Soda blasting carbon fibre: will it work? Or not?

[SWijland]

I recently purchased a 2005 Scott CR1 SL frameset which I plan to use for a lightweight bike that I am currently building for a friend of mine. He is on a tight budget, so I am trying to loose a much grams as possible for the least amount of money. One of the things I have been thinking about, is stripping the clear coat of the frame. I tried this before a while back with Carbolift but it didn't do the trick for me. I don't feel like sanding it down or using a razorblade, so that is why I am considering to get the frame soda blasted.

I know of two forum members who had there frames soda blasted: 'johnymac' (Dean) and 'stumpys' (Scott Plasma). I sent a PM to both, but no replies so far. Does anybody have any experience with soda blasting on carbon fibre? From what I have read online so far it should be safe to use on carbon fibre...

[Krull]

meanwhile any experiences with soda-blasting??????

[v0coder]

I got a litespeed c1 soda blasted, the results were not good. There were so many deep gouges and the finish looked so bad that I ended up having to use a ton of bondo and just did a cheap rustoleum spray paint. Whether this was because the blasters were not skilled with doing carbon fiber (they said they had done a lot of cf car parts), or because of the workmanship of the frame, I don't know.

But I wouldn't do it again for any frame I actually cared about, luckily I didn't for this one.

[Krull]

thanks for answering.
i sent a stevens slc carbonframe for soda-blasting to Company "Mr. Soda Blaster" in Berlin/Germany.
Just talked to the owner, concerning potential damages in the frame-surface. He said, he is always starting at the bottom bracket area-if there show any problems, like yours, he stops and sends the untreated frame back, if paint-removing works without any damages, frame can be stripped.
lets see, i will report when frame is returned to me.

[RichTheRoadie]

For info, my Ti frame was soda blasted when it was repaired. Not sure I'd be keen on doing carbon though.

[964Cup]

What will you do to protect the frame if you remove the clearcoat?

[NiFTY]

I would not soda blast a carbon frame. Just get a razor and sandpaper, its easy. No harsh chemicals, you can keep an eye on the depth.

[Fuchspk]

The razor is the best way to do it! But a skilled blasterguy should not have any trouble with soda. You van even use normal fine sand if you just watch out and be careful. I toke some parts once and tried to destroy them with my sandblaster and it really took a long time for some parts.

964Cup - you do not need to protect the frame. Works fine without anything.

[P3PO]

I used a razor blade to remove all the paint from a 2000 Trek 5200 carbon frame, it took me about 3 hours start to finish and it shed 80g. The finish turned out pretty good, its hard to get the paint off the cable stops so I left them and I did knick the carbon a little deep in two spots but I have ridden the frame for a whole year since I did this and have had absolutely no problems with it. I am a commercial painter by trade and I choose this method over using a chemical paint removal method because of simplicity and I didn't want to take a chance damaging the carbon with a solvent.

[andreszucs]

I used a razor blade to remove all the paint from a 2000 Trek 5200 carbon frame, it took me about 3 hours start to finish and it shed 80g. The finish turned out pretty good, its hard to get the paint off the cable stops so I left them and I did knick the carbon a little deep in two spots but I have ridden the frame for a whole year since I did this and have had absolutely no problems with it. I am a commercial painter by trade and I choose this method over using a chemical paint removal method because of simplicity and I didn't want to take a chance damaging the carbon with a solvent.

Is that how it's done? and I'm assuming we shouldn't be concerned to use this same technique on carbon?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqDNFvj4WqM

[P3PO]

if you scape your frame the way the guy in your video does it the blade will dig into the frame, when I scraped my frame I dragged the blade backward at a steep angle and that peels a thin strip of paint off without digging into the carbon.

[andreszucs]

Good call, thanks, better ask...BEFORE!

[P3PO]

you need a light touch, too much pressure and you'll peel a strip out of your frame, and go length wise down the tubes, BTW you can throw your warranty away as soon as you do this to your frame.

[andreszucs]

Of course! It's a second hand 2010 Scott spark, old paint.

[ToffieBoi]

I am riding on a 2009 Tarmac frame and I am a bit bored of the color scheme now.

Peeling off all the paint sounds like a good idea. Totally different frame for free
But, do you guys recommend to ride a frame naked like that?
I am living near seaside, which means salt. Also strong sunlight can be a problem I guess?