Frame paint removal

A friend has a bike frame that he wants to get nickel plated and the platers
have asked him to remove all of the paintwork first.

Because the plating will show up every blemish in the metal frame, the paint
will have to be removed by chemicals as anything abrasive will spoil the
mirror finish that is required.

Do any UKRMCers know how the paint can be easily removed or a company who
could do the job ?

 

No it neads bead blasting with a soft medium.
It will need some polishing up anyway though.

'Hog

 

I know a well 'ard fortune-teller. Will that do?

 

Nickel plated?

I have to admit I don't like the sound of that, tho' I'll
reserve judgement, until I see one.

Would one of those paint on chemical jobs do the business,
followed up with a wire brush on a drill...

Nick

 

So far only one poster has hit the nail on the head- if you think surface
prep for high quality painting is tough, just try prepping a surface
for plating. It will have to be exactly as perfectly smooth as you want
your final plated item to look, it just won't be quite as shiny.

The method of paint removal is nearly irrelevant here. The surface prep
after the paint is removed (plus cleaning out the *inside* of the frame
tubes!) is the hardest part by far.

 

Sometime around Sat, 08 Jan 2005 02:22:19 +0000, Mark Olson babbled on
about:

Agreed 100%

Chemical stripping is indeed the only way because it will not mark the
original finish, this will enable the frame to be thouroughly checked for
flaws and poor welds/brazes before it is polished (1) The old fashioned
method was a Caustic bath, has the OPs friend asked the platers who they
use/reccomend?

Nickel plating looks great on old and new machines because of the
yellow tint instead of blue with chrome (2) intrestingly it was all but
ended by 1929 when chromium took over as a harder and more durable finish.

(1) It is very important to find a company that understands how to polish
sympathetically, plating companies are not necesarily good polishers, I
have some shagged brake plates (in Nickel) to prove this.

(2) Matchless in the 20s and Rickman, CCM and Montesa in the 70s and 80s
are good examples.

 

Chemical stripping is indeed the only way because it will not mark the

Hello???
I doesnt matter so much how the paint comes off because the tubes need
polished afterwards anyway! The finish will be shite otherwise.
Does nickel get a copper base coat too? ask for triple coating if so
IIRC.

'Hog

 

Ovenpaa composed the following;:

I have a '79 Beamish Suzuki Trials bike that has a decent Nickel Plated
finish to the frame.

 

Sometime around Sat, 08 Jan 2005 11:17:15 +0000, 'Hog babbled on about:

I am not inclined to agree here, sandblasting can hide structural defects
and unless the frame is crack tested prior to polishing the owner will
never know, at least with a chemical strip you see the frame in its
original state. Also blasting can impact the structural integrity of the
original componant. I have not the faintest idea how or why, we learnt the
hard way after getting several hundred beams with defective paint blasted.
We were told to shove them in no uncertain terms by Mr Ford.

 

I've never had an on road bike frame crack! and surely once it's
polished it would be visible anyway? I wouldn't grit blast a frame
anyway.

'Hog

 

'Hog says...

My Honda CB250RS frame has cracked in three separate places in the three
years I've owned it.

Thank god Pip has a mig-welder.

 

Well granted if *any* road bike was going to do it it would be your CB.

'Hog

 

Sometime around Sun, 09 Jan 2005 20:32:55 +0000, 'Hog babbled on about:

I have had cracks on Yamaha (XS2) Norton (Wideline) BSA (clubman Rocket)
and Suzuki (GT750) Hmm and Maico a few times but that was not a road
machine so it was to be expected I guess.

I am also not a million miles away from a 1200 sporty with a cracked
frame, but I am not sure if it comes into the catagory of road or not.

So being honest I have never had a modern frams give up on me.

 

I've run everything from wideline featherbed Tritons on without a crack.
Obviously I bring my wheelies down under greater control )

'Hog

 

Interesting, I may be well off the mark here, but Morris motors experienced
failures of a small number of torsion bars in early Morris Minors, so took
the step of "shot peening" [1] all the torsion bars that were used on
production models. Some say this over engineered the torsion bars, but
Morris' attitude was better safe than sorry.

[1] I assume that Shot peening is the same / similar to shot blasting. If I
am wrong, please explain what shot peening is, and curse me for being the no
nothing twat that I am.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

Dan L was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

AFAIK it's a similar process but you're using a different blast
material to harden the surface - sand blasting (or any other kind of
abrasive blasting) roughs up the surface.

 

Cheers Timo

Basically it's similar, but with a different result.

That's always puzzled me since reading "Morris Minor, The World's Supreme
Small Car" [1], which a former girlfriend gave me for Xmyth in 1981.

[1] Siigned by the author too, a most excellent read.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dan L"

Shot peening leaves the surface slightly dimpled and smooths out any
surface irregularities that might lead to micro cracks forming. A micro
crack could grow and eventually become a proper crack.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

Dan L says...

That didn't stop the trunnions from shearing and sending a wheeel out at
90 degrees. My Moggy did that 3 days after I passed my test.

 

Trunnions are tricky little sods, that grease nipple on the top is there for
a very good reason.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)