majority,
> and use a little steel wool on the rest (which wasn't much). About an hour all together. Word of
> caution, don't get
this
> stuff on your skin. Burns like hell. Get even a splatter on your skin,
and
> you'll start treating this stuff like it was the ebola virus. Kills the grass too.
>
> Now, I had three options to finish it off. Powdercoating, anodizing and polishing. Powdercoating
> would mean having to heat the frame up to at
least
> 350 degrees so that was out of the question. I still could have anodized it, and seriously
> considered that but it would have cost money and taken time. Besides, I'm sure I'll scratch this
> frame up, and after a while it would start looking bad (again).
>
> Well, I just got done polishing the frame, and it looks spectacular! Some steel wool and Mothers
> mag and aluminum wheel polish is all it took.
Almost
> too shiny now ... I kinda like the brushed look myself. Now it looks more like chrome. Still,
> I'm sure once the bike is back together it will look even better since the whole bike will now
> be nothing but black and silver. When I get her back in shape I'll post links to pictures if
> people want.
>
> I definitely recommend this to people, especially if your bike is all scratched up and the
> stickers are coming off like mine was.
>
> Once again, thanks for everyone's help!
> C.Q.C.
> --
> All e-mails scanned with Norton AntiVirus, updated weekly.

 

[Tdwfl]

> "Q." [email protected] wrote: >Well, I just got done polishing the
frame, and it looks spectacular! Some
>steel wool and Mothers mag and aluminum wheel polish is all it took.

Too late now but you should not use steel wool on aluminum.

Tim

 

[Donald Gillies]

"Q." <[email protected]> writes:

>Now, I had three options to finish it off. Powdercoating, anodizing and polishing.

>Well, I just got done polishing the frame, and it looks spectacular! Some steel wool and Mothers
>mag and aluminum wheel polish is all it took.

>I definitely recommend this to people, especially if your bike is all scratched up and the stickers
>are coming off like mine was.

I recommend that hurry up and reassemble the bike before the week is out !! you wouldn't want to
miss an instant of riding that polished aluminum bike !!

Seriously, i'd wait a week before reassembling the bike. By that time, your polished aluminum frame
may have changed to gun-metal grey in color. At that point, it might be appropriate to consider
anodizing the bike ...

- Don Gillies (i own an anodized Alan bike) San Diego, CA

 

[Q.]

>Too late now but you should not use steel wool on aluminum.

>Tim

Why not? I only used light steel wool to get the stubborn parts of paint off, and then to take the
"glaze" off the aluminum but is there something I don't know about which will make my bike break in
half? Seriously though. Between steps I used a product called First Kleen by Dupont to clean any
contaminants on the metal, and then good ol' soap and water if that is what the worry is about.

<snip>

> I think the custom paintjob is a good theft deterrent too. Nobody knows
what
> my bike is, so they can't just assume that it is worth money because it
has
> a well-known brand name on it. Further more, they can't exactly strip it down to make it look
> different.

> Mike

LOL, I've considered putting "HUFFY" stickers on for when I go into the city for that same reason. I
have taken all the stickers off the bike, but any bike thief worth his salt would be able to
recognize the value in the components at least )c:

"TDWFL" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > "Q." [email protected] wrote: >Well, I just got done polishing the
> frame, and it looks spectacular! Some
> >steel wool and Mothers mag and aluminum wheel polish is all it took.
>
> Too late now but you should not use steel wool on aluminum.
>
> Tim

 

[Lewis Campbell]

OK, Tim, so what SHOULD one use?

Lewis.

********************
[email protected] (TDWFL) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > "Q." [email protected] wrote: >Well, I just got done polishing the
> frame, and it looks spectacular! Some
> >steel wool and Mothers mag and aluminum wheel polish is all it took.
>
> Too late now but you should not use steel wool on aluminum.
>
> Tim

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"Donald Gillies" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Seriously, i'd wait a week before reassembling the bike. By that time, your polished aluminum
> frame may have changed to gun-metal grey in color. At that point, it might be appropriate to
> consider anodizing the bike ...

No, just use a good metal polish like Met-all or Simichrome. It'll keep it looking bright and shiny
for a long time.

Matt O.

 

[Lewis Campbell]

Thanks, Tim.

Lewis.

***********************

[email protected] (TDWFL) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> >[email protected] (Lewis Campbell) wrote: >OK, Tim, so what SHOULD one use?
> >
> >Lewis
>
> As the OP was removing the "glaze" off the aluminum it would be better to use a cloth or polishing
> wheel and an appropriate abrasive metal polishing compound (red rouge, white rouge or the like).
>
> Tim