Stripping frame paint

walter

Fourth Party
Thinking about removing the paint from my aluminum CaadX. Is it possible to do it manually or should I just pay the money and have it bead blasted or whatever the process is? Any tips and/or suggestions? Looking to leave it with the raw aluminum finish.
 

choop

Well-Known Member
I have stripped 2 frames. One a specialized and the other a CAADX. I used Klean Strip Aircraft Stripper. The CAADX frame was a bit more stubborn than the Specialized, but they both came out fine. It took about an hour with the paint stripper. Get a few pairs of nitrile gloves and a few plastic putty knife / scrapers. The worst part is goijng to be cleaning out the welds if the stripper doesn't penetrate into the grooves. Sanding will take as long as you want, dependent on the gloss you are looking to accomplish.

GAR343_KSAARPntRmvr_150dpi_300_300_80.jpg
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
My experience- combination of paint remover, multiple grades of steel brushes, heat gun and the willingness to see the job thru.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Citristrip works as well as something that won't melt you, as well, can work. There are going to be stubborn parts that you need to mechanically remove, and several applications in there.

That said, Bruce (The Color Factory on Facebook) charged something like $85 for a media blast and clear coat of a bare frame/fork. I'm sure just blasting would be cheaper, but I suppose to could do that anywhere with a media blaster. He's in Waretown, fwiw.

After dicking around with the stripper trying to remove 20+ year cured paint over the course of 4 sessions, I brought it to him.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
didn't @Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST do this last year?

- when i was a kid working in the car shop, we dropped frames in the acid bath used to clean car radiators for repair work. 20 minutes of bubbling acid.
then into the neutralizing tank. had to make a little money on the side at night :D
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
+1 for the aircraft remover, plus you may get a little buzz if you do it in the garage with no ventilation. you also get a funny tingle if it gets on your skin, give it a shot.
 

pkovo

Well-Known Member
I did one with aircraft stripper (I think Rustoleum brand) years ago. Didn't work very well...messy, took multiple applications. I think I gave up before it was finished. So the next time I wanted to do it, I looked into getting it media blasted. I received a quote of $40 about two years ago from Xtreme Custom Coatings in Easton PA. That was to just media blast a medium sized aluminum frame raw, no clear-coat. I lost interest in the project and never followed through. Can't recall how I got their name and I don't really know anything about them. For the price, I would go that route if I ever attempt this again.
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
+13 on Aircraft Remover. Aircrafts are made of aluminum, so you good. I did a Giant Anthem before powder coat. The one I got was a bit of a gel, so it stayed in place to do the whole frame at once. If it's more liquid, you can just do one side at a time. I just brushed the gel on, let it sit for quite a while, agitated and scraped it a bit with a plastic scraper, let sit some more, then hosed off with water. You'll still need to apply some elbow grease after the process. I cheated and had it bead blasted afterwards cause I got lazy.
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
you have to make sure you put a lot of the stripper on the paint, dont be afraid to glop it on. i found the paint can style works better than the spray for this exact reason
 

Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have stripped 2 frames. One a specialized and the other a CAADX. I used Klean Strip Aircraft Stripper. The CAADX frame was a bit more stubborn than the Specialized, but they both came out fine. It took about an hour with the paint stripper. Get a few pairs of nitrile gloves and a few plastic putty knife / scrapers. The worst part is goijng to be cleaning out the welds if the stripper doesn't penetrate into the grooves. Sanding will take as long as you want, dependent on the gloss you are looking to accomplish.

GAR343_KSAARPntRmvr_150dpi_300_300_80.jpg
This is exactly what I used.
I think there are pictures in the what have you done thread.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you want immaculate frame w/o any scratches, you may have to commit to multiple grades of sanding, wool, polish.
 
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