Carbolift never replied to my emails. Sandpaper and hard work got my paint off. Takes a while but it's a safe option

I just placed my order. After a couple emails and a lot of bad links this is where I ended up.

http://store.trainingfx.com/Carbo-Lift-500ml

Sent them an email if they still had some in stock (after dealing with supplier that doesn't reply). They answered my question about how much I need (500ml will work for 1.5 road frames). I bought from them with confidence and it shipped next day.

@skinnywater,good link,its just a pity Im in Europe and that shop is in Canada!

They have a warehouse in the UK.
I have used it and it's not going to strip all the paint of your bike that easy. Much better off using a craftknife.

If you don't have the ability to source Carbo-lift and want something a little more economical, I have had great success with SmarStrip Pain Remover which I used on a carbon frame. Put a nice coat on. Wrapped it in saran wrap and let it sit over night. Paint came off very nicely. Here is a link: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/catalog/smart-strip-paint-remover/

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"Sacred to the god Aesculapius"

So I got my hands on a 2009 Addict R3,white, with the rear seat/chain stays in black and hints of gold here and there.It looks truely awful.So I started to use a scraper with a Stanley knife blade in it,and used the "pull back" method as advised by a few people on here.After 8 hours alot of the paint is off,and I reckon I have another 2 hours tomorrow with the scraper to get the rest off.But I know already its going to be hell removing the paint thats left in the hard to reach places like the headtube,bb,drop outs and rear brake bridge etc.The addict has 4 layers on it,a grey primer,then black paint,then white paint and finished off with a gloss clearcoat.I tried a little section on the headtube tonight,using 240 grit wet and dry by hand,and the paint was a b1tch to sand off.Its nearly bulletproof paint!! My fingers,hands,wrists and elbows are sore,and the thoughts of going back to the frame tomorrow is killing me.To anyone else thinking of stripping/sanding their carbon frame,take my advice........It ain't easy,be prepared for lots of hard work!!!! Sorry for the rant guys.

Will you be able to give us before and after weights?
My guess is 150g of paint

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r o y g b i v

Of course I will Bob.The painted 56cm frame with rear mech dropout and the BB mounted cable guide was 1015g.Will post nude weight whenever I get all the paint off!!

I'm also removing paint. My frame is a cervelo r3 2008 model. I started with a blade but went with sandpaper since i also have a thick layer primer that is almost impossible to penetrate with a blade, also my frame has some patches of carbon so that you can't use a blade without destroy the frame. The frame started out weighing 879 gr and is now down to 800 gr. I reckon it will go down to close to 790 gr. Like hillrider said: it's hard work. I think I've used about 12 hours so far

Wrong thread.

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Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

It took just 3 hours to get the paint of this Trek 5900 superlight, It was very thick and quite a few colours I Just lightly cut into the paint and dragged it off . It came off in big strips . A few bits of wet and dry in awkward places . I must have been Lucky ,,, check it out viewtopic.php?f=10&t=108728" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A quick update,I now have 14 hrs invested in this paint stripping penance! I had 240 grit as my roughest abrasive,but gave up on that and purchased some 120 grit.The 120 still was'nt shifting the paint in the tricky area's,so I went to my local hardware store and got a "medium" grade sanding block.This is now removing the paint,so I now have light at the end of the sanding tunnel!! I reckon another 3 hrs and I "should" be finished!! I've learned a few things about stripping paint from carbon frames.,.....
1.The blade technique works well on easy to get to places,I reckon 20 Stanley blades will be used in total.
2.Using 120 grade wet and dry is'nt enough to remove hard to get at area's,get a medium sanding block.
3.Bare carbon is way more resistant to damage than I thought,some info on the web suggested starting with 480 grade wet and dry,using 480 would take weeks to remove paint,my medium sanding block is'nt scratching the carbon finish.
4.I thought I was flexible on my bike with my slammed stem,but hand stripping/sanding this frame proves otherwise,my fingers,wrists,elbow's,back,hips and knee's are all hurting from bending over/kneeling from the work envolved.
5.I've saved 80g in weight so far,this makes me happy,and gives me heart to keep sanding!!

Tomorrow Im off work,so its back to the paint strippingl!!

Hi,



Don't forget the 2 kg you lost whilst sanding as well....

Ciao,

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Being a snob is an expensive hobby.