I'm looking for some input on getting a late 70's ralieigh sprite frame of mine blasted for a repaint. Does anyone happen to know a good spot in central Iowa (reasonably near 50010), to get this done?? maybe some place that has experience with doing frames in the past. i'd prefer bead or walnut blasting.. i'm unsure about taking it to any old sand blaster.

thanks for any responses, much appreciated!

I don't know about Iowa, but if you are willing to drive a couple hours south, Groody Brothers in Kansas City does a great job with blasting and powder coating.

Although I am a native Iowan, (and my brother lives in Ames), unfortunately, I am not aware of anyone. However, if you chemically strip the frame first and just ask a local blaster to do a quick, light once over, you should be OK. Where blasters get into trouble is when they try to take all of the paint off quickly, like they do on a chisel plow or manure spreader. I never bead or otherwise blast a frame unless its been stripped first....it takes too long and is too hard on the bike IMO. Ask them to use glass bead or 80 grit aluminum oxide under low pressure.

Dave

PS: If you are ever up in the Cities, let me know and I'll take care of it for you.

There's also a place in omaha that does stripping & powdercoating pretty well & inexpensively... it's called Trail Performance. Good luck!

Soda blasting will only remove paint, and will not harm chrome, still chrome should be masked with duct tape. If you need to sandblast due to rust, concider using a fine sand and soda mix set a lower pressure. I do this to prevent overheating and etching the tubing.

Mike

One of the mechanics at the bicycle co-op had a frame powder coated by an outfit on 2nd Avenue. I never got the name, but the job looked good. I assume this outfit also does the stripping. I'd suggest calling the coop at 288-8022 or one of the local LBSes and ask.

i would use aircraft adheasive removal from wal-mart or an automotive store. ive used it and it works great.

nice to see "locals" here.

thanks for the input everyone. i'm gonna look into a few of these options!

I don't know where your ZIP is - but if you are near Cedar Rapids, my cousin lives there and is a very talented painter.