EigerSA

looking good

i would be interested as well. last rode in stainbank about 18 months ago, enjoyed it then.

i bought 5kg's from ardendorf for about R90. the guys told me there that you shouldn't re-use the blast material because it picks up moisture from the air and the compressor and when you use it, it has to be very dry or it don't work.

a guy on another forum also mentioned getting alu frames soda blasted. i then asked the guy that did my frames if he will soda blast and he just said no ways, too expensive and too much effort on their part. honestly in this country service is like a grudge match! well thanks to his attitude, i stopped by ardendorf and bought a sandblast kit and sand, going to do it myself from here on in.

mine came out pretty rough from the sandblasting. If it's alu, just start sanding with wet paper working up the grits, it'll go pretty quick. if it's steel, same deal, just a damn side longer and more sweat!

powdercoat does come off with elbow grease. one of the first frames I got done ended up looking crap so I took it down to bare metal again. I got paint stripper from my paint supplier; no idea which, it was industrial though with many large warnings. I painted the entire frame, then stuck the lot in a thick plastic bag (I strip and paint a lot of stuff, a few tricks I've learnt along the way) and left it for a while. Came back, put on the thickest gloves I could find, and went at it with a steel brush and steel wool. Some places just fell off, some places needed two or three coats.

although really off-topic (I apologise) but what would be a good "first aid" kit too carry then?

interesting! how do you do it at home? I got an alu frame that I was thinking about getting that "gun blued" type of colour. the one thing I worry about is i got some climbing stuff that's anodized, and that stuff hasn't coped well, is it a case of more "coats" for tougher finish?

who carries space blankets when they ride?? good thing for you they did. so what happened?

that a matt black finish? would look interesting with a high glass black on the fork

How about the old route Joberg - Durban - Cape Town?

if you decide not too do it, then send an email to the organisers so they know what everyone's complaint is.

a magnet will stick to steel, a magnet will not stick to alu. Just use a normal paint stripper for the frame, Durham stripped seemed to work great for RudoJ. As for the composite, (just my opinion, I'm no expert!)I would be very cautious in using a stripper, rather wet sand with a fine sandpaper until you get past the paint, then re-spray.

i like! i've had a similar idea in mind, where everyone would ride from say Joberg to the Cape, but not everyone would start at Joberg. as the "train" went past your town you could just join up and travel as far as your legs/time would allow.

as I said early, it's how I understood how anodizing worked. do you work in the industry? how would it hold up against powder coating? it just works on alu, is that right?

Take a good photo of it, then find a printer who'll do the decals for you, try asking at hobby crafts shop. surprised the onone guys didn't want to help, very unfriendly

you bought it, you own it, do what you want to it. I would first try and track down some on-one inbred stickers for after though.

no problem at all

i started polishing out an alu frame, got the top tube down pretty quick, all nice and shiny. and then got bored and tired so gave it up as a bad job you're right, just too much effort

i can't train so early. one of my biggest problems I find is leaving the warm house, as soon as i hit the cold air my nose turns on like a tap (sorry for the crudeness) and I spend the next hour/hours sniffing and wiping ugh

no need. also if you don't neutralise the stripper and the powder coaters don't dip, then the paint will effectively peel where it hits the stripper, particularly in hard to reach places like where the tubes all meet the bb. just remember to tape up the threads is all.

is the frame alu? if so, polish the frame out then leave it unfinished. as time goes by it will darken perceptively. as soon as you get to a point you happy with, clear coat it. if you want a faster affect, wipe down with sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) but dilute it first and work in stages or else it may darken too much. just remember that adding a clear coat will make it ever so slightly darker. the only concern I have with a clear coat is it may "yellow" with age.

When you send it in, just ask for a gloss or matt finish. I did find that the final finish was little too "thick" (orange-peel) looking for me so I sanded it back with 1500g and soapy water and then polished out with burnishing compound and then polish, left me with a finish that has too be seen to be believed! First frame I had sandblasted, wasn't impressed as I did ask the guy to bead blast it which he ignored, but after powder coating looked fine. If your frame is alu then just make sure the blaster knows you want it bead blasted.

I throw mine ahead of me and walk up to it, repeating the action until either the bike or I reaching failing point

Instead of chroming, just polish it.