Stripping paint off carbon - what to use?

Pierre · Mar 22, 2013

I must admit to having done no research on this, just preliminarily asking if anyone else has done it. I've got a pair of painted carbon forks and I'm just wondering about stripping the slightly scruffy paint off them. With steel and alu frames I've used Nitromors in the past before they diluted it and I now use Starchem, which is great on metal but I suspect it would just eat the carbon.

Have any of you done it, would you recommend it and what did you use?

David B · Mar 22, 2013

My best advice would be to have the frame dealt with by a professional finisher who can do stripping & repainting for carbon bikes. Avoid using anything solvent-based, Nitromors or otherwise, like the plague as a paint remover for carbon since it will affect the resin and compromise the structural integrity in a big way.

David

Robbied196 · Mar 22, 2013

I wouldn't use any chemical strippers although there is something called 'Carbolift', designed for removing paint from carbon.

If you're looking to repaint then it may be best just to gently sand back the old paint and then repaint.

Pierre · Mar 22, 2013

I saw Carbolift's website, but they don't seem to have done any business since 2011! It's for my own race bike, so I may just have a go with some sandpaper, leave it scruffy and let it truly embody the "Rat Race" look!

Pyro Tim · Mar 22, 2013

I want to strip the paint from my WCF MTB, so have been keeping an eye on this. Hope there is a simple solution

hamster · Mar 25, 2013

There are marine paint strippers for glass fibre which are OK. But be careful and always test a small area first.

grumpyoldgit · Mar 26, 2013

Dilunette gel????

hamster · Mar 26, 2013

Try this marine one...
http://www.paint-stripper.co.uk/TDS%20610%20CSL.pdf

Jonny69 · Mar 26, 2013

I definitely wouldn't use any chemical paint stripper on carbon because there's too much of a risk it'll affect the structural properties (e.g. acetone really attacks polyester resin in CF). To be on the safe side, I'd rub the paint down and re-paint it. Obviously stop when you get to the top coat of resin on the CF, because you don't want to break through to where the fibres are.

Stripping paint off carbon - what to use?

Pierre

Retro Guru

David B

Old School Grand Master

Robbied196

Senior Retro Guru

Pierre

Retro Guru

Pyro Tim

hamster

Retro Wizard

grumpyoldgit

Dirt Disciple

hamster

Retro Wizard

Jonny69

Senior Retro Guru

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