Stripping Anodizing

im curious about doing this on some of my parts too

Easy Off Oven Cleaner...

i used the Fume free once, which i felt was not as effective as the traditional heavy duty stuff... let it sit on maybe 15 to 20 min. then use an abrasive pad or the like...

dont leave it on too long it will pit and discolor the Al. you can use vinegar and water to deacctivate it.

might need a couple applications depending on the ano.

kidwithbike said:

Easy Off Oven Cleaner...

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or liquid plumber gel
or Lye

finish off with #0000 steel wool

oven cleaner will do but for 20 dollars id let them strip it will be a better job and so much less hassle

Removing ano is removing material so dont go mental mental, if you have interference fit bearings in the linkage you would end up with poor tolerances (you would have to leave it for a fair while though or do it a more than once)or pitting etc as kidwithbike said.

I have used 'caustic soda' which is the main ingredient in oven cleaner me thinks then as Acadian said went at it will steel wool (a chainring) - worked fine.

The surface finish you give the Ano shop will be the surface finish you get back so make sure it looks nice and isnt covered in scratches etc.

Rick

Oh be carefull not to get that shiz in your eyes -

Easy Off overn cleaner and steel wool worked amazing on my Saint cranks.

for $20 i say let them do it.

Yea, a can of stripper + gloves + towels is probably going to cost you close to what they are asking.

nelsonjm said:

Yea, a can of stripper + gloves + towels is probably going to cost you close to what they are asking.

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+ time

Calid0wnhiller said:

Thanks for the advice .I think I'll let the shop do it so I don't mess anything up.

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I think in the case of links and suspension parts... this si the way to go, that way if the bearing dont fi right afterwrods, you have someone else to blame, and have some recourse

The easy off oven cleaner is something I haven't heard before. Does it work equally well for removing powdercoat and paint?

Banshee Rider said:

The easy off oven cleaner is something I haven't heard before. Does it work equally well for removing powdercoat and paint?

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It does, little harder to do on the PC, but as otehrs have said, get teh Heavy duty stuff, it works better than the non smelly type. Its like having paint stripper in a spray can

Thanks for the Easy-Off/steel wool trick everyone. I've just stripped my crank, chainring and lg1 backplate and it worked very well.

EZ off does work pretty good. As others have said, be sure that if you going with the ano route, be sure to you make certain that the bare metal "clean" otherwise you're going to be sorry when you get it back. So spend a little extra time and try to get every imperfection cleaned. I speak from experience.

After you remove the ano, how does it look polished? The cranks up above look abit pitted. I dont want to remove the ano on any of my parts to polish and have the final product look all pitted and ****ty.

freeridefool said:

After you remove the ano, how does it look polished? The cranks up above look abit pitted. I dont want to remove the ano on any of my parts to polish and have the final product look all pitted and ****ty.

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I did this to my Saints and some other parts, after stripping them, I used something like 2500 grit, then 3000 grit (can't really remember the actual grit, but it was some extremely fine nonetheless), then polishing compound, then finished them with Mothers wheel and mag polish. They were mirror like.

Joe W.Cup said:

I did this to my Saints and some other parts, after stripping them, I used something like 2500 grit, then 3000 grit (can't really remember the actual grit, but it was some extremely fine nonetheless), then polishing compound, then finished them with Mothers wheel and mag polish. They were mirror like.

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Rock on thanks jwc. I have a ton of experience polishing stuff. I just didnt want to have a ****ty looking set of parts.

For $20 let them do it, oven cleaner and other said methods work but for it to be done right let them do it especially if they are reannoing it. They will hit the etch tank for 30 seconds and if you didnt do your job right you will end up with bad mil spec and the color will be off.
The strip will take a little off either way but they can rack it independentally and watch it as well as they can build the tolerance back up with the oxide level its a more controlled process if they are keeping an eye on it and different aluminums strip at different rates depending on the penatration depth..

$20 is worth it, just ask if they can work with you a little. I used to strip stuff for people for free I did alot of ano and stripping for alot of riders here and other places.