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Old 06-23-10 | 06:09 AM
  #7  
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Falanx
THE Materials Oracle
 
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Finally... home :-)

Bikes: Univega Alpina 5.1 that became a 5.9, that became a road bike... DMR TrailStar custom build

Originally Posted by lverhagen
However, considering the year of your bike, I would assume it is aluminum. As such a chemical stripper would be even less likely to compromise the metal. I have never personally used it, but Jasco Aircraft Paint Stripper has been cited by many here to be the most effective.
Less likely? Short of magnesium, aluminium is the one metal that reacts most badly to being chemically stripped. Aluminium reacts with the dichloromethane in most strippers to release hydrochloric acid. Jasco is extremely efficient - because it takes off the top few microns of aluminium, too.

While the surface damage will be mild, you'll see exactly how much etching happens when you take a paint stripper to aluminium when white streaks of aluminium chloride that oxidises to loose aluminium oxide smut with the concurent release of nasty fumes form all over the tubing.

Just as soon as the paint is stripped, the whole bike needs a warm-water and detergent wash to ensure there's no nasty materials left in crevices or re-entrant angles to chew away silently at the metalwork until you crack something. It'll be fine after that, but that stage is particularly important with aluminium alloys.
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