Paint Stripping and another point

[TGR]

Evenin' all,

Could anyone advise of the best way to strip paint from a bike. I am wondering if bead blast is better than acid dip or if i spend the time and do it myself could i do a better job. Cost is obviously (i have to type obviously twice - every time!) a factor and if it costs £20 to get a frame stripped i would rather pay that than spend a week doing it myself - bearing in mind the cost of paint remover!!

Thanks all,

Richard

p.s. for those wondering about my Rapide - without swearing, it is almost done but not 'finished' as i am waiting for decals and getting very annoyed - 6 week wait!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

p.p.s. has anyone else noticed that sales of bits has slowed down on the forums - and not just here

 

[lewisfoto]

Greetings Richard

Bead blasting is what I always use and the frame comes back perfect. Almost too perfect. However another thread on here warned against shot blasting a aluminum frame due to the thinness of the tubes.

Steven

 

[TGR]

Hi Steven,

Didn't see you creeping about. I presume you have options with the media (is that the right word) bead rather than shit - and the varying types of bead.

Is it expensive?

Richard

 

[lewisfoto]

Here in the states it is quite cheap but yes there are differt types of media

BTW you have a typo in that last post...sh*t

 

[TGR]

Thanks for pointing out my mistake - i have had a few beers and the should expain it - and my inability to edit it!!!

Got some old punk on - it distracts me!!!

 

[Robbied196]

Hi Richard
Interestingly, I've just had a few experiments with stripping paint off a 1969 BSA Bantam. We do bead blasting where I work so that was the obvious first option. I dare say if your paying you'll get back a perfect bare metal frame, but in reality although bead blasting removes the paint, it also leaves a residue from the beads which needs to be cleaned off. This can be almost as bad as the paint! You'd be ok with a bike frame and forks but I also wouldn't use it on thin steel.

My second option was paint stripper, something like Nitromors. Again, it works but it takes quite a while, it also stinks and you'll need lots of steel wool to really remove all the paint. I did do a bike frame once like this and it took about 2 days and probably cost about £25 in stripper and steel wool.

Third option which I find the easiest and quickest is a wire brush on a drill. Screwfix sell a pack of three different types which will get into most awkward areas. Still best done outside because of the paint dust but you'll be left with a perfect bare steel frame and it leaves the surface with a nice key for the primer. I think a pack of 3 wire brushes is about £7 and you could do 3 or 4 frames, so its cheap as well

 

[TGR]

Thanks chaps,

Very interesting to read the options. Doing stuff outside is an issue here - cold and wet.

I had thought about doing it myself but my plan was to scrape the paint off with Stanley blades, Nitromors for the awkward bits and then run over it with steel wool - by hand and on a drill. It appears that i may have been thinking about a solution which i could do inside and with minimal mess.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[torqueless]

Yes it's a messy job one way or another.. I used a cabinet scraper for most of it the last time, same as Stanley blades I suppose but more of a 'fistful' so maybe less strain to hold at the right angle. Paint chips fly everywhere... an outdoor job really. . Indoors, erect a contamination barrier and (hopefully) avoid a bitter dispute with those who value soft furnishings over bicycle frames!

 

[WilliamC]

I stripped an old Claud Butler using a blow torch and scraper - it didn't take much heat to bubble the paint after which it came off very easily, then I finished up with wire wool, brushes, emery etc. I wouldn't do it indoors though, I don't know how toxic the fumes might be, though Nitromors isn't exactly a health product for that matter.

 

[TGR]

Hmmmm sounds like a shed job!!