How easy is it to sand paint off a carbon frame?

[Dave_B]

Go !

 

[steve_sordy]

Never tried it, but I would be extremely wary of the surface damage.
Why not just rub it down and repaint?

But maybe you want the natural carbon fibre look? Then how about paint stripper? But be careful which stripper you choose.

By the way, someone has already stripped his CF frame on here. I can't remember how he did it.

 

[Dave_B]

paint stripper won't work. have experience of stripping alloy frames and the paint stripper was next to useless.
I think with carbon its going to be a case of wet and dry sand paper and lots of time.

 

[Tonybro]

Sounds like hassle - have you thought of a vinyl wrap if you want to change the colour? They do it with cars, I'm sure they could do it with bikes. Like Invisiframe but coloured/patterned...

 

[Dave_B]

I’m thinking raw carbon.

 

[Gary]

OMG! ? ? The Sunday night crew is out in force tonight eh?
Q. Why even reply with (shite) advice if you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about?
Due to legislation over the counter stripper is indeed weak AF these days but Industrial strength paint stripper is still available and actually does work really well to strip paint from Alloy... So well infact that it will completely fuck a carbon frame! So Avoid!

If you're serious about stripping a painted carbon frame to raw carbon this entertaining and informative video will answer most of your questions For the safety of you and your frame I sugggest you pay attention and watch the entire video.
If you don't have the time for that you most certainly don't have the time or patience to sand factory applied paint off a carbon frame.

Aint nobody got time for dat?... But got deep pockets?

for anyone lookng to strip an Alu frame. It's not all that difficult to get hold of industrial paint stripper. Search ebay for "Starchem synstrip". some frames/paint are easier to remove than others so don't be foolish enough to imagine the process involves absolutely no elbow grease.

 

[Dave_B]

Wet sanding looks the easiest route.

 

[Gary]

Good luck!
And let's hope your sanding skills are as efficient as your conversational skills

 

[Dave_B]

My sanding skills are always on point.

 

[Dave_B]

As are my frame stripping skills

 

[Dave_B]

what sort of clear coat should be applied to bare carbon? just any old bog standard clear coat?

 

[Gary]

See those videos you didn't pay attention to ...
?

 

[Dave_B]

lol. I know he said a clear coat to fill the pin holes.....will re-watch. but I may have to get someone to clear coat it for me, I think I would mess that bit up.

 

[yorkshire89]

Friend of mine does this to his frames, he says it takes him about 10-12 hours to sand down to bare carbon by hand.
The whole process takes him around 70 hours - He's a perfectionist and the results are amazing but it sounds like alot of effort...

 

[Gary]

For a lot of folk 70 hours would be longer than the bike will be ridden over a three month period...
Nothing wrong with that but at some point you should probably stop and have a wee think about whether you prefer riding your bikes or looking at them.

 

[mark.ai]

what sort of clear coat should be applied to bare carbon? just any old bog standard clear coat?

I haven't used these, but might be useful - they have a primer for raw carbon (no idea if needed):

Frame Builder’s Collection – Spray.Bike Europe

 

[apac]

'Dai the Dipper' near me will dip anything you want into his giant tank of caustic soda. But he takes no responsibility on how it comes out!

 

[Nicho]

'Dai the Dipper' near me will dip anything you want into his giant tank of caustic soda. But he takes no responsibility on how it comes out!

Does he do bike thieves?

 

[Mikerb]

When you say carbon I suspect you are expecting to see the classic matrix weave? In which case you may be disappointed and just see a melee of UD carbon plus reinforcing patches and epoxy filler used to smooth the margins between frame and multiple fixings like pivot bolts, motor bolts etc. If the composite was always designed to be painted it may not be attractive in the raw.

 

[thebarber]

'Dai the Dipper' near me will dip anything you want into his giant tank of caustic soda. But he takes no responsibility on how it comes out!

Does he ask questions?
There's a few around the doors id like to dip

 

[emtbPhil]

When you say carbon I suspect you are expecting to see the classic matrix weave? In which case you may be disappointed and just see a melee of UD carbon plus reinforcing patches and epoxy filler used to smooth the margins between frame and multiple fixings like pivot bolts, motor bolts etc. If the composite was always designed to be painted it may not be attractive in the raw.

Was gonna say I wouldn’t expect F1 style finish. It’ll be layered for strength over looks. None of the weave angles will match and I suspect the joins will look rough as a badgers arse

 

[cemoz]

Sounds like hassle - have you thought of a vinyl wrap if you want to change the colour? They do it with cars, I'm sure they could do it with bikes. Like Invisiframe but coloured/patterned...

I’ve done it, it’s a pain in the arse. The coloured car vinyl rips easy when you crash too, it’s not as thick as the clear stuff so you will need to put that on as well. I will be going back to painting for next frame too much faffing around with vinyl.

 

[Gavalar]

Go !

Ask www.fatcreations.com

 

[Calsun]

If it was my bike I would take the frame to someone who can apply a base coat and then a top coat of Imron enamel in the color I want. I have a frame that was painted in 1975 and the paint looks as good as it did the day I got it back from the shop.

 

[Manc44]

If I sanded the paint off my carbon frame, the walls would be half the thickness it's piss easy to push the sides of the down tube in as it is.