Maybe it's a picture, but I think it needs a finishing touch.
You should get nice, shiny surface like on the pics by lo5707.
Some of my stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90178027@N ... /lightbox/"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90178027@N ... /lightbox/"

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Cervelo R5 VWD 5637g/12.43lb
Cannyon Ultimate slx 5592g/12.33lb
Pronghorn XC SW Race 8284g/18.26lb

@1spd - Nice job. Looks a lot better without the red graphics and matches your build much better now IMO. Did it all come out nice and smooth in the end? Did you do the whole bars or just the tops like you planned? Shame about the carbon wrap levers

it looks like you have revealed some of the Alu on one of the lever faces? If so cover up with a little car touch up paint if it bothers you? You could also upgrade the levers to full carbon ones like record.....(funny that people sell their shifters cheap on the bay after a crash as they scuff up their shifter....little do they know i want to strip them of clear coat any way so grab a bargain!!!)

The seat post look like you have just sanded the clear coat lightly but left it on? It just looks that way because of the light in the photo i think. I would imagine it would be easy enough to remove the rest of it. I finished all my components off with 1500 grit wet sanding to get my finish (both on any remaining clear coat or raw carbon).

Hope you found my advice about the process helpful? We only learn by giving it a go......Well done

@1415chris - The finish on your bars looks mental - hard to replicate on other components i would imagine to get them all looking like that. Are you going to strip down that Canyon? It looks like monocoque under the paint job too......?

On the post I only sanded off the graphics and not the rest of the clear coat. I left it the way it was since it was a matte finish.

As for the lever, I'm not stressed about the alu showing and may get my hands on some touchup paint but I'm not going to stress. Hell, putting paint on would just add weight! They did come out pretty smooth and I went over all of it with 600 then 1500 grit wet.

I only did the tops of the bars. I was so dang tired of scraping and what not that there was no way I was going to keep going. It then took me another 35 minutes or so to get all the cables back on and everything adjusted...only to wake up to snow falling so no ride on my freshly tuned parts.

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09 Pinella w/ Record 10spd
http://1spd.blogspot.com/

Oh, the plan is to upgrade to SR 11spd. I'll start with the RD, then FD, and a chain and eventually some levers and a cassette. So I'll just rock the Centaurs till the time comes.

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09 Pinella w/ Record 10spd
http://1spd.blogspot.com/

More time for tuning then

Wow, never thought I can save more than 10 grams just by removing clear coat on a single part! I am in the process of building a stealthy bike and has got rid of the annoying graphics on bar and cranks. But only sanding away several square centimeters of decals took me no less than 30 minutes, even I started with 150 grit sandpapers. I've tried the razor method, but to no avail. Since I haven't put on the parts, I am eager to remove all the clear coat on bar, cranks and brake levers, hopefully to cut more weight. For those that have used sandpapers to remove clear coat, is there any tip that can help speed up the process? I can't imagine spending hours attacking my bar or cranks...
BTW, does anybody know how much weight can be saved if I remove the clear coat of Rival's brake levers? If the weight difference is negligible I may spare them for more resale value

^^^No! Sanding sucks! I used the razor blade and it went pretty quick. I actually scraped (holding bade 90 degrees to bar and then scrape back and forth). Don't be scared...it actually works and is much faster than sanding. You can use the sand paper for the tight little curves and stuff that you can't get to with the blade.

Good luck and post up some pics.

I hear you on having more time to tune. I didn't plan very well...as soon as my wife figured out that I wasn't riding, she jumped into action and the next thing I knew I was on the road out of state headed to her families house. Got back at 2 AM this morning...Did get to watch the UFC fight though. We'll see, might attack the FD a little more over the next day or so.

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09 Pinella w/ Record 10spd
http://1spd.blogspot.com/

I dug out some carbon tubes cut from fork steerers and practicing the scraping method again, it turned out that I just have to push the razor a little harder to see the magic happen . The first time I tried using a razor, I held it at 45 degrees and apply too little pressure thus couldn't see any effect. Thank you 1spd for enlightenment!
But it seems that I can only scrape a tiny amount of clear coat on one stroke, I am not quite sure if it's worth the time to scrape a whole handlebar? Besides the squeal is excruciating to my ears!

Razor + ear defenders - impatience x faster harder scraping = weight saving!

Sanding does have it's place too it you didn't want to remove all the clear coat but want an even matte finish. And also for tricky components like my fiddly angled crank arms.

+1 for pics please

@1spd - good luck with that FD let's get that bad boy down under 80g

sorry, proper post below..

Here's my first attempt on stealthy parts:

.FSA K-Force cranks
1.original(pic taken from web):


2.decals removed with #150 & #600 sandpapers, then rest of the clear coat was sanded with #1000 sandpaper to create the matte look:


.Equinox(Gigantex) HR068 handlebar
1.original(taken from web, mine has marble carbon pattern):


2.After the same treatment as on cranks:


I'm really pleased with the matte look on marble patterned carbon, which looks subtle and organic, as if the parts were made of stone. I'm not very keen to totally remove all the clear coat, maybe I can shed some grams by razors but am quite lazy right now...

Great job. I like the way you have selected to keep FSA on the cranks too. If you are happy with the look then there is no reason to she'd more weight and end up with a look that you don't like as much IMO.

Artray,

Finally got that Stealthy J&L M15 Hollow Ti Crank Bolt after 6 weeks of waiting - slightly heavier than the stated 4.5g at 5.8g (Original was 16g )........It pushed my now complete crankset slightly over the 450g mark Now how to shave the final 3g off? I could drill the CF chainrings Of maybe i will just leave it as is - dropped 84g in total (excluding bb)

you stated that you are new to the WW experience but IMO, you are doing great. Most importantly, you dont sound arrogant like some others. The way you write is straight to the point and easy to understand. Your attitude is all about "fun and game", which makes idiots like me really enjoy reading/seeing your posts.

Just a thought--you mentioned the frame you getting is matte black. What about getting a white (or any other colors) and sand it down...you will then have a matte white frame. It would be cool to see a matte orange, matte red, matte green...

I can imagine keeping a matte colored frame clean would be difficult..but it would look cool with the matte-black parts that you just finished building. Again, thank you for your post, I really enjoyed it.

@1spd - good luck with that FD let's get that bad boy down under 80g[/quote]

It will be under 80 as I'm going to get a SR one! (nothing like doing some tuning with money!) The version that I am working with is just too damn heavy to start with but I used it to get an idea of what I would be up against. In this particular case, all the pins appear to be pressed in so even if I get them out, I may not be able to get them back in and have them stay in so the idea of making a ti spring and what not is sort of out the window. I may however give that a shot with the SR when I get it but will put a post up on that for some advice when the time comes.

wrcompiti-good job on the bars/crank. They came out pretty nice. I really think I should have just gone all the way with my bars but I guess I'm a little impatient. Hell, I have now been thinking about taking them off and sending them out to get ceramic coated in matte black. I am thinking about doing this to my stem, bars, seat post, crank and perhaps even my saddle. I had my XTR crank done in a ceramic finish and it is lighter than clear coat and protects much better. Not that I am worried about protecting anything but more about matching...(can't believe I just said that). Never mind, the idea sounds cool but that is money that could go towards my SR parts! Gotta stay focused!

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09 Pinella w/ Record 10spd
http://1spd.blogspot.com/