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How hard is it to remove anodized finishes on frames?

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
I was thinking of getting a new small 06 Demo 8 frame to replace my current frame which is an 05 Demo 8 size Med.

The 06' Demo 8 frame set only comes in "stool sample brown" which is an ano finish. It looks kinda cool, but I'm just not into it.

I would like to know how hard it is to sandblast this stuff off, so I can repaint it - I'm tight with the owner of a local auto body shop (they work on everything from Ford Tarus's to Porsches and Mercedes) so I have the right equipment to use.

What do you guys think?
 

Bobby Peru

Monkey
Jul 16, 2004
151
0
Big Tuna, TX
It shouldn't be too hard.... I got a few things that were anodized and sandblasted them. If your buddy has the right stuff, go for it! You will be very happy with the results. Take before and after pics!
 

zahgurim

Underwater monkey
Mar 9, 2005
1,100
12
lolAsia
I would use oven cleaner, instead of sandblasting. Just spray it on, and wipe the ano off. It's much friendlier to the alu than abrasive sand.
 

Sir_Crackien

Turbo Monkey
Feb 7, 2004
2,051
0
alex. va. usa.
i would even try to take off the ano. and by no means ever use oven cleaner to take it off. oven cleaner hurts the metal severly, more brittle and less strenght. just paint over the ano. that is by far the best solution
 

punkassean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 3, 2002
4,561
0
SC, CA
Specialized frames have a lifetime warranty. Why would you throw that away just to have a more desirable color? I'm not sure about the oven cleaner damaging the metal but I am sure that it will strip the ano off. By no means should you sandblast the frame though that will for sure weaken it. If anything have it media blasted or preferably leave it alone.
 

hotcarl

Chimp
Feb 11, 2004
11
0
Specialized doesn't have any sm 05 demo8 frames or bikes left. maybe you could find a dealer that has one.
 

Dirtbike

Monkey
Mar 21, 2005
593
2
eastbay
I have access to the specialized buisiness online website. At this very moment there are a total of 12 small 2006 Demo 8 frames left.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
punkassean said:
Specialized frames have a lifetime warranty. Why would you throw that away just to have a more desirable color? I'm not sure about the oven cleaner damaging the metal but I am sure that it will strip the ano off. By no means should you sandblast the frame though that will for sure weaken it. If anything have it media blasted or preferably leave it alone.
Sand blasting, shot peening, etc. is used to relieve surface stress and increase surface hardness on metals. As long as it is done correctly, it should remove the annodize, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Also, as far as using chemicals is concerned I would suggest having a professional do it for you. Basically any acidic chemical will do, but you run the risk of damaging the aluminum substrate (etching or pitting could weaken the frame, how much I'm not sure) plus it isn't always safe working with such chemicals. Alot of people use Drano which is a pretty strong NaOH solution and I know that etches aluminum very quickly so that is not a very bright idea.

If you absolutely NEED to remove the ano finish either bring it to a professional to have it chemically removed, or I suppose you could paint over it. I'm not sure how powder coating would work with an annodized finished, but I'm sure if you use Google for 10 minutes you could find out very quickly.
 

hotcarl

Chimp
Feb 11, 2004
11
0
Dirtbike said:
I have access to the specialized buisiness online website. At this very moment there are a total of 12 small 2006 Demo 8 frames left.

So do a lot of people, and he doesn't want the poop brown which is a 06 model, thats why I said there were no 05s left. honest mistake
 
J

JRB

Guest
I would live with it. Seems dumb to lose warranty over color on a brand new frame.
 

Mattoid

Monkey
Aug 3, 2003
973
0
Charlottesville, Virginia
The idea of abusing this poor frame in such a way right out of the box makes me sad. I wouldnt let go of that lifetime warranty either. If you must have the demo8 why not just get it and see how the color looks in person, I admit that some of specialized color schemes look lame from time to time but they always seem to grow on me.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
Rik said:
Of course, but at the same time it's also very easy to give your tubes external butting that they weren't designed to have :eek:
Hence, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Honestly, is the color of the frame so important that you are willing to spend X amount of hours and Y amount of money to change it? It's only a bike and hopefully it will get muddy and scratched up from hard riding :)
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
Thanks for all the input guys - I really appreciate your time and thoughts on this.

As far as the color goes - yeah I know its gonna get dirty, and beat up over the years, but I like to have a unique ride - just a personal style kinda thing. I've seen complete bikes in the new brown ano color, other than the pics on Spesh's website and it looks cool, but it's just not me. I've got some pretty cool ideas, for the new paint scheme - nothing super involved, but that's a secret for now. ;)

Yeah - I was thinking that sandblasting would be a bit harsh on the aluminum tubing - so a media blast would probably work best - I think my buddy at the auto shop has access to the baking soda type stuff. Chemicals definitely could be bad - as was said previously - pitting the frame would suck.

This guy who is a Diablo local named George Ryan repainted his Sunday frame when he first got it - on the other hand he has factory support, so no need for him to worry about the warranty... :rolleyes:

Atrokz - you can paint over ano finishes? As in a primer then a finishing coat? Will the paint adhere to the ano surface for very long and be durable? If anyone else knows if this would work, and has had experience doing it, feel free to share your thoughts.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Inclag said:
Sand blasting, shot peening, etc. is used to relieve surface stress and increase surface hardness on metals.

Not really. Sandblasting and shot peening aren't even close to the same thing. Shot peening doesn't remove any material. Sand blasting would destroy an aluminum frame in about 5 seconds.

I don't think there is any mechanical way to safley remove the ano. You could chemically ethc it off, but it wouldn't be worth the expense or trouble.

Just paint over it. If the painter does his prep right, it should stick fine.

As for using an autobody shop to paint bikes, I would be catious. Auto paint shops usually don't have any experience painting small round tubes and they tend to miss spots. If you can't find a bike paint shop look for a moto paint shop.
 

IronJim

Monkey
Sep 26, 2004
789
1
Santa Cruz Mountains
from what i know, when a frame in anodized, the outer part of the metal has been turned that color. so i definently would not recomend trying to take the paint off because it would damage the frame. if you really must paint it i would try and paint over the anodized finish, but i wouldnt take the anodized finish off.
 
J

JRB

Guest
Think about maybe doing some striping and what not to make it original. No chance to void the warranty that way.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
I'm pretty sure you can just paint over it as anodization is just a thicker layer built up of oxidization, not a coating. Anodization is basically the aluminum; just a layer built up from the original aluminum layer.

Anodizing makes aluminum harder and more resistant to scratches. It would probably be better if you just painted over it instead of removing it. It might help prevent some sracthes well not through a paint layer though.
 

bballe336

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2005
1,757
0
MA
a smooth anodized finish with a clearcoat will not allow paint to adhere to it well. and this is the type of finish the demo has right? any place that does professional anodizing can get it off the frame for you in a non-harming matter. that is your best option if you must get rid of the color.

and if you are going to get the frame repainted why not have an anodizer just re-anno the frame for you in a color and pattern you like. some places can even anodize the graphics in for you.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
...actually this is a matte ano finish, so painting it might work. ...hmmm So I guess the best way to go about this if I do is to just paint over it.

Jeremy R:
It looks really good in person. From a distance it looks black, but when it get up on it, it looks like anondized chocolate.
LOL - Wow that is pretty cool... I'll have to check one out in person.

Buildyourown:
As for using an autobody shop to paint bikes, I would be catious. Auto paint shops usually don't have any experience painting small round tubes and they tend to miss spots. If you can't find a bike paint shop look for a moto paint shop.
...yeah that's a good point too - but this guy is pretty good with a paint gun. hmm...

IronJim:
from what i know, when a frame in anodized, the outer part of the metal has been turned that color. so i definently would not recomend trying to take the paint off because it would damage the frame. if you really must paint it i would try and paint over the anodized finish, but i wouldnt take the anodized finish off.
...so THAT'S how anodizing works! - always wondered. Interesting.

Alrighty then - either I'll stick with this new black/chocolate ano finish or just repaint it.

Thanks for all the input guys.


BTW - anyone interested in a Black 2005 Demo 8 Size Medium? A few scratches, but in very good condition. $1500 w/o shock - negotiable.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
buildyourown said:
Not really. Sandblasting and shot peening aren't even close to the same thing. Shot peening doesn't remove any material. Sand blasting would destroy an aluminum frame in about 5 seconds.

I don't think there is any mechanical way to safley remove the ano. You could chemically ethc it off, but it wouldn't be worth the expense or trouble.

Just paint over it. If the painter does his prep right, it should stick fine.

As for using an autobody shop to paint bikes, I would be catious. Auto paint shops usually don't have any experience painting small round tubes and they tend to miss spots. If you can't find a bike paint shop look for a moto paint shop.

You are very right. I wasn't completely sure and being close to 1am I wasn't about to look through my Enginerd books.

Thanks for the correction
 

The Amish

Dumber than N8
Feb 22, 2005
645
0
I didn't even bother to read the rest of this thread because half the answers were so blatantly stupid, but here's the real skinny from a metal worker. Ano isn't designed to come off, it can be done although not highly recomended. If you must remove it, have it done profesionaly, by the same people who put it on( an ano shop), dont use cleaner it will weaken the metal, dont sandblast it, if you hit an area too hard you will remove material/screw up the weld seams thus weakening the frame. My advice for the future, buy the frame in the color you want it and skip the b.s.
 

1000-Oaks

Monkey
May 8, 2003
778
0
Simi Valley, CA
The anodized layer is harder than the metal beneath, don't screw with it. It's deposited using an electric charge to pull material in solution to the frame, which means it's now part of the frame and not merely a coating.