Carbon Paint Removal

[Lelandjt]

Would you sand or use a solvent to remove paint from a carbon frame? Which solvent is safe for the resin? My friend suspects there's at least 1/3lb of paint on his frame and wants to see how light he can build it so the paint has to go.

[AJS914]

Personally, I would scrape and then sand. If you hold a razor blade, exacto, or other sharp blade at a right angle to the surface it will ususally strip the paint off pretty cleanly. I did a Time frame and it came out pretty nice. I touched it up with maybe 400/600 grit wet sanding. You don't want to dry sand and then breath in the carbon dust.

Tell your friend that he may have a sort of industrial look afterwards. Frames that are painted often use bits of filler to smooth things out before painting. A bare Time frame looks pretty nice because they do such a perfect job with the carbon weave. YMMV

Maybe you remember Xena's Trek?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131970499 ... 660009870/

[Lelandjt]

Thanks for the tips. He sanded paint off a carbon swingarm earlier this year and it was a lot of work so he was hoping for a chemical solution. I just stumbled upon Carbolift. Anyone have experience with that?

[AZR3]

Razor blade is the best method. Its faster than sand paper and i wouldnt risk using chemical remover. I tried Carbolift, which is carbon safe but it took forever to do a little section, its messy and didnt even work that well.

[AJS914]

After razor blade scraping on the Time frame mentioned above, it only needed a tiny bit of wet sanding.

[NiFTY]

Razor bladed an evo frame, 2 forks, multiple seatposts, a stem, several handlebars, multiple shifters and rear derailleurs

- it is the best method. Touch up with fine grit sandpaper as mentioned.