So I think I'm going to strip the paint off my bicycle to bare metal for some faux rust treating. Just wanted to hear what you guys use to take paint off. I'm not interested in using aircraft paint stripper, have used it in the past and don't want the mess associated with using chemicals. So what do you guys find the most effective and least work to get paint off a frame. Do you use electric grinders? Pneumatic sanders? Wire brush wheels? Lets hear it from those of you how have done this before.
What tool do you use for paint stripping?
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Aircraft stripper or I have also just put frames in a leaf fire to burn the paint off, this also creates rust if you leave it out for a few days after. I wouldn't try it on an expensive frame, I have done it with no problems but have heard it can weaken it.
outskirtscustoms said:
very interesting!! beavis and butthead come to mind :wink: fire! yeah fire! huh huuh huuh
i love it!!
:mrgreen:
I just stripped a frame using aircraft stripper. Even after three coats I still had to wire brush and even razor blade off some spots. What seemed to help was a heat gun. Im not sure it would work on larger areas but for smaller spots and crevices it peeled right off. Good luck.
Try contacting a local sandblaster/powdercoater. My guy charges a $100/hr, but it only takes him 15 min to do a frame/fork, so he charges me $25. With aircraft stripper running around $12 a can (in Atlanta anyway), it actually ends up being much cheaper and there is ZERO cleanup afterwards (and no toxic fumes either..... :roll: )
Good luck!
Dr. T
Good luck!
Dr. T
what kind of stripper are you using? is it the liquid or the gel? I use the gel and just keep moving it around on the frame every few hours with a 99 cent paint brush. I tried the liquid spray on stuff but it would run with gravity before it started stripping the paint. For good old paint you really need to leave it on for awhile. This process cant be done in a few hours. Usually it takes a full day minimum. Of course you dont have to sit there and watch it, just brush it on everywhere then come back in a few hours and move it around a bit and leave it.
Sandblasting is the easiest for frames. Dont sand blast chainguards, the heat warps them. I had my guy do a lower pressure soda blast for those and it turned out great.
Sandblasting is the easiest for frames. Dont sand blast chainguards, the heat warps them. I had my guy do a lower pressure soda blast for those and it turned out great.
DA sander, from Harbor Freight.60 grit paper, 1 hour its mostly all done. A lil hand sanding, and its ready for paint. Its dusty,though
I've had good luck with Citristrip. It's a citrus-based stripper that's available at most big-box home improvement stores. I'm not sure how it compares to aircraft stripper, but it works fine if you're patient. I found that my results improved a lot with a quick round of 60-grit sanding, then slathering on the Citristrip (I used the gel kind, not the spray-on) and letting it sit for a while before hitting it with steel wool or stripping pad (which is to be preferred, since it clogs up the steel wool really fast and you can rinse out the stripping pad).
The big selling point for Citristrip for me at least is that it's not noxious and you don't have to worry about properly disposing of bad chemicals. I first used it because I was stripping a frame in the basement of a duplex and didn't want to annoy the neighbors and didn't really want to kill brain cells either. To me, it smells (and looks) like the fluoride stuff I'd get at the dentist when I was a kid, so it's a little weird, but I don't mind it. Just lay down lots of newspaper under your frame and then throw it in the trash when you're done. Easier than cleaning up a lot of dust from sanding (unless you have a good place to do it outside, of course) and you don't have to worry about breathing it.
All that being said, I guess if you can get it sandblasted for cheap, that sounds like the way to go.
The big selling point for Citristrip for me at least is that it's not noxious and you don't have to worry about properly disposing of bad chemicals. I first used it because I was stripping a frame in the basement of a duplex and didn't want to annoy the neighbors and didn't really want to kill brain cells either. To me, it smells (and looks) like the fluoride stuff I'd get at the dentist when I was a kid, so it's a little weird, but I don't mind it. Just lay down lots of newspaper under your frame and then throw it in the trash when you're done. Easier than cleaning up a lot of dust from sanding (unless you have a good place to do it outside, of course) and you don't have to worry about breathing it.
All that being said, I guess if you can get it sandblasted for cheap, that sounds like the way to go.
CCR
Mouth-Breather
Another thing on my Christmas list, 5" 80 grit hook and loop pads 
I use the orbital most times ...
sometimes chemical stripper, sometimes the drill and wire wheel. Just depends what tools are where and what is handy.
I use the orbital most times ...
sometimes chemical stripper, sometimes the drill and wire wheel. Just depends what tools are where and what is handy.
i will have to give those citistrips a try. sounds alot safer then chemical paint stripper and maybe ill follow it up with my da sander.
+ 1 on the citristrip
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ci_gpa=pla
tried the aircraft stripper and decided It was too dangerous to my body.
The gel goes on easy with a throw-away brush, stays put, and doesn't smell bad.
Bottom line it takes the paint off, like it's supposed to do.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ci_gpa=pla
tried the aircraft stripper and decided It was too dangerous to my body.
The gel goes on easy with a throw-away brush, stays put, and doesn't smell bad.
Bottom line it takes the paint off, like it's supposed to do.
I'm going to have to try that myownself. The grinder method makes too much of a mess, and covers all the other bikes in the shop with heavy dust. Is the Citristrip going to take off all paint, or will it work for taking spray or house paint off of the original paint? I have two or three ballooners that I'd like to get down to the factory paint job if I can do it without ruining it...
I've used it on furniture, but as far as bikes go, only ever used it for taking the factory paint off one bike frame (70's Schwinn - the paint was still in pretty good shape where it wasn't chipped), so this is nothing but a slightly educated guess, but I'd think if you were careful and moved quickly in small patches, it would probably take the top paint off. What you really want to be careful of is places where there's damage to the factory paint. When I was stripping my frame at first I wasn't having much luck, but then I noticed that places where the paint was already compromised (chips or rust spots) would let the Citristip get a start and so I started giving it a quick sanding and letting the stripper soak in and then the paint came right off.expjawa said:
Hope that helps.
So I ended up taking my time and using the angle grinder and brush wheel to take off as much pain as possible. All the nooks and crannies I couldn't reach with the grinder I used citistrip on and let me tell you way better then the aircraft stuff. Stripping paint and having the great citrus smell instead of toxic fumes, can't beat that. So this is the result, I'm not sure if I want to primer and paint (not sure what color yet) or throw some clear over the bare metal, or maybe going with my original idea and letting the frame rust up.
I like it! I say throw some clear on there and call it good.
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