Timjohnson

Is it possible to strip the paint off this frame without doing any damage to the aluminum? I'm considering restoring it to the original colors.

Thanks

Scrodzilla

Use aircraft stripper or have it media blasted.

Timjohnson

Thanks, I'll look into the pricing on that.

I'm trying to figure out the model year also. I believe the serial number is H4113175 from what I was told. Does anyone know how to figure that out? I thought it was maybe 2005 because of the last digit but I don't think the concept was available in black in '05.

thermalattorney

To elaborate on Scrod's comment. It comes down to time vs. money. Media blasting is much more expensive but saves you a lot of time. Aircraft remover method costs $35 and several hours of your time.

My own experience with stripping frames has been mixed: The first frame had thick paint and took 3 coats + maybe an hour of light polishing to get rid of some stubborn chunks. Total time was ~3.5 hours and the result was a dull matte finish. The second frame had a thinner coat of paint which was gone in only 2 coats of remover. The problem was this second frame had leftover stains/discoloration in the aluminum that required an inordinate amount of polishing (4 solid hours) to fully clear. The result was beautiful, but I'm not sure I would've done it had I known the additional elbow grease required.

For Stripping:
Aircraft Remover
basic house-painting brush
tin can/metal tray
plastic scraper
hose/slop sink
long rubber gloves
eye protection
a location where you can make an incredible mess

For polishing:
Mother's Alu/Mag polish
bunch of rags

The process is easy. Put on your safety goggles, rubber gloves and wear long sleeve clothing. Make sure you have a water source nearby as the paint flecks that pop off cause chemical burns within seconds but can be neutralized with water.

Prop the frame up. Pour aircraft remover into a tin can, brush the gel on thick all over the frame. Don't worry about using too much. As the gel dries it eats away at the paint, causing lots of sizzling and popping. Once the sizzling has stopped (~10min) hose it off and let dry. Repeat this process till there is no more paint on the frame. Use a plastic scraper if necessary.

Once you've got all but a few minor stubborn flecks off, give it a final rinse and start polishing. Don't glob on a ton of the polish, it's all about the elbow grease at this stage. Just put on your fave TV show and get rubbin'

Hope this helps!

Scrodzilla

Stripping a frame makes a huge mess even when done carefully. I'd gladly rather pay more to have it blasted.

Also, it's 100% unnecessary to strip it down to bare metal if you'll be repainting it.

Timjohnson

Because I really have no place to perform this besides the parking lot of my apartment complex, I would probably just pay someone to take it off professionally. Thanks explaining hows its done though.

In a perfect world I would just have the terrible red paint removed (see original picture) and not have to paint it again. Is it possible to just get off this coat of paint while leaving the original paint underneath and decals intact?

I imagine with either media blasting or aircraft remover once its on all coats of paint will come off.

Scrodzilla

Not unless you're hiring a magician.

Philasteve

I don't think you could protect the decals. I used some crazy harsh stripper on this Madison I painted and if you taped over the decals I wouldn't be surprised if it ate through the tape if you tried to tape over the decals lol. It's pretty much all or nothing.

Timjohnson

Damn that means I would have to find original decals as well....I'm assuming just painting over the red would be pretty ugly?.. maybe I'll just pass up this project.

Philasteve

Yeah I would strip it before painting for sure. Stripping would take you about 3-4 hours and some elbow grease it's really not to bad. I'm not sure you could find the exact decals but you could look through these to see if you like any. https://www.google.com/#q=bianchi+decals&tbm=shop

Timjohnson

I'll prolly just media blast as I don't mind paying for a quality job.

So the process goes like this.....media blast, paint, decals, clear coat... In that order? As you can tell I've never done this before so any tips will help.

Philasteve

Pretty much with the exception of sanding, give this a quick read. https://www.wikihow.com/Paint-a-Bike

Bat56

This is how most DIY paint job threads end.

Bat56

So you're saying its possible...

europa

Nah, he's just mugging for work by pretending he doesn't want it.

Timjohnson

Maybe I'll powder coat. They can do matte black correct?

thermalattorney

Yup. You can always apply decals on top of paint job. IMHO they're durable enough to hold up to weather and general abuse, while cheap enough to have some spares should you need to replace them.

Timjohnson

Cool I'll probably just go that route then if I end up getting the frame.

FakeFuji

Since it's aluminum, you could just strip it and ride it bare

Bat56

It that legal?

Timjohnson

I don't ride anything bare.

KlingOn

If you can save the underlying paint and decals in this magical restoration, I will deliver you Corsica myself.