anm89

I'm doing a from scratch fixie build on a mid to late 80's scwhinn world sport. I have the frame dissembled and I'm ready to try to strip the paint or atleast get all the decals off. I was wondering how to tell if my frame was painted with wet paint or if it was powder coated.

On a side note does anyone have any advice on getting out the mini bolts that hold in a metal schwinn headbadge. I have already mangled them to little nubs and cant get them to move.

Thanks!

psirue

I doubt anyone would re-decal a world sport after powdercoating.

AEO

take a drill to the bolts or rivets and drill them out. it works best if you start off with a center punch, then work your way up in drill bit sizes until there's little bolt material left so they fall out.

JonRidesBikes

paint might have some pitting?

anm89

is it 100% safe to assume that schwiin wasn't powdercoating bikes out of factory. I would pretty much guarantee this is original paint.

golfer007

I just stripped the paint off of a World Sport. I used paint stripper and a Black and Decker Mouse sander. It took a lot longer then I thought. DO NOT cut any corners when stripping paint. Make sure you get all of the paint off or else you will more than likely be able to tell through the spray paint.

Retro Grouch 

That's what I think too.

I repaint a frame, using rattle cans, almost one per year. Whenever I've tried to cut corners on removing all of the old paint, the result has been chipping almost immediately. I get long lasting results when I start with bare metal.

sweatpants

If you are considering powder coating, just have the coater blast the frame.

golfer007

Definitely. I have my coater blast the frame. They blast and coat for a good price. Its almost more cost-effective to just have them do it, but I like the outcome of doing something like this my self. It's much more satisfying.

anm89

The only place I asked quoted me 75 dollars to sandblast. That sounded like alot to me but then I have nothing to compare it too.

I was thinking of buying a big plastic organizing bin that could fit the frame in it then buying paint thinner and diluting it with water in the bin and just leaving the bike submerged in paint thinner for a day. I know that could get ridsiculously messy and nasty but oh well, I'll use gloves. Would that work as long as the frame is 100% dissembled?

sweatpants

That sounds like a bad idea. Paint stripper, which is what you'd probably use, will melt right through a lot of plastics. If there are more shops available, maybe get some bids on blast + powder; some shops will give you a better deal on price if they'll be painting it too.

anm89

This bike is full dissembled! It has no bottom bracket it on it, no headset on it, and no cables or wheels. Where would there be plastic on this bike? So as long as all the plastic is off this should be fine right?

Also I have no interest in having someone else paint my bike, half the reason I'm building this is so I can paint it.

Map tester

This is the plastic sweatpants was referring to.

Try using aircraft paint stripper--I found it at the local auto parts mart. Holds well to vertical surfaces and works quickly. Just make sure you prime the frame right after you strip it--don't wait or it will begin to oxidize.

anm89

This bike is full dissembled! It has no bottom bracket it on it, no headset on it, and no cables or wheels. Where would there be plastic on this bike? So as long as all the plastic is off this should be fine right?

Also I have no interest in having someone else paint my bike, half the reason I'm building this is so I can paint it.

anm89

anyone have any good ideas on what I could use as my stripping tank on the cheap?

psirue

you dont need a tank.

bbattle

I've used the thick, goopy paint remover that's safe on your hands. Apply, wait, remove. Repeat. Clean frame then use steel wool to remove anything left. Around the lugs, I used another application of paint remover.

I used newspaper spread on the floor of the garage for the paint removal. I used a refrigerator box as my paint chamber to cut down the wind and prevent bugs and dust from getting on the frame during painting.

Spray painting is fun but in many areas the powdercoaters are actually cheaper if you do the spray can job right. Here's a couple of my jobs: LINK LINK