Shot blast or sand? Trek 8300 prep

[79stef]

I recently bought a Trek 8300 from a member here. I would like to expose and polish the aluminium parts of the frame (currently painted silver) to contrast against the main carbon parts of the tubing.
Question is, how is best to achieve this?
Can the carbon be taped (masked?) off and the paint shot blasted before polishing to the required finish?
Or better to wet and dry with a lot more elbow grease?
Also slightly unsure whether to rub the lacquer off the carbon and re-lacquer the lot, or not to bother?
Any hints/tips appreciated before I start on this build.
Thanks

 

[Imlach]

I don't like the idea of blasting anything with carbon. Don't know if you could use some heavy duty material to wrap around and mask it, then sodablast the aluminium. But honestly, I'd do it by hand with ye olde sandpaper and a 12 pack to keep you sane during the hours to come.

Also carbon looks fine, wouldn't bother relacquering. Think it's a cool idea to strip the aluminium down to bare though, going to make a nice looking contrast.

 

[TreaderSteve]

Or paint the alloy parts neon yellow, pink or orange?!

 

[79stef]

I don't like the idea of blasting anything with carbon. Don't know if you could use some heavy duty material to wrap around and mask it, then sodablast the aluminium. But honestly, I'd do it by hand with ye olde sandpaper and a 12 pack to keep you sane during the hours to come.

Also carbon looks fine, wouldn't bother relacquering. Think it's a cool idea to strip the aluminium down to bare though, going to make a nice looking contrast.

I thought that this might be the answer..12-pack it is then!

 

[79stef]

Or paint the alloy parts neon yellow, pink or orange?!

Have also toyed with this idea. However I do like original look of the 8300 and this just adds a small variation. Im going to build using Suntour components and I do like the idea of polished bits on the bike with some polished components.
If I get bored, neon it shall become!

 

[montair]

I work in the powder coating industry the shot blasting isn't a problem when you realise that the energy in the shot is minimal and dispersed very easily by adding a layer of soft material such as electrician tape or a few wraps of a carrier bag. If you have a look at these forks which i have just done ( Badly ). You can see where the old label was left on (TANGE triangle sticker) and it takes some work to get it off ideally remove it first unless you forgot !


You can see they were black and silver fade. The black is easy to spot but the silver is a night mare to remove.
Also you can only just get a frame in most cabinets and we have a big Guyson and its still a struggle to work with.

 

[Imlach]

Going by what montair says it looks like you don't need to buy a 12 pack and hunker down! I have always been told that blasting and carbon was a no-no, but I'd of course take the word of a guy who works in the industry over myself.

Admittedly I'd still use the sandpaper because I'm a nervous wreck and I like manual labour.

 

[79stef]

I work in the powder coating industry the shot blasting isn't a problem when you realise that the energy in the shot is minimal and dispersed very easily by adding a layer of soft material such as electrician tape or a few wraps of a carrier bag. If you have a look at these forks which i have just done ( Badly ). You can see where the old label was left on (TANGE triangle sticker) and it takes some work to get it off ideally remove it first unless you forgot !
View attachment 565714View attachment 565715

You can see they were black and silver fade. The black is easy to spot but the silver is a night mare to remove.
Also you can only just get a frame in most cabinets and we have a big Guyson and its still a struggle to work with.

Thanks for the info.. so you'd recommend sanding by hand too (on the basis that it's tricky to get a frame in the smaller sized cabinet)?
My friend owns an alloy wheel shop so was going to ask his opinion, but I do remember him saying that the cabinet was too small for some garden furniture I wanted blasting.
My thoughts on carbon protecting would have been- masking tape, followed by kitchen roll card, with more masking tape

 

[Retro Spud]

Any updates on this ?

 

[79stef]

Funnily enough, yes...I just started a build thread. I ended up sanding by hand in the end..

1993 Trek 8300 build

Having dabbled in a few part-restorations and fixing up a few pub bikes, I'm finally doing my first bare frame build. I've picked the brains of many on here who have provided invaluable advice before starting this project, so thank you..I may well need more Retrobike knowledge on my journey! I...

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