bobotech

I finally got lucky and found a decent Cannondale bike yesterday at a yard sale. For 5 dollars, I got a mid nineties complete Cannondale Bud Light MTB. The bike is in pretty decent shape considering the age of it. It was complete but I really don't care about the components on it, I wanted it for a donor frameset only. As far as I know, Cannondale would use the same frameset on all levels of their bikes for that year. So even though this bike has entry level Acera components, the same frameset would be used for the high end model of the same year with XTR components. That is my understanding.

The thing is that I HATE the Bud Light logo on the top tube. I dont' want to paint the whole bike or powder coat it since the paint is decent enough but I just want to get rid of that stupid Bud Light logo. Heck, I don't even *like* beer. LOL But for 5 bux, beggers can't be choosy.

As far as I can tell, the letters look painted on, I can't really see any way of peeling off a decal. Any suggestions or ideas?

This will be for my drop bar conversion. I'm going to be robbing all the parts off my current old nasty looking Rockhopper drop bar bike for this frameset.

crank_addict

Wow, sounds like a terrific score!

Anyhow, are you positive the logo is painted on? Perhaps its a thin water applique and then topped clear coat. (Pics would help.)

Some of the techniques I've used:
For ruined water applique decals, lightly sand with a fine grit paper just in that area. Try not to remove surrounding paint. To be done very carefully. Decide to match / feather spray. If replacing decal, do it and then when all is done, spray a urethane clear-coat. Also, try some Acetone but very lightly, otherwise you might lose the paint.

For sticker adhesive backed type decals, I use a heatgun and get the temp where I can barely handle it without gloves. Use a small wooden piece for scrapping (no plastic or metal) or finger nail to start the peel process. For stickers that have been top / clear coated, I first razor around the image edge and then do the above with heat.

(So far I've been lucky to save some difficult to replace Motobecane stickers but haven't yet figured what adhesive to re-use.)

OldsCOOL

Nice find, Bo! I wish you the best in this build.

a3inverter

Just went through this yesterday. Acquired bike had a fraternity decal (not a sticker) adhered to the downtube. Used a zip tie up on edge held perpendicular to the tube. This would catch on any slightly raised sections and "fracture" it, giving me an edge to further work against. This got rid of most of it. For the last bits, I used the edge of an allen wrench with light pressure.

This technique revealed nice shiny paint beneath. YMMV.

rando_couche

On a C'dale "team replica" bike, the graphics are probably all under a clear coat, so the only way to remove them would be a complete strip and refinish.

SP
OC, OR

Velocivixen

Have you considered covering it with a top tube protector? I bought one from Black Star Bags in Portland. Different color on each side with Velcro meant to protect top tube paint. It's on my Surly.

TimmyT 

Smooth and refreshing: seems like what you have planned for the top tube even though it's already there.

MrCoffee

Thinking about Rando's observations: If those are factory decals, then wouldn't that make this Cannondale bike a collectible? If that were the case, perhaps that whole bike could be sold as original, and then the OP could have enough money to buy a new old stock group set, and have a far nicer dropped bar conversion in the end. Of course, that's my opinion only. Some photos would definitely help.

The Golden Boy 

Maybe in 30 years- otherwise it's a BudLite bike. "Collectible" is only worth money if someone wants it. When you see old Schlitz coolers and stuff, it's nostalgic. If it's tied to a popular ad campaign, it might be worth something. But just a piece of advertising that's got the same logo and everything as it did 15 years ago... it strikes me as a bike that you got free for drinking 100 cases of crappy beer.


If it were a Spuds McKenzie bike, that's a different story.

bobotech

Funny thing is that is what I thought at first. I saw the bike in an ad for the yard sale on a shop and swap posting on Facebook. I saw the bike and saw the Bud Light on the top tube and immediately dismissed it as a cheapy bike like most of those branded bikes appear to be. I couldn't make out the Cannondale. I did go to the yard sale because there was what appeared to be a 700c wheelset. The wheelset turned out to be a nearly mint Xero XR-1 with a Campy freehub and Campy brand cassette. Got the wheelset for 5 dollars as well. I'm not going to use the wheels though, they are very light but dont' have enough spokes for me and I don't have anything that is Campy, all my stuff is Shimano.

After I bought the wheels, I went over to the bike and was surprised to see that it was a Cannondale. I bought it right then figuring it would be the perfect donor frame for a drop bar mountain bike conversion.