Paint stripper for aluminium frame

Evening!

Stripping down and refurbing Alu bike.  I was just going to sand to key but machining and pocketing on bits of the frame will make this a massive pain.

Are there any paint strippers that are worth a try?

I’ve used nitromors in the past and I may as well have just rubbed my wang on the paint for all the good it did…

Cheers!

Tim

I’ve used nitromors in the past and I may as well have just rubbed my wang on the paint for all the good it did…

Nitromors used to contain dichloromethane which is brilliant at removing paint. Unfortunately, it’s also carcinogenic and horrendously toxic to marine life so it’s basically been banned. I think it’s still allowed if it’s been recycled but more for industrial chemical processes which require it rather than things like stripping paint.

Best bet is sandblasting, see if there’s a local paint shop that can pop it in alongside whatever else (car panels usually) they’re repairing.

Otherwise you’ll be there for ever scrubbing hard to reach parts of the frame with solvents.

You can still buy very effective paint stripper from your local trade supplies place. I’ve used Starchem which works the way Nitromors used to.

I need to get some actually. Not sure where I can buy it locally.

Crazy-legs – I have got some prices for sandblasting but after having a blaster completely wreck a set of aluminium wheels in the past I’m a bit nervous…

The majority of the frame just needs sanding really, but intricate areas are a pain to sand (been there, done that…)

How about removing spray paint from fibreglass? I’m restoring an old G&S fibre-flex skateboard that has been sprayed – would Starchem work, or would it damage the fibreglass?

Thread title should have been stripper recommendations. Anyway I’d agree with others saying sandblasting, even when nitromors was good it was still a bit of work.  Just don’t take it to the place you took your wheels to.

Cheers all

Search for vapour blasting or soda blasting rather than sand. There’s a few near me who specialise in motorbike restoration and do small fragile parts and engines etc. I’d trust them with a bike frame.

Depending on the paint you can sometimes strip them with heat. I had one that didn’t take much with the heat gun and the paint pretty much fell off in big pieces. Doesn’t always but it’s easy to try.

I just sanded mine down over the main tubes and ignored the bits I couldn’t get to, it really didn’t take long in the end.  Primed with etch primer and painted. Obviously it will depend on the chemistry of the paint but so far no issues with it reacting through the primer.

Paint stripper is a waste of time.

But…….. I’ve had good accidental results with carb / intake / egr cleaner aerosols. That stuff will strip paint off in seconds! Just be careful not to use it within range of anything painted you don’t want to blister and fall off.