The white stuff
 

Not that white stuff you junkies...

The white stuff inside innertubes. I'm wrapping my frame and I'm cutting the tubes open and there the white powder inside. Whats it for? to keep the tubes from sticking?

Anyways... should I wash that off before I wrap the frame or is it fine to leave on or even helps the tubes from sticking to the frame permanently?

do bumps of it

leave it

no, the hardcore kids do bumps.

actually, coke is no longer funny.

RIP HAROLD HUNTER

meh.
w/e, i'm too full

:rolleyes:

I'm pretty sure it's just corn starch or something similar that keeps the rubber from sticking to itself. I used to powder my tubes before installing 'em but then I got lazy. Doesn't seem to make a difference.

i cant remember exactly how it happened now, but at some point i inhaled a bunch of that stuff. it sucked.

yeah someone else i talked to said that and also said it sucked.

It's talc powder, it just keeps the rubber from sticking together, and helps the tube move around and seat itself inside the tire. if you're wrapping your frame tubes in it, wash it off. the rubber will be a bit tacky and won't move around when you're hoisting your bike up your 3 floor walk-up.

and damn, rest in peace harold hunter.

it's talcum powder or something like that. keeps the tube from binding up. I put it in my tires before i install tubes, makes life easy and slippery

if you wrap it properly it wont move anyways.

+1

will the tubes still to the frame too much though? I don't want to take the tubes off and have paint peel off with it. I just tried wrapping part of it and its pretty tight on there with the powder on. My main concern is will the powder affect the paint at all or just keep it slippery?

Nah, powder won't effect it. Nor will the rubber, you should be fine. I'd give it a quick rinse first, though.

I doubt it would do much damage but who knows what kind of crazy chemical reactions take place under rubber placed right next to the paint for long periods of time. When I wrapped my commuter I bought a couple rolls of electrical tape and put down one layer of tape, layer of tube, and another layer of tape to keep it in place.

i don't think talcum powder will dissolve your clearcoat.

I don't get it....
Why are you putting Oreo middles on your bike?

Can water get under the wrapping and then get trapped there, causing all sorts of paint problems and then rust?
Also, if your paint is hiden under the wrapping, does it mater if it is a little dull?

btw: water will penetrate and defeat most coatings if it is left "standing" long enough

No rust, it's an aluminum bike. :)

the point of it is so I can unwrap when I want to, probably frequently and the frame won't look like crap from people leaning on it and getting scratched up while it's locked outside when I'm at work. It won't be too dull because it's already matte black. I don't think water will get under it too much because if it rains I always wipe down my bike.

my main concern is the tube sticking and peeling paint off, which is why I don't use elec. tape, the adhesive those things use are crap and will ruin anyone's paint if left on long enough.

I know I'm anal about this but I can't help it. I don't like things getting scratched up... and that includes everything I own, I'm a neat freak in a sense. Which is why for some stupid reason I want to powdercoat the 3rensho so it won't get scratched up anymore... yes... I'm bored and obsessive.

bull****. show me a time when electric tape ruined a bike paintjob.

ditto.

I use electrical tape so that crap doesn't get under the tube and rub the paint. I have never had paint stick to a piece of electrical tape no matter how old. It may leave some adhesive behind after you pull it up but the paint has never stuck to the tape.

I would advocate rinsing the powder off. I think some tubes use cornstarch and some use talc (don't quote me on that). If it is indeed talc, then you probably don't want it chafing against a nice paint job since talc powder is a rock that has been ground to dust. Imagine very small grains of sand...

Oh, and if you find a tube containing a LOT of white powder, you may have stumbled upon a tube formerly owned by a smuggler. Carefully bag all of the powder from that tube and mail it to me for, uh, usage. Wait; maybe mail isn't the best place for unidentified white powder...

Wow, didn't think anyone felt so strongly about tape.

I've seen it happen and I've had it happen to me a while back on a pos bike I had. Adhesives varies greatly from brand to brand and it's always toxic so I avoid it as much as I can. I only use elec. tape to finish up handlebars. Anyways... I don't want to use tape also because I want to be able to take it off easily and put it back on easily.

I am pretty sure Mr Hunter would not want us to change, just because of his tragic death.

i ****ing hate the way tubes smell. prob the worst part about a bike ever.

+1

Probably baby powder / cornstarch.

At the shop, we powder all tubes before installation. I've never heard of powder INSIDE of a tube, though..

People, what does mold release compound look like?

Yeah, INSIDE. one was a vittoria tube and the other was a bontrager tube. both had white stuff but the bontrager stuff was harder to wash off.