Bicycle Mechanics - Rebuilding

Hey people i am new to this fourm... i was just woundering about something.. I found a bike last year during our anual spring clean up... Its a little kids bike but it's not for that young of a child because i am able to ride it.. Anyways i was just woundering about something.. It has been spray painted.. Like it was spray painted a new colour with Blue spray paint.. the tire and all.. Well not the actuall tire that rubs across the ground but the metal part of the wheel.. I was just woundering how i can take it off..Is their an easier way then sand papering it off? Is their a house hold chemical that i could just rub on it and whipe it away?

If someone could get back to me as soon as possible that would be great because i will be working on this bike once i get home from school and thats in about 1 hour. Thanks for your time......

Oil based paint:

You could try liquid sand paper (brand name), or strip-eze. But those are not typical household chems.

Or, if you have a torch (bernz-o-matic) you could burn it off (quick sweeping motion to burn the paint but not heat the rim) and touch up with sand paper.

Take my advise at your own risk!

Hope this helps, welcome, and good luck.

ehenz

Hey thats a good idea but i don't have any of that stuff... I don't really want to go buying stuff.. Rite now i am doing it the old fashiond way and using sand paper.. but what i want to do on both rims is get it rite down to the original metal.. the stuff underneath all that paint that makes it stand out and be all pretty on the store shelves so people buy it. If you have any ideas on how to quickly get down to the nice shinny mettal.. by all means please let me know.. Thanks bye for now


-Seanster

The last time that I did that I used a paint stripper that I got at the hardware store. The trick to using that is to paint it on and leave it alone for a while so that it can work. The paint comes off pretty easy but you'll still need to do a bit of sanding.

When you repaint a bike frame, your surface preperation and the quality of the materials that you use will have a major bearing on the quality of your result.

If the sandpaper you're using is very fine (400-ish) wet/dry cloth or emery cloth, you'll get pretty good results. Anything coarser, or wood-type sandpaper, and the rim surface will be very rough, and will destroy your brake pads lightning fast.

If you use any of the chemical or heat methods described, make d@mn sure the space is well-ventilated. Perhaps even consider wearing a breather mask. As you heat that paint, it might fume.

Hmm, here's a thought. Try some hot water and a fairly strong detergent, like grease-cutting dish soap. Or, if you've got some, put in some citra-solve or other citrus cleaner. Use one of those green pot scrubber pads. That might have enough abrasivieness, along with the heat of the water and the cutting power of the citra-solve or dish soap, to knock the paint off. And it'd be pretty gentle on the finish. I often use those green pads on my rims in the winter to get the brake and road crud off them.

Maybe even some citra-solv half-strength right on the pad. Just be careful where it drips. I let some drip on an asphat tile floor once, and it ate at the top surface of the tile. Good thing the landlord didn't see it when we moved out....

Ooh, maybe make a "paste" out of a thick concentration of dish soap and water, and some baking soda. Baking soda is a wonderful mild abrasive.

Hey maybe that will work but itz pretty tough stuff.. because i have to get through the spray paint then the paint that was put on by the store... These are not mountain bikes either and they only have peddle breaks not hand breaks..