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11-11-09, 10:31 PM
So the other day i decided to paint my bike its Giant Bowery mash-up. I got all the supplies the day before, like (spray can)paint stripper, 2 cans of flat black and one black primer. The next day i start tearing down the bike take everything off cleaned it and wiped it down. Then came the part that was a horrible mistake and will never do again. I took the stripper sprayed it on the bike and a stem i had (stem was only half stripped) used most of it on the stem also and then went to my frame and forks only got half frame and half the forks. I let it sit probably not long enough and then went out and tested some of it and only like 4 little patches came off, went out and bought more spray stripper different brand this time and this stuff pretty much didnt work at all. So now i had half stripped frame and half stripped forks, the fork's paint came off easy.
Later that day my dad talked to some guys he knows and asked them if they had a sand or media blaster. One guy did but it wasnt working. The same guy said its powder coated and good luck getting the paint off cause hes son did the same thing. So i was kind of sh** out of luck there.
The next day went out and bought a big jug of paint stripper not spray, the gel stuff, this stuff rocked but not fully it took off most of the paint on the main triangle but my chain and seat stays took the longest after about 4 hours of sanding and using a drill with a wire brush attachment i didnt get all to far as it was getting really late.
So today woke up had coffee and then started working again put more paint stripper then sanding then more stripper then more sanding all while painting the forks and stripping the stem a little bit more. After all that i finally got paint on my bike and stem. I have read around trying to find answers about doing this but none really helped, alot of different answers here and there. So i just tought myself the hard way and did it. Some said the paint wont stick to aluminum and you should have painted over the powder coat. But now i have a awsome hand painted bike done by me for me and the paint job looks great. And will never make that mistake again. P.S. If you plan on doing this make sure you wear protection this stuff burns like hot sparks on your skin and trust me it happened to me, also this stuff is REALLY messy so have patients and dont get to frustated cuz it is a 3 to four day process if you have powdercoated frame
Later that day my dad talked to some guys he knows and asked them if they had a sand or media blaster. One guy did but it wasnt working. The same guy said its powder coated and good luck getting the paint off cause hes son did the same thing. So i was kind of sh** out of luck there.
The next day went out and bought a big jug of paint stripper not spray, the gel stuff, this stuff rocked but not fully it took off most of the paint on the main triangle but my chain and seat stays took the longest after about 4 hours of sanding and using a drill with a wire brush attachment i didnt get all to far as it was getting really late.
So today woke up had coffee and then started working again put more paint stripper then sanding then more stripper then more sanding all while painting the forks and stripping the stem a little bit more. After all that i finally got paint on my bike and stem. I have read around trying to find answers about doing this but none really helped, alot of different answers here and there. So i just tought myself the hard way and did it. Some said the paint wont stick to aluminum and you should have painted over the powder coat. But now i have a awsome hand painted bike done by me for me and the paint job looks great. And will never make that mistake again. P.S. If you plan on doing this make sure you wear protection this stuff burns like hot sparks on your skin and trust me it happened to me, also this stuff is REALLY messy so have patients and dont get to frustated cuz it is a 3 to four day process if you have powdercoated frame