[whiteman]

I've done a search but didn't find much usefull info.
Does anybody know how I would be able to achieve the raw finish shown above on my bike?
I have tried paint stripping it but it has been lightly sanded, leaving it with a polished look that I'm not to fond of.

Would I be best off to get the frame blasted? If so what type of blasting would leave me with this finish?

Cheers,
Tom

 

[SthFRider]

I have always used aircraft paint stripper when i have rawwed my frames. Works pretty well. May want to try using some steel wool. Are you trying to dull the polished look or what? I'm kinda confused on what your trying to accomplish

 

[zdubyadubya]

I got the look of the turner on my demo. super easy.

take your frame to a powdercoating shop and have them blast it with aluminum oxide grit. works better than glass beads/media/sand and it leaves the finish you are looking for. then clearcoat it and you are set.

 

[tex-bmx]

Spoke w/ a guy @ santa Cruz bikes and was told that you cannot make a painted bike look like a bike that has never been painted (truly raw)after you strip the paint. If memory serves they rec'd stripping/ polishing over bead blasting.E-mail the tech guys @ scb and they are really helpful when it comes to trying to achieve that raw look.

 

[whiteman]

I have always used aircraft paint stripper when i have rawwed my frames. Works pretty well. May want to try using some steel wool. Are you trying to dull the polished look or what? I'm kinda confused on what your trying to accomplish

I started to strip it using aircraft stripper but the frame has been lightly sanded before it was painted. This light sanding gives it a sort of polished look that I don't want. So I am trying to find a way to dull the polished look and eliminate all of the fine scratches caused by the sanding.

I got the look of the turner on my demo. super easy.

take your frame to a powdercoating shop and have them blast it with aluminum oxide grit. works better than glass beads/media/sand and it leaves the finish you are looking for. then clearcoat it and you are set.

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look into getting it blasted with aluminum oxide grit. Do you have a picture of your bike after you had it blasted?

Spoke w/ a guy @ santa Cruz bikes and was told that you cannot make a painted bike look like a bike that has never been painted (truly raw)after you strip the paint. If memory serves they rec'd stripping/ polishing over bead blasting.E-mail the tech guys @ scb and they are really helpful when it comes to trying to achieve that raw look.

I'll give them an e-mail and see what the guys have to say. Thanks for the help.

 

[RayB]

So I am trying to find a way to dull the polished look and eliminate all of the fine scratches caused by the sanding.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply go ride your bike.

Stop worrying about what it looks like now. Dirt, mud, blood, sweat, tears, etc. will speed up the oxidation and leave you with a 'duller' raw finish in due time.

Cheers.

 

[spocomptonrider]

I got the look of the turner on my demo. super easy.

take your frame to a powdercoating shop and have them blast it with aluminum oxide grit. works better than glass beads/media/sand and it leaves the finish you are looking for. then clearcoat it and you are set.

Speaking from experience I would advise anyone against going the glass bead/ media/ sand option on any frame... Be sure to put some sort of finish on it, maybe stikman can chime in and let us know how intense finishes the raw works frames, my Socom didn't have any sort of coating on it from the factory and looked sweet. The only thing I could think of is that the heat treating sealed the aluminum somehow. Raw frames are the way to go though, scratches only make them look sweeter.

What kind of frame is it?

 

[whiteman]

Why would you advise against any type of blasting spocomptonrider?
You don't need to clear coat aluminium as it's oxide only dulls the metal down slightly and doesn't affect its strength in any way.

My frame is an Ironhorse Sunday.

 

[spocomptonrider]

Not any type, the aluminum oxide grit that zdubyadubya recommends should be just fine. As far as why I would advise against the other types, I've had a frame glass bead blasted before and it made it rather difficult to install things like the headset and frame bearings I'm sure this could be fixed with a better tape job but the alu oxide grit sounds like the way to go if you don't end up doing it yourself with aircraft stripper.

 

[whiteman]

Thanks for the tips. I'll deffinitely look into aluminium oxide grit blasting now.

 

[zdubyadubya]

Thanks for the tips. I'll deffinitely look into aluminium oxide grit blasting now.

I dont know where you are located, but you can give my guy a buzz, he is super helpful and will answer any questions you may have. His shop is in Virginia.

Figure Engineering

If you click on the "finish" tab, you can see the stuff he has done. He does lots of bikes. The second page of images has my demo so you can see the "look" you are going for. I had him do a glossy clear powder over the raw to protect it, but you could totally leave it so it keeps the "rough" finish.

 

[whiteman]

I dont know where you are located, but you can give my guy a buzz, he is super helpful and will answer any questions you may have. His shop is in Virginia.

Figure Engineering

If you click on the "finish" tab, you can see the stuff he has done. He does lots of bikes. The second page of images has my demo so you can see the "look" you are going for. I had him do a glossy clear powder over the raw to protect it, but you could totally leave it so it keeps the "rough" finish.

That looks sick.
Unfortunately I live in Australia. I will definitely have a search around my local are for people who do it.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[buildyourown]

The raw look is left over from the heat treatement. It is oxidization.
Try a phosphoric acid etch solution. They sell it at Home Depot in the paint section. I have used it as a paint prep with great results. If applied to a bare, polished frame, it will jump start the oxidization and leave you with the blotchy, dull finish that you see on "raw" frames.

 

[Cordsport]

Having it blasted (with almost any kind of media) will effect the frame, specially if it has been done previously when it was originally painted. Blasting work-hardens the outer surface of the metal and changes it's fatigue life.

If you have already removed all of the paint then it is super easy to achieve the "raw" look. Just give the frame a good coating in a caustic soda based oven cleaner. Spray on, leave for 5 mins, then rinse THOROUGHLY with loads of cold water. That should leave the oxidised look you require. Simples

 

[TrumbullHucker]

i'll drop in my .02

i used a variable psi sandblaster ( i honestly dont know what media it was, it was a blueish clear grit.. possibly glass bead? )
anyways.. i tested on a scrap piece of aluminum pipe with the same wall thickness to make sure i was not going punch a hole through my morewood..
i got a nice psi, and after, put 3 coats of clear on


http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5733/dsc0037mv.jpg

 

[zdubyadubya]

Having it blasted (with almost any kind of media) will effect the frame, specially if it has been done previously when it was originally painted. Blasting work-hardens the outer surface of the metal and changes it's fatigue life.

If you have already removed all of the paint then it is super easy to achieve the "raw" look. Just give the frame a good coating in a caustic soda based oven cleaner. Spray on, leave for 5 mins, then rinse THOROUGHLY with loads of cold water. That should leave the oxidised look you require. Simples

the blasting that would be required to "shot peen" the finish of an aluminum bike and work-harden the surface is ridiculous. this is one of those wives-tales that the manufacturers use to get out of warranty claims. dont get me wrong, it IS possible, but any powder shop worth their salt wont go anywhere NEAR that psi.

edit* also, i recommended AlO2 grit b/c the hardness is about equivalent to aluminum metal. sand << media <<, and especially glass have the potential to all have hardness levels above that of aluminum, but if a fine grit is used, its gonna take you all day long to eat through the metal in any significant way with AlO2. where people usually run into issues is with the bearing seats, bb shell, and headtube, where tolerances are pretty critical, but then we are talking thousandths of an inch; and any method, including caustics, can have an effect if used too vigorously.

 

[toodles]

If you're in Australia, have a search around for a place that does soda blasting. I had two Sunday frames soda blasted before I got them anodised and the soda blasting leaves a clean, matte finish like the one pictured about. Its also a quite gentle blasting - the guys use it on fibreglass and other more delicate materials as well.

 

[whiteman]

If you're in Australia, have a search around for a place that does soda blasting. I had two Sunday frames soda blasted before I got them anodised and the soda blasting leaves a clean, matte finish like the one pictured about. Its also a quite gentle blasting - the guys use it on fibreglass and other more delicate materials as well.

Thanks toodles. Soda blasting is pretty common around my area so I should be able to get that done quite easily. Do you have a picture of your Sunday frame just after it had been soda blasted?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[zdubyadubya]

If you're in Australia, have a search around for a place that does soda blasting. I had two Sunday frames soda blasted before I got them anodised and the soda blasting leaves a clean, matte finish like the one pictured about. Its also a quite gentle blasting - the guys use it on fibreglass and other more delicate materials as well.

totally forgot about soda blasting... good call!

 

[Kurbow]

Santa Cruz is now doing a raw finish. Went to order a frame and they offered that as one of the colors. Oh Word

 

[dfinn]

How dissasembled does a frame need to be before applying paint stripper or media blasting? Headset/bearings removed? Linkage taken apart?

 

[zdubyadubya]

How dissasembled does a frame need to be before applying paint stripper or media blasting? Headset/bearings removed? Linkage taken apart?

completely apart. everything. aircraft stripper (for ano) or media blasting will remove everything it touches with a little overspray as well. just remember to tape off the dimensional critical areas (headtube, bb, bearing seats, etc. etc.). in the case of bearings, i have found it useful to leave the old bearings in to protect the seats. then when i am all done, i pull them out and put new ones in when i rebuild the bike.

 

[xy9ine]

i've had a couple frames walnut blasted. gives a bit more texture (ie, you wouldn't be able to polish it), but looks fine, imo. beat the crap out of it & never worry about the finish. still looks great a couple seasons later.