Grebel Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Is there anybody that does Soda Blasting? That takes off the coating but doesn't damage the steel. I saw it done on one of the Discovery rebuild programs and it has the bonus of being envirommentally friendly.
EigerSA Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 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.
Grebel Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 The problem with sandblasting is that if the blaster doesn't know what he is doing, he can actually damage the frame by taking of too much material from one spot! Glass bead blasting would be the better option as it is less destructive. If you are going to do it yourself and you are looking for blast grit, there is blasting company near the dry docks. Not sure of the name, but they only use their grit once and then it goes into a skip for disposal. My neigbbour approached him and the guy said take as much as you want! He can't re-use it as it is now "contaminated" and he has to pay somebody to take it away.
patches Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) ...ok so I went out and bought 2 other paint strippers. One from Builders Warehouse (Nitromors which they said is the strongest), and another one from a paint shop (Nitro Express, which they said makes Nitromors seem tame). So tonight we see if either of these can do something to the paint on my frame. I sure hope so. Last resort is to take it to Astro and get them to acid dip it. But at R450. I'll keep you all posted and make some graphs and stuff, now that I'm becoming a consumer expert on various paint stripper brands Edited June 1, 2011 by patches
Hairy Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 How were they asking for the paint stripper .... did you also pay in notes by tucking them into the top of the tellers shirt Sorry ... had to add that stupid joke / play on wordsBut seriously .. what was the retail on this please?
patches Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 How were they asking for the paint stripper .... did you also pay in notes by tucking them into the top of the tellers shirt Sorry ... had to add that stupid joke / play on wordsBut seriously .. what was the retail on this please? haha! I was also playing on those words when telling Tumbleweed about my "tough time with the stripper lastnight" But yeah... Ilex : R50 for 1L from Universal Paints (worked well on regular paint. not so well on powdercoat)Nitromors: R100 for 1L from Builders Warehouse (will see tonight how well it works)Nitro Express: R35 for 500ml from Prominent Paints (will also see how well it works)
gummibear Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Tx EigerSA  Planning going Black !like............................... That's my Parlee
EigerSA Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 The problem with sandblasting is that if the blaster doesn't know what he is doing, he can actually damage the frame by taking of too much material from one spot! Glass bead blasting would be the better option as it is less destructive. If you are going to do it yourself and you are looking for blast grit, there is blasting company near the dry docks. Not sure of the name, but they only use their grit once and then it goes into a skip for disposal. My neigbbour approached him and the guy said take as much as you want! He can't re-use it as it is now "contaminated" and he has to pay somebody to take it away. 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.
Grebel Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 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. He just wanted to sell you 5kg's of sand for R90  Seriously though, we never had any issues with the second hand grit we got. It worked well because it was already finer from the first blast. I took mine and sifted it first to clean it (I think there was paint or something in it) I then made a makeshift catchment area behind my garage out of a piece of roofing plastic between to drums to catch the sand again. You can lay the sand out on a sheet of black roofing plastic to dry it but not really necessary. If it is too wet it might block the gun. I used that sand a few times to blast a small motorbike frame for my son. Worked like a dream. The secret is to spray undercoat within 3 hours of blasting to stop oxidation.
patches Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Ok, so update... due to lack of energy lastnight, I only got to try out the new paint strippers this morning... and even then, only tried the Nitro Express. I applied some, left it for 15min with a heater blowing on it (I read that paint strippers work better in warm weather). Then I used a scrubbong bush (nylon bristles, like the ones you scrub floors with). It took the powdercoating off down to the metal, and the nylon bristles don't scratch. So yeah, with some elbow grease I should be able to strip the powdercoated front triangle. Still need to try out the Nitromors (which is reputed to be the best. I know Astro anodisers & powdercoaters use it. Edited June 2, 2011 by patches
patches Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 Ok, so I tried the Nitromors... by far the most potent paint stripper of the 3 used. Little splashes of it on ones skin cause almost instant burning. Here's the progress so far on the stripping of the powdercoat on the front triangle:(achieved with Nitromors and a nylon scrubbing brush)  I think the goldy colour (from pre-powder coat acid treatment) and the silver weld beads look pretty cool. Unfortunately the rear triangle wasn't powder coated so doesn't have this same look. t's plain aluminium. Not to worry though. Not much work with fine steel wool and the goldy-colour goes away leaving a shiny brushed aluminium finish. Man it's gonna look awesome when done! So Bos, if you're still keen to strip your Zula... it can be done chemically without bead/sand blasting... the guinea pig survived
Hairy Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Ok, so I tried the Nitromors... by far the most potent paint stripper of the 3 used. Little splashes of it on ones skin cause almost instant burning. Here's the progress so far on the stripping of the powdercoat on the front triangle:(achieved with Nitromors and a nylon scrubbing brush)  I think the goldy colour (from pre-powder coat acid treatment) and the silver weld beads look pretty cool. Unfortunately the rear triangle wasn't powder coated so doesn't have this same look. t's plain aluminium. Not to worry though. Not much work with fine steel wool and the goldy-colour goes away leaving a shiny brushed aluminium finish. Man it's gonna look awesome when done! So Bos, if you're still keen to strip your Zula... it can be done chemically without bead/sand blasting... the guinea pig survived   Did you remove the pivot bearing before you started removing the paint. Could you please show a pic of this area when you get a chance?
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