marcus987

some guy i know is selling a bmx but he has been sprayed it a horrible grey colour, does anyone know how to remove the paint but not to damage the frame

Ti-Carbo

See this thread -

https://www.bikeforums.net/bmx/107012-my-first-complete-build.html

Here's how we did it.

Frame Prep (The frame was already unassembled)
First we used Aircraft Paint stripper to remove almost all of the paint. We only had a ¼ can, so we used a fiber brush wheel in the drill to remove every bit of paint that was left. The stripper dissolves any oils or grease, so we plugged all the openings in the frame and used a hose and water to remove any remaining paint dust from the frame. We wiped down the frame and got it totally dry.

Primer
We started with white sandable primer and applied a very light coat of primer. We waited 15 or 20 minutes and then we applied another light coat so the entire frame had no metal showing, just primer. Then we got out the 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and split 1 sheet into 4 pieces for easier handling and got a clean bucket of water. Then we soaked the sandpaper in the water and started sanding and rinsed the sandpaper every 30 to 45 seconds to keep it from clogging and to lubricate the sanding process. At this point, we are filling scratches so repeat the steps above about 3 or 4 times to get every scratch filled, and the frame totally primered. It was 80+ degrees so we only had to wait 30 to 45 minutes between primer coats. Once every scratch or frame imperfection was filled, we did a very light wet sand with the old used sandpaper (it is much smoother than a new piece of 400 grit at this time) to get all the frame tubes as smooth as possible and with no metal showing thru the primer, then we let it set over night to cure.

Painting
We washed the frame to get any dust off of it. We totally dried it, and then we applied the first light coat of paint. It was fast dry, so we waited about 30 minutes between light coats. It was another hot sunny day, so the paint dried fast. We applied 4 or 5 coats so we had even coverage and no primer showing. We did not use clear coat. We let the frame dry, and built the bike.

Let the paint cure for 24 to 48 hours for best results. It may feel dry to the touch, but it is not cured until 24-48 hours later.


Good Luck!!

marcus987

where can you buy the paint stripper?

dooley

Total waste of time on a BMX, get your local powdercoater to do it. Mine will strip and powdercoat a frame for less than £40. And if you want to strip it yourself it'll be even cheaper. Plus powdercoat is environmentally friendly and a lot tougher than paint.

Another option is to sling it in a bonfire.

marcus987

can you go to this link on ebay and check the item out, would that remove paint? https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MakeTrack=true

KinetikBiker

you can get paint stripper almost anywhere they sell paint....(makes sense) try like Home Depot, Lowes and other "home inprovment" stores, and paint stores like "Sherwain Williams" and Deopont

KinetikBiker

shouldnt you either bead blast or sand blast the frame to give it texture before you paint? or at least sand so that when you paint there is a good texture for the paint to cling too?

CMcMahon

Just about any paint or hardware store. Make sure to do it in a well-ventilated area (ex: outside) and to wear a mask over your mouth and nose it's strong stuff.

queensrider86

he lives in england

dooley

^^ Yeah, he lives in England, we don't have home improvement stores....{/sarcasm}

Kenny_Ga

You are correct. The fiber brush wheel put a good texture (light swirl marks) on the chro-mo tubing. We had no problems with getting the primer to adhere to the frame. It actually took quite a bit of wetsanding to get metal to show thru during the scratch filling process.

Thanks for the reply.

queensrider86

i'm saying that he might not have a home depot or lowes

dooley

Painting frames is ok for road bikes and the like, but for a freestyle bmx you'd be better off stripping it and getting it powdercoated, you can get it done pretty cheaply.

Kenny_Ga

I would much rather do it myself, plus this only cost me about $30.

marcus987

i probably sound really stupid but what is a powdercoat?

dooley

It's where the frame is heated up and sprayed with a plasticiky powder whch melts onto the frame. It's far more environmentally friendly than spraying with paint and it's much tougher.

marcus987

you said earlier that you can do it yourself, well how do you do it. just want to know