Bicycle Mechanics - I stripped and polished my new Scattante

Here's the scoop.

I started mountain biking in April. When the time changed, my riding time dropped from about 9 hours a week to about 4 hours a week. So I decided to get a road bike to ride to work. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I got the Scattante R550.

When I got the bike, the derailleur hanger was bent and I couldn't get the headset adjusted right. Supergo sent me a new hanger, and I took apart the headset and found that they installed the upper bearing upside down. So, I decided to take the whole bike apart and make sure everything was ok and torque everything right.

While I had the bike apart, I decided to strip, sand, and polish the frame. It took about 20 hours. Not only does it look better now, but it got rid of the SCATTANTE that was in seven places in three inch letters plastered all over the frame. Not that I mind the brand name on it, but the letters were so freakin big that it looked like a Walmart bike.

Anyway, bearing it all, the welds look great. In fact, they look better than my Stumpjumper! Overall, this bike rocks! My only concern is the Alex 450 wheels. I think the wheels on my wife's $250 Schwinn are of better quality. So, should I replace the rims now, or wait until I have problems with them? Or will they explode on me cruising at 45 mph downhill?

Well, I have a set of Alex AT 450's and haven't had any problems, and I'm a pretty big guy (6'1, 275 lbs) so I wouldn't worry about them. Nice job on the sanding. Bike looks a thousand times better.

How's the ride on it? I've always been curious about the Scattante bikes because they seem like they're way underpriced for their components...

Thanks for the info on the wheels. I was pretty sure they would hold up ok. The bike rides great. The components are all Shimano 105 and the cranks are Truvativ Elitas (stiff). My biggest surprise was the quality of the frame. The tubing is Easton ultralight race 7005 and the welds are top notch. Everything seems to be lined up perfectly. I don't notice any flex at all when I'm really crankin it. But the ride doesn't rattle my teeth. I guess those s-bend chain and seat stays really help. My longest ride on it so far was 50 miles and I enjoyed every minute. Couldn't be happier.

I'm riding the R650 and love it. In Supergo's defense, mine shipped with no problems, from the box to the road in ~1hr with only minor adjustments since.

I like the strip job. It looks nice and I agree on the over branding on the frame. Either way I still like my Scat. Have fun...

Wow. That's a nice job you did. I clicked on the close up and you can see the Easton tubing engraving. The welds are very uniform. I guess this should lay to rest all the anti-China manufacturing talk in the bike industry. Those welds are superb! :D

You're good.
Shame you don't live closer to me....

What a great looking bike. Fantastic job of stripping, how long did it take you? How did you do it?

I'd put a clearcoat on though, since aluminum will get a dull sort of look (Aluminum oxide) if you dont protect it.

The stripping, sanding, and buffing took about 20 hours.

I used the Klean Strip paint remover from Home Depot. It took about three applications to get the paint off. Then I wet sanded with 240, 320, and 400 grit sand paper. Then buffed the frame with tripoli compound. After that, I finished it off with Mother's aluminum polish.

I thought about clearcoating it, but I'm not sure that a clearcoat out of a can, that I can put on, will be durable enough. I think the Mother's will protect it some, and I may have to do more maintenance like re-rubbing it with Mother's every three months or so. No big deal. I'm also getting some kind of wax from a friend of mine who owns an Airstream trailer (raw polished aluminum). I'm gonna apply it to part of the frame and run an experiment for a few months.

I know that the 7005 aluminum is more susceptible to corrosion than the 6000 series, and may end up clearcoating it in the end, but right now, I think I'll just leave it as is, and see how it goes.

that doesn't seem too hard to do. i've been considering removing the paint from my ALU specialized - since i hate all the logos on it. i may PM you if i start this project - just to make sure i'm on the right track. i really like how yours turned out.

Nice job stripping that down! What did you use to do it?

Keep in mind, the minor oxidation that aluminum undergoes protects it from further oxidation, so clearcoat is unnecessary unless it's just a cosmetic thing.

Hi the frame looks great. I've been wanting to do this to my Jamis Dakar which has a messed up finished. Can you give detailed instructions on how you polished it? What tools did you use, what kinds of polish, etc. I've bought metal polishing kits before, with different colors of bars and different polishing pads, but with no instructions on how to use it.

Thanks,
Richbiker

Here's the process I used.

I used the Kleen Strip from Home Depot. It was really messy. Get a bag of latex gloves also. I went through about 25 pair total. You just paint on the stripper, wait about 10 minutes, then wipe it off with a rag. It took about three applications to get it all.

Home depot also has a variety pack of wet sanding sandpaper. It's the black stuff and is water proof. I cut the big sheets into sheets approximately 3x3". Still wearing the latex gloves, so you don't sand off your skin, I sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded, you get the point. It took for ever. Started with the 250 then the 320, then the 400 grit. Dipped the sandpaper in water often. You want to make sure and get out all the scratches when you sand. I missed a few in the hard spots on the chain stays around the bottom bracket, and you can see them after polishing.

Home depot also has a pack of polishing wheels and compound that works in a hand drill. Use this to buff the frame. Be real careful here that you don't slip and hit the frame with the drill or the bolt holding the wheels. I did this a couple of times and it scratches the frame. Use the tripoli compound, the brown stuff. You might also just get one wheel and a tube of the compound instead of the variety pack 'cause you don't need the black or the white compound.

Then get some Mother's aluminum polish from the autoparts store. This is easy, you just rub it on a small spot until it turns black, then rub it off with a clean cloth.

You'll want to make sure there are no scratches on the welds. The Easton web site says that any scratches on the welds might lead to stress fractures. They also say the best thing you can do to strengthen the welds is to polish them.

Hope this helps.

Check the tension in the spokes, because machine built wheels seem to lose their tension in the first 100 miles or so. If you dont have a tensiometer, ask the LBS to do it for you.

Bike looks *great*! Good job with the polishing and all. 20 hours seems pretty reasonable for such a job, too.

It looks really good. I have a bare Al MTB. It does go a little white after a while. Hit it with some Mothers and it looks like a mirror again.

Hmmmmmmmmmm..........I also have a Litespeed Firenze. Bare Ti, not polished. *think* *think* *think*

Do you really think anyone cares that you ride some piece of mail-order crap that you're to ashamed to even leave the name on? And you actually want to brag about it on this stupid forum?

It's not that he's ashamed to leave the name on. The impression I got is that the graphics on those frames are so horrendously huge they're just ugly and he wanted them to go bye bye. I agree; those frames' logos are horrific.

Damn there's a lot of oddly placed hostility around here these days.

Do you really think anyone cares that you ride some piece of mail-order crap that you're to ashamed to even leave the name on? And you actually want to brag about it on this stupid forum?

:eek:

I would say something, but at this time, I'm going to follow cavmanrod's first rule:

Don't mess with a piece of sh**. You just get it all over you.

:)

:eek:

I would say something, but at this time, I'm going to follow cavmanrod's first rule:

Don't mess with a piece of sh**. You just get it all over you.

:)

[horrible analogy]

his comment is like a fart in the breeze. it stinks for a little bit but usually just goes away on it's own.

[/horrible analogy]

I have also stripped frames to bare aluminium. I find that it helps to use warm water when washing the stripper from the frame. When the frame gets cold, stripper does not seem to work quite as fast. I also use scotchbrite instead of sandpaper. Its more flexable, does not wear out as fast.

I IM'd the original poster for advice on my new Scattante frame, but no response. I guess he was out for Spring Break.

When I got the frame, my first thought was: nice work. The frame gauged out perfectly straight, the welds are clean and the paint is gorgeous. But, geez, no less than 6 HUGE stickers had to go. The thing is that if the stickers were more tasteful, I would have been happy to do a little advertising for them.

Note to Supergo management: Kill your bicycle product managers.

So I hit Home Depot and got was seemed important.

Paint Stripper - blue can - with sprayer - $7
1000 grit Scothbrite (tm) pads - $2
Latex paint gloves (50 pack) - $2

I figure $11 is about the right price for a new look for a $200 frame.

So I walked out to the back yard, picked a spot where no one would notice dead grass. Put the bare frame on a couple of stumps and hit it with the stripper until the frame was covered. Used about 20% of the can.

The paint began bubbling immediately, much to my delight. I waited 10 minutes and hit it with the hose. Success. The paint came off in sheets, but those damn stickers were clinging to life. I repeated the process again and the stickers gave up. It took a total of 4 "spray and hose" cycles until all the paint was gone.

I brought it into the garage and wet-sanded with Scothbrite for another hour or so and am ready to call it good. Its got a nice brushed finish to it. Looks very similar to my Ti bike.

Total time invested 2 - hours. Total money - $11.

I guess I don't have the patience of Cave, but the thing looks COOL. I will post pics when the bike is together.

-Z

Do you really think anyone cares that you ride some piece of mail-order crap that you're to ashamed to even leave the name on? And you actually want to brag about it on this stupid forum?

You missed the point. The OP invested his time and skill into something that he owns and enjoys, in order to improve it and make it more unique. I think the results are pretty impressive.

Do you really think anyone cares that you ride some piece of mail-order crap that you're to ashamed to even leave the name on? And you actually want to brag about it on this stupid forum?Troll.

Cavemanrod:

<another analogy>

That's the trouble with mud wrestling a pig.

You both get dirty, and the pig loves it.

</another analogy>


Whirlled peas... Grooooooaan! (now THERE's an adult joke... "Full Groan")

I had a frame bead blasted for about $30.
It still required polishing but it cut out the messy chemical/glove step.
Just a thought for those that may want to strip a frame.

Enjoy

That really does look sweet. I've got a cheap chinese built aluminum MTB (actually very nicely made) that I may try this with. The only trouble is, now people will want to steal it.

yeah, that frame looks great....id say cavemanrod did a nice job...

Did a similar thing to my C'dale road bike years ago.
Used a commercial outfit to blast frame with plastic beads. Cost me $20 . . . and no labor!

Here's an update on my Scattante. I've put about 1500 miles on it since I stripped it. There is no oxidation of any kind on the frame. It looks just like the day I polished it. No clearcoat or wax or anything. Just Mother's aluminum polish.

On another note, I planned on stripping my Gary Fisher Sugar too. I completely took apart the whole bike. Then I noticed a few dings and such. The paint on the Sugar is pretty thick. After thinking about it a while, I decided not to strip the Sugar. If I didn't have the paint on it, some of those dings would be scratches and dents in the aluminum instead of just the paint. I've decided on the mountain bike, the paint protects the aluminum quite a bit.

Here's an update on my Scattante. I've put about 1500 miles on it since I stripped it. There is no oxidation of any kind on the frame. It looks just like the day I polished it. No clearcoat or wax or anything. Just Mother's aluminum polish.

On another note, I planned on stripping my Gary Fisher Sugar too. I completely took apart the whole bike. Then I noticed a few dings and such. The paint on the Sugar is pretty thick. After thinking about it a while, I decided not to strip the Sugar. If I didn't have the paint on it, some of those dings would be scratches and dents in the aluminum instead of just the paint. I've decided on the mountain bike, the paint protects the aluminum quite a bit.Couldn't you apply some bondo and sand it down so that the dings were filled it?

I was thinking of doing the same thing to a Cannondale Supervee but have been advised against it as the tubing walls are supposed to be so thin that stripping may weaken them. I myself am a little scepticle, but then again I'm no frame builder! Anyone else 'done' a C'dale?

I don't think that stripping the paint would weaken the frame, but the paint does protect the frame. On the road bike, it doesn't matter. On a mountain bike, well, I didn't feel comfortable doing it.

Ash, I could put bondo and make it pretty, but it would just get more scratches. They're not that bad.

i took the advice from this post and tried it myself. i used some aircraft stripper (spray kind works much better than the paint on kind) followed by washing with water. it took about 3 iterations of this, plus some additional sanding to get off all the paint. i tried some 1000 grit sandpaper, but that didn't do much. the most useful sanding was done using a soft sanding sponge which could easily fit into the small corners of the bike. after that, i used some mother's polish to make it shine.

my frame doesn't have the easton engraving that the OP's bike has, but seems to be identical otherwise. i didn't want to repeat the process on the carbon fork, so i'll live with the rediculous logo.

finally, i picked up some reflective tape and put some stripes on the frame. maybe i'll paint it someday, but i'm pretty satisfied with this result. thanks to everyone for the advice.

guide to the pics:
1: original frame w/paint
2: paint stripper applied
3: after 1st wash
4: after sanding
5: after polishing
6,7: final result

Looks really nice.. the slightly dull aluminum has this 'prototype frame' look. You should make up a good story to go along with it! ;)

I've thought about doing something like this to my Douglas (Colorado Cyclist) bike -- the huge "DOUGLAS" logo on the downtube is starting to look a little cheesy to me. Other than that the bike's finish is awesome, so I'm hesitating.

I was thinking of doing the same thing to a Cannondale Supervee but have been advised against it as the tubing walls are supposed to be so thin that stripping may weaken them. I myself am a little scepticle, but then again I'm no frame builder! Anyone else 'done' a C'dale?

I've built a cdale f500 (mountain) off a late 90's frame I got on ebay which was stripped, painted & ccoated along w custom decals. It is nice & shiny yellow bus with black components, it could pass as 05' model
:D

As paint it is not a structural component can be safely stripped away using PROPER methods, I'd strongly recomend not sanding/sandblasting or similar.
IMHO this is the best clearcoat in a can made by duplicolor:

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/wheel.html

which by the way bings me to point no 2: ccoat your naked alu frames! they do need the protective film.

The Easton stamp on the down tube is cool; may be you could fill it in with red paint?

If you are really worried about the wheels, swap them out with your wife's; I won't tell!

Cover the stripper with kitchen wrap, it keeps it from drying out, so it can work longer.

Seems like a lot of time that could have been spent riding. :eek: