speedline clearcoat

[cyclops@mindlink.bc.ca (cyclops)]

sandblasting is a pretty brutal way to treat aluminum. if there are areas
that have better paint adhesion than others you will seriously etch the base
material with sandblasting. in my business <cyclops@mindlink.bc.ca/cyclops>
i have refinished several thousand bicycle frames and find that a chemical
stripper works best to remove the paint. after trying many products which
have varying levels of toxicity and are extremely headache provoking (even
in a well ventilated shop) we have settled on a product called <Circa 1850
furniture stripper) its fumes are less offensive and it works even on powder
coated finishes. i do not recommend the heavy or gel form of this product.
after stripping there will be small nubs of paint that seem impossible to
remove. these should be removed with a blaster loaded with glass beads or
walnut shells or some similar compound that is non destructive to the base
metal. if your local sandblaster doesnt have these, they can be purchased in
100 pound bags from your local industrial supply house. take it to your
sandblast guy and he can load it into his blaster and safely clean your
wheels to a paint ready state. following the blasting process wear gloves
when handling the wheels. before painting apply a high quality epoxy primer
for protection and then paint.
hth
mike
86 5kcdtq