This is almost the same process I saw used on a large mural I forget exactly what show, but they used paint thinner and worked on one small area, not letting the thiner take more than a slight bit of paint off at a time. I think if you use something like paint thinner and go slowly enough, you might save the decals too, especially if they were water activated.
Steve Birmingham Lowell, Ma --__--__--
Message: 9 Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 11:19:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Brandon Ives <monkeylad@mac.com> To: First Flight Bicycles <jeff@firstflightbikes.com> Subject: Re: [CR]how to remove house paint from a bike??? Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
On Wednesday, Sep 25, 2002, at 10:37AM, First Flight Bicycles
<jeff@firstflightbikes.com> wrote:
>Any ideas on how to remove
>the top coat without damaging the original finish?
Jeff, Back when I worked for The Bikesmith we had to do this a bunch on old cruiser bikes, but I think the same operation can be used on lightweights. First is to clean the bike with soap and water to remove the dirt and grease. Once it's dry and clean use 150-180 grit sandpaper and roughen the house paint and wipe off the dust with a dry rag. Next we'd use Citri-Solv diluted down and sprayed on a rag to wipe away the house paint. It takes a while of rubbing and you'll have to keep applying the spray to the rag, but it will dissolve the house paint. You have to be careful so you don't also start to strip the clearcoat of the good paint.
If you have a water transfer decal over the clearcoat like a tubing sticker you most likely won't be able save it. I'm sure the pros have other better methods, but this has been my lo-fi solution that works. Good luck. enjoy, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives SB, CA
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