Best way to get the frame ready for paint?

D

dean owens

Pittsboro, NC
hey everyone,

i just spent the afternoon unbolting everything from my frame. it has a few areas that are leading me to decide it needs a repaint. so my question is...

What is the best, easiest and cheapest way to strip the paint off a frame?

keeping in mind that i don't have access to a sand blaster... at least not one that i know of. i'm really hoping the answer isn't to just get a bunch of sand paper and do every nock and cranny by hand. any tips or advice are very much welcomed.

note: i did a quick search. if this has been discussed (and i'm sure it has) and i missed the thread feel free to just post the link for me. appreciate it.
 
Get some aircraft stripper. Wipe it off, powerwash, alcohol rub, prime right away. Otherwise itll flash rust pretty fast.
 
If you can spend the money I'm a huge fan of media blasting. The end result is very nice, knocks any surface rust off and no nasty chems. However, as Bob says..the aircraft stripper is pretty cheap. It's extremely aggressive and fairly toxic so use thick rubber gloves, long sleeves, a mask/goggles etc....
 
I did mine with many wire wheels and abrasive disks. It came out great, but I don't recommend it. It took way to long just get it blasted.
 
ok, i can do the chemical option.

but to keep an opened mind... i've never had anything blasted before. about how much does something like that cost? where do i go to get it done, what sorta places do i call?
 
Had mine media blasted for $35. Glad I did it too, showed two rust holes that I may have not seen otherwise. Also, don't know if it was just me, but I left it bare for like 2 months while I mocked up the bike and it never rusted (heated shop). By the time you put your money into stripper, gloves, rags and plenty of YOUR time, it would add up to over the $35. Plus that aircraft stripper is nasty shit. I got some on my arm and it burned, bigtime.
 
i do have to say... $35 is crazy cheap to blast a frame, hell we charge 150 and when we outsource (at least 7 frames) we still get charged 85 per frame
 
so what kind of places to i start contacting to find out how much it'll cost? is this something that paint shops do? will the price at all be determined by the type of frame i have. the cx500 frame is a large backbone and then the tail section. not much to it.
 
google media blasting, contact your local powder coater, call head stone places (yes like cemetarys use... they blast stones and sometimes hook it up) there are a ton of places
 
Last time I paid for a bike frame to be media blasted I think it was $40 or $45 but that's been a couple years.
Problems with my compressor are forcing me to pay again until I can rebuild the damn thing, but it looks like right around the same price.

Definitely call around.
 
they make wire wheels for grinders the have these twisted stobs of wire all bound up...works great and fast...they cost like 10 bucks, but you can use them on a bunch of things! To get into tight corners, you will need a regular wire wheel or wire cup wheel. You could buy all three at Harbor Frieght or something like that for less than $20
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom