After I get my powder coat removed I'm wondering if I should get it polished or anodized. Polishing will obviously be the lightest, but I would like my frame to still be colored. Also anyone know costs for anodizing? Any info will help.

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

I have an Extralite frame and according to them to anodize it adds zero weight as versus painting it will weigh 90g heavier.

The anaodisation process itself does not add any weight, but the colouring of the frame will add maybe 2-5g of dye.

To get a really good finish on the anodisation the frame will need to be polished first, so try that and if you like it you can leave it there, or get the anodisation done.

Nice, that's exactly what I needed to know. Thanks! No I can take 120g off my frame from powder coat.

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

Well I've decided on having the frame polished, but do i still need it anodized for protection, or will it be fine?

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

A good polish will protect the frame as long as you look after it. Anodising will mean that you will have a harder surface (a good thing- generally) but it may dull over time.

Well I wonder if the Scott Team issue scandium is polished and anodized, my frame to is anodized, so i wonder if it can even be anodized?

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

If a frame is already anodised one colour and you want a different anodised colour, you can have it de-anodisied and then reanodised in the new colour.

One point to remember is that some of the high strength Al tubesets (Deda U2, Easton Sc7000, and several others) are not recomended for a non-painted finish. In addition to this some filler materials will end up a different colour to the tube (filler material is usually a different alloy to the parent metal). Ellsworth appearantly has some trouble with the frames he has gold anodised in regard to this.

I'm wanting to get my USE Alu post and Extralite UL stem anodized.
Do you think it would be possible to do this as my local anodizer said it would have to be 'pure' aluminium otherwise the process will eat my bike parts

Well my frame is the easton Sc7000 tube set. So is it a bad idea to polish it then? What about the scott frame, it's scandium and not painted.

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

I just looked at the easton web site and read a tech sheet on the easton sc7000 tubes. They indicated the following:

2.8 Frame Finishing
2.8.1 Wet Paint
Wet paint is the preferred finish for SC7000 to promote
an attractive finish and maximize material
properties.

2.8.2 Anodizing
Anodizing SC7000 frames should not be performed.
Anodizing will significantly reduce frame fatigue
life. In addition, the unusual grain structure of
SC7000 tubes will become visible after anodize
resulting in an undesirable cosmetic finish.

2.8.3 Powder Coating
Traditional powder coating can not be used on
SC7000 frames due to the curing temperatures.
Powder coating (or any other thermal process) can
only be performed as long as the curing temperature
is not higher than 325 degrees and the cure
time is less than 30 minutes.

These lower temperature powder coat materials can
be obtained from:

SPRAYLAT Corp.
3333 N. Interstate 35
Gainesville TX 76240
(817) 665-9590
Toll Free: (888) 725-7250
6

Well it just got back from the polisher! A total of 114g of powder coat was removed! Now my bike is hovering at 14 pounds and looks wicked! I'll post some pics as soon as I develope the film. Thanks for all the info Cyco and Exterra Racer, and anyone else who contributed, it payed off big time.

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

Congrats man it all helps.