Unpainted carbon frame???

[wilmar13]

Is there any reason other than aesthetics that carbon needs to be painted (or have a clear coat)?

Also if there is no reason, anybody got a safe way to remove paint from a carbon frame... my fear is that perhaps carbon doesn't need to be painted, but once it is, your only choice (if you hate the color) is you rough up the surface and repaint.

I was waiting to get the Soloist Carbon hoping they would come out with another color than the ubiquitous CSC version for 2007... well they did, but not sure that the $1300 premium is worth it to get a different color with 200gr weight savings (SLC).

I emailed Cervelo about getting one unpainted, but they never responded, and say on the website only the P3 is available unpainted.

 

[mcginty_PB]

Is there any reason other than aesthetics that carbon needs to be painted (or have a clear coat)?

Also if there is no reason, anybody got a safe way to remove paint from a carbon frame... my fear is that perhaps carbon doesn't need to be painted, but once it is, your only choice (if you hate the color) is you rough up the surface and repaint.

I was waiting to get the Soloist Carbon hoping they would come out with another color than the ubiquitous CSC version for 2007... well they did, but not sure that the $1300 premium is worth it to get a different color with 200gr weight savings (SLC).

I emailed Cervelo about getting one unpainted, but they never responded, and say on the website only the P3 is available unpainted.

I am not an expert in carbon frames but I do know that the frames are built with polymer resins and that those resins are chemically resistant to solvents that will take paint off. You might try a little bit of lacquer thinner on a hidden part of the frame to see if it will take the paint off. The other option is hand wet sanding which is a pain in the butt. Whatever you do, don't have it sand blasted, beadblasted or use any kind of power tool to remove the paint.

 

[ToffoIsMe]

Using any kind of paint thinner will almost definately void the warranty on a carbon frame. CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER and ask them what they recommend that WILL NOT void your warranty.

 

[wilmar13]

Using any kind of paint thinner will almost definately void the warranty on a carbon frame. CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER and ask them what they recommend that WILL NOT void your warranty.

LOL, yeah right... anything like this will void the warranty... I want to know what my options are. I don't care about the warranty, I want to do what has the least risk though, and if there is nothing that won't compromise the integrity I will just forget it.

 

[alfeng]

Is there any reason other than aesthetics that carbon needs to be painted (or have a clear coat)?

You may remember reading that ONE reason given for not having a naked carbon fiber frame was because of possible UV degradation ... I don't know if that belief is still embraced by anyone as being valid OR if it is still THE reason.

Obviously, Armstrong & Trek were certainly NOT concerned about his riding a naked carbon fiber frame in at least one Stage because the frames he rode were "disposable" as far as they were concerned ...

Contact Calfee ... he would/should know since he does repair work on carbon fiber frames (they don't have to be his). I would take his answer as being the definitive answer for this point in time.

In the meantime, take this for what it's worth if it rings true to you:

A reason that you apparently might not want a naked carbon fiber frame is because, as people have learned from greasing their carbon fiber seat posts, carbon fiber has porosity ... that means that a naked carbon fiber component/frame is potentially subject to infilitration (which may-or-may-not occur) of unwanted substances & (presumably) a concern for possible degradation of any joint bonds ... if the component (or, frame) doesn't have bonded joints, then I would be less inclined to worry about its finish being present, or not.

 

[velomane]

You may remember reading that ONE reason given for not having a naked carbon fiber frame was because of possible UV degradation ... I don't know if that belief is still embraced by anyone as being valid OR if it is still THE reason.

UV is a valid consideration. That's why Calfee recommends one use a product called 303 aerospace protectant a couple times a year. Once again, talk to Craig Calfee.

Here's 303's website: http://www.303products.com/


I ride a naked Calfee Tetra and three years on it's still as gorgeous as the day I got it.

Good luck and let us know how things pan out.

 

[bobbyOCR]

UV is a valid consideration. That's why Calfee recommends one use a product called 303 aerospace protectant a couple times a year. Once again, talk to Craig Calfee.

Here's 303's website: http://www.303products.com/


I ride a naked Calfee Tetra and three years on it's still as gorgeous as the day I got it.

Good luck and let us know how things pan out.

exactly.

Also, paint can add a pretty surprising amount of weight (half the reason why cervelos new soloist weighs less, literally). I'd like to see a complete naked carbon soloist with no decals, it'd be an improvement IMO

 

[wilmar13]

exactly.

Also, paint can add a pretty surprising amount of weight (half the reason why cervelos new soloist weighs less, literally). I'd like to see a complete naked carbon soloist with no decals, it'd be an improvement IMO

Thanks for the input guys... Cervelo wrote me back today actually and said no chance of getting the Soloist without paint... I am not too sure I want to get a $3200 frame and then strip the paint off it, so I will just keep looking. Maybe if a used one comes up on Ebay for a decent price... but everyone is so anxious to look like CSC monkeys (kidding) that they still sell for wholesale price used. I'm sure the demand is not because it is a stiff, light, and aero frameset.

 

[hd reynolds]

Is there any reason other than aesthetics that carbon needs to be painted (or have a clear coat)?

Also if there is no reason, anybody got a safe way to remove paint from a carbon frame... my fear is that perhaps carbon doesn't need to be painted, but once it is, your only choice (if you hate the color) is you rough up the surface and repaint.

I stripped the paint off a Giant Carbon TCR Aero by sanding the paint/clearcoat using a dremel tool. I carefully sanded off the topcoat using the rough sander then followed it with the fine sander. I finished the whole thing with a flat orbital sander using fine sandpaper until the carbon grain showed up.

Painted the fork and I have been using it for sometime now with no issues.

 

[dabac]

Is there any reason other than aesthetics that carbon needs to be painted (or have a clear coat)?

Depends much on the resin used. Some laminating resins will degrade when exposed to UV, potentially weakening the structure. Now there are of course a bunch of modifiers to this. You have degradation speed vs exposure times - it might be a long time before (if ever) it becomes critical. Maybe the frame is stronger than actually required, if that is the case losing strength in the surface layer becomes a non-issue.

Then there are things like exposure to (and absorbtion of) other aggressive chemicals. Although a cured resin is a pretty tough customer it's fully possible that there are substances out there that are capable of attacking the laminate.

And let's not forget the potentially harmful effects of surface wear. A CF frame is a fairly well weight optimized product, which means that an absolutely "naked" frame would have the actual weave (with the individual fibres) exposed. Any rubbing/scratches would quite quickly cut through the surface layers of fibre. If that's significant or not would be very hard to tell.

 

[WheresWaldo]

http://www.starten.com/products.htm

The Star10 Phase 1 stripper is safe for all composite material and is used by many in the boat building industry.

 

[wilmar13]

Thanks for the feedback... I have since found several reputable repainters that would strip the Soloist and repaint for significantly less than the +$500 Hot Tubes (Cervelo approved) would charge. I will probably just go this route when/if I can get my hands on a used frameset.