I bought a bike off of craigslist that was painted with black paint to use as a commuter bike. The original finish under the paint seems to be in good shape. Is there a solvent that I could use to take off the paint without damaging the original finish? I am not sure if paint thinner or acetone will take off the original paint job.
Heath
Suggestion for cleaning my bike
Sat, 03/13/2004 - 5:30pm
Mon, 03/15/2004 - 8:57am
#1
de-painting
It depends on a few things: what kind of paint the original paint is, if it has a clear coat, and what the black paint is. Most bikes are painted with polyurathane because it's tough, cheap and relatively easy to finish; I doubt acetone would hurt it. So I recommend doing a test: turn the bike upside down and put a few drops on the bottom braket and let it sit there, then come back and see if either the original or the black coats were effected. Mind you, black paint will find its way into every tiny flaw and crevise, so it will never seem completely gone.
Tue, 03/16/2004 - 3:14pm
#2
oh noo....you're gonna strip the bike of it's character! :D
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Sat, 03/13/2004 - 9:29pm
#3
I wouldn't
I think acetone or paint thinner would damage the finish underneath. If it's a steel frame, that would be especially bad, because the paint helps prevent rust. If it's an especially nice frame, there are places that will take it down to bare metal and repaint it. Otherwise I'd just live with it.
Mon, 03/15/2004 - 9:07am
#4
bicycle paint remover
Take the frame to an automobile paint shop and ask them.
