[Cyclomatic]

Anybody got any clue how to get spray paint of a bike? I was looking on Craigslist and there's a bike that I liked. I contacted the seller and he said that the bike was in good condition but that he had spray painted it a few years back and it was starting to flake. First question is how would I get the old paint off? Second question Would having any of the gears chains brake lines being spray painted affect the riding ability of the bike and third what would I use to repaint the bike? I know it's long sorry guys.

[Industry_Hack]

Can you link to it? Removing paint depends on what kind they used, and how much prep work they did. If they sprayed it while it was still assembled, that suggests STOLEN, usually.

[Michigander]

Different cleaning chemicals will do different things. There are probably chemicals you could use that would dissolve only the crap paint, and leave the good stuff underneath. But it would take careful experimenting. And any time you just want bare metal that can be arranged with a stronger chemical paint thinner or something similar.

And about painting while assembled, I agree with the likely stolen assessment. The only time I've seen someone do that when it wasn't stolen, it was done by someone who was inexperienced, and never intended to get rid of their bike, and wanted to make it look cheap and unattractive to thieves. Not the sort of thing you'd likely do to a bike you don't care about and intend to sell, unless you had stolen it.

Although, I suppose it would be a decently cheap and easy way to prevent frame rust in the colder and wetter or saltier parts of the country.

[singahead]

What kind of paint are you planning to use on it when you get the old paint off? Would using sandpaper be a bad idea?

[Cyclomatic]

I don't know yet. What do you recommend? I don't know if I should be though. I didn't buy it yet but I'm thinking about it.

[gatorguy]

You could have tear it down and have the whole thing blasted and repainted or powder coated. Kind of expensive, but nice if you're looking at keeping the bike.

[funetical]

I stripped a bike not to long ago and if you use fine grit paper and a mask you should be ok. Take it down to just after the gloss to keep from scratching the metal and then paint over it. You don't have to remove all the paint in order to repaint. It's better that you don't then you won't have to prime the metal. Painting over paint works better for after market painting I've found. You can use spray paint again, just make sure to use a sealer spray over the paint when it dries.

[paultech6]

look into getting it bead blasted or soda blasted then you can check the welds too make sure there is no cracking or perferations in the weld then have it powder coated whatever color you want and you will never have to worry about nicks or scratches again
paul