Removing paint from frame

[Q.]

I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like to remove the paint in order
to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it black (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm leaning
towards anodizing myself.

In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that would curdle up paint
and you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the 80's (rats).
Any substitutes out there you're aware of that would be good on aluminum? Sandblasting might
be an option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach? And does anyone know, can the
"welds" be anodized?

Thanks all

 

[Js]

"Q." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that
would
> curdle up paint and you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the
> 80's (rats).

AFAIK there is paint removal chemicals (legally) available which will do the job. It's also the
preferable method.

> Sandblasting might be an option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach?

I wouldn't recommend sandblasting for aluminium frames; Blasting *always* modifies/consumes the
material which it's used on and because the aluminium frames today are very lightwalled it's very
likely that you'll damage the frame.

It isn't so nice to hit the road with one frame and come back with two compact ones ;-)

-juuso

 

[Donald Gillies]

"Q." <[email protected]> writes:

>I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like to remove the paint in
>order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it black (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm
>leaning towards anodizing myself.

>In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that would curdle up paint and you
>could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the 80's (rats). Any
>substitutes out there you're aware of that would be good on aluminum? Sandblasting might be an
>option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach? And does anyone know, can the "welds" be
>anodized?

I think that everyone does it this way :

(a) Get a top-quality gas mask, thick rubber gloves, and then use paint stripper. Then use a scrub
brush or whatnot to remove the paint. WARNING. Modern strippers are carcinogenic. The gas mask
is an ESSENTIAL part of stripping paint with paint stripper.

I did this last week on a front fork. I'm thinking of finishing the work with some light sand paper
and my dremel with a wire brush. A generic dremel tool with wire bruss is $25 at kmart.

(b) Once you've stripped as much as you can, take it to get sand blasted or bead blasted. I
understand that sand for sandblasting is expensive and you are creating toxic waste / sand, and
so by using paint stripper you can greatly reduce the consumption of sand / beads for blasting.

- Don Gillies

 

[B. Sanders]

"Q." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like to remove the paint in
> order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it
black
> (don't know what "alloy" it is yet).

> I'm leaning towards anodizing myself.

What color are you planning to anodize yourself?

> In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that
would
> curdle up paint and you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the
> 80's (rats).

Go to any decent hardware store and buy some "Aircraft Remover" (no kidding). There are several
brands of aircraft paint remover. I've used one made by MarHyde, and it worked a charm. Wear
goggles, a long-sleeved shirt and elbow-length heavy butyl rubber gloves when you apply it. The
paint just melts right off the frame. Great stuff! I've stripped several aluminum (Cannondale)
frames with aircraft paint stripper, and recommend it highly.

> Sandblasting might be an option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach?

The pitfalls are (1) it removes aluminum from an already thin walled frame and (2) it voids the
frame warranty. Chemical stripping does not (AFAIK/YMMV).

> And does anyone know, can the "welds" be anodized?

Seems likely; but I'd bet that there will be a variation in the color at the welds. Powder coating
is probably your best bet. It's a lot less hassle, for one thing.

-=B=-

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 06:22:02 -0400, "Q." <[email protected]> may have said:

>I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like to remove the paint in
>order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it black (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm
>leaning towards anodizing myself.
>
>In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that would curdle up paint and you
>could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the 80's (rats). Any
>substitutes out there you're aware of that would be good on aluminum?

Many hardware stores, and all Autozone stores, carry a product called "Aircraft Remover" (the
subject of many jokes about plane crashes) which work as well as anything on the market.

>Sandblasting might be an option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach?

Don't do it yourself with silica sand; the dust is more than trivially harmful if inhaled. There are
safer abrasives, but frankly, if you can avoid the whole blasting thing, do so. For one thing, if
they blast the threads in the BB, you will probably regret it.

>And does anyone know, can the "welds" be anodized?

Probably yes. Make sure to mask the inside of the head tube and BB if you are going to have the
frame anodized; the dimensions of those will change if you don't.

Most importantly, though, *before* you do any of this, call around and make sure you can find a
place that will do the anodizing for a price you can afford. If that's not available, leave the
original paint intact. Getting paint to stick to aluminum reliably is much easier for the factory
than it is for you.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

 

[Squid-In-Traini]

> Go to any decent hardware store and buy some "Aircraft Remover" (no kidding). There are several
> brands of aircraft paint

http://plaza.ufl.edu/phillee/****/aircraft.jpg

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[A Muzi]

Q. wrote:

> I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like to remove the paint in
> order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it black (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm
> leaning towards anodizing myself.
>
> In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that would curdle up paint and
> you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard that stuff was banned in the 80's (rats). Any
> substitutes out there you're aware of that would be good on aluminum? Sandblasting might be an
> option too but what are the pitfalls in that approach? And does anyone know, can the "welds" be
> anodized?

Auto parts stores sell aproduct called "Aircraft Paint Remover". Silly name but very effective.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Mark Atanovich]

Make sure you avoid hard anodizing. It's brittleness will eventually cause cracks in high
stress areas.

"A Muzi" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Q. wrote:
>
> > I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd like
to
> > remove the paint in order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it
black
> > (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm leaning towards anodizing
myself.
> >
> > In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that
would
> > curdle up paint and you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard
that
> > stuff was banned in the 80's (rats). Any substitutes out there you're
aware
> > of that would be good on aluminum? Sandblasting might be an option too
but
> > what are the pitfalls in that approach? And does anyone know, can the "welds" be anodized?
>
>
> Auto parts stores sell aproduct called "Aircraft Paint Remover". Silly name but very effective.
>
> --
> Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Mike]

"Mark Atanovich" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:hyYfb.52058$vj2.19195@fed1read06...
> Make sure you avoid hard anodizing. It's brittleness will eventually
cause
> cracks in high stress areas.
>
> "A Muzi" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Q. wrote:
> >
> > > I have an aluminum frame painted thick refrigerator white, and I'd
like
> to
> > > remove the paint in order to either polish the aluminum, or anodize it
> black
> > > (don't know what "alloy" it is yet). I'm leaning towards anodizing
> myself.
> > >
> > > In the old days there used to be some nasty toxic stuff for cars that
> would
> > > curdle up paint and you could hose or squeegee it off. Last I heard
> that
> > > stuff was banned in the 80's (rats). Any substitutes out there you're
> aware
> > > of that would be good on aluminum? Sandblasting might be an option
too
> but
> > > what are the pitfalls in that approach? And does anyone know, can the "welds" be anodized?
> >
> >
> > Auto parts stores sell aproduct called "Aircraft Paint Remover". Silly name but very effective.
> >
> > --
> > Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971
> >
> Find a local John Deere dealer and buy a can of "Paint and Decal
Remover". Works great!! Mike