# Decided to RAW my frame...PICS



## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

Tell me what you guys think. =)


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## iliketoride (Dec 18, 2007)

r u gonna polish it? ive been wanting to polish my ss1


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

probably not...I threw a bit of clear coat on there, but i have a feeling that if i polish it it won't turn out uniform.


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## Swell Guy (Jan 20, 2005)

VERY cool. I love it raw. Wait..., that didn't come out right. But, you know what I mean.


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

I'm super happy with it....it feels like I have a brand new bike. =)


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

looks really cool. infact i have an airborne taka ( same bike ) and i really like this 
hmmmm :thumbsup:


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## jstahmann (Aug 10, 2009)

kingofthemountain82 said:


> probably not...I threw a bit of clear coat on there, but i have a feeling that if i polish it it won't turn out uniform.


Don't even mess with the clear coat. I stripped the paint off a Cannondale in the early 90s and never clear coated or polished it. Looked great and still does (just a little more patina now).


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## Luigiugueto (Oct 16, 2007)

No need for clearcoat unless you polish. When Aluminum rusts it creates a dull look, which is actually a protective coat. Itll keep looking that way (like your 6th pic).

I helped out a buddy of mine to remove the paintjob from his Jamis Parker a couple of months ago. Still looks awesome, really dig that look. Plus its fun to completely tear apart the bike, use some weird chemicals and put it back together with some new bits. I agree, its a new bike.


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

I'm loving how clean it is right now after tearing it apart and cleaning everything super thoroughly. =D


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

sweet....looks great


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I think your are going to hell for scraping those nice Iron Horse graphics... Then because you put a dual-crown drop off which is bigger then mine and now your bike look even more badass then my '06 Iron Horse yakuza Aniki...



Take a lot of guts to do it, so congratz :thumbsup:

David


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

Luigiugueto said:


> ...When Aluminum _*rusts*_...


oxidizes...


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Do the bare aluminum can start being unevenly oxidized or dull as the bike get older and used, dirty, then cleaned, etc... ? Do scratches are visible if they happens ?

Thanks,

David


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## naptownryder (Aug 10, 2011)

looks great man! steel wool will polish that right up, if you spend enough time with the wool and some rubbing compound it will almost turn chrome.


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## naptownryder (Aug 10, 2011)

oh and if its aluminum use the bronze wool as it will not scratch as much.


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

I spent my fair share of time with steel wool getting paint out of those tricky areas. don't want to see that stuff again for at least ohhhh we'll say.....4 months. haha.


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## HighTitan (Jan 26, 2007)

Luckily mine was already raw when I got it, so I just polished it up a bit. Takes a lot of work and after a few months it starts to dull out which sucks.

2012 GT Alloy Fury:


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

SAAHHHWeeet


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## Allmtnman (May 15, 2008)

Welcome to the RAW crew! I am gonna do my trail bike this winter. I guess I am a glutten for punishment. My DH bike just looks so cool raw. Not that I could give a crap about what stuff looks like. It's nice to have that personal effect though.


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## bridgestone14 (Mar 22, 2005)

Can you not just clear coat it to keep the shine? or does the paint dull it too much
?


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## bugsdad (Oct 14, 2005)

*Raw Nomad!*

After realizing that I needed to change out my bearings I decided to strip my 06 Nomad of it's liquid blue skin. I love the way it looks! It was actually pretty easy. Used Jasco stripper and most of it came right off. The rest came off with a wire brush and some elbow grease. Thinking about getting new SC downtube decals but not sure yet.

Never going back to color!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bugsdad said:


> After realizing that I needed to change out my bearings I decided to strip my 06 Nomad of it's liquid blue skin. I love the way it looks! It was actually pretty easy. Used Jasco stripper and most of it came right off. The rest came off with a wire brush and some elbow grease. Thinking about getting new SC downtube decals but not sure yet.
> 
> Never going back to color!


That is one heck of a sexy bike !

Lucky you to ride it


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## dmorris (Jul 20, 2011)

Looks great! If you do decide to polish it up, Mother's Mag/Aluminum wheel polish and a Mother's mini powerball do wonders and do it fast. I use it for the tunnel on my snowmobile but it works for any polishable metal as well. Total its about a 30 dollar investment.


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

sandpaper + mothers aluminum polish + a rag =

saint cranks:


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

Whoa...that nomad and those cranks look SICK!


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## MaxBS (Mar 30, 2008)

Sup guys,

I know there are comments here and there on how people have stripped there frames etc.

Could someone please tell me what exactly I need in order to strip a frame of its paint and then polish it, seeing as I am currently working on a hardtail project.

Cheers


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Looks sick... so shiny.. just need to add dirt :thumbsup:


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## __Z__ (Aug 11, 2011)

i do love raw.... raw ti, or cf has to be my fav though


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## bugsdad (Oct 14, 2005)

MaxBS said:


> Sup guys,
> 
> I know there are comments here and there on how people have stripped there frames etc.
> 
> ...


Hey Man...
I can't reply on the polishing cuz I like it natural but I can tell you how to stip it.
Here's how to do it...
Go to Lowes and get a can of Jasco paint stripper. It's in the paint department. Grab a pair of thick, chemical resistant gloves, a cheap paint brush or 2 and an empty quart size paint storage can. Take your bike apart and lay it out on cardboard. Put some Jasco in the quart paint can and brush it all over your frame. Within minutes the paint will bubble up and seperate from the frame. I just used a high pressure nozzle on my hose and blasted the stuff off. A true power washer would no doubt work better. Rinse repeat until all of the paint is gone. I ended up needing to use a small wire toothbrush like tool I had in the garage to get the powder coat out of the tight areas and some of the welds. Wasnt' too hard. WORD OF CAUTION! Between coats I put the lid on the quart size paint can that I poured the Jasco into and went in the house for a bit. Came back out and started prying open the paint can and KABLOOEY!...some serious pressure built up in that can and the lid blew off and shot across the driveway. Stripper sprayed out and landed on my arms. I never ran so fast to a bathroom to rinse it off before my skin bubbled up. 
So...don't seal that paint can and leave it in the sun. 
Hope this helps!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bugsdad said:


> Hey Man...
> I can't reply on the polishing cuz I like it natural but I can tell you how to stip it.
> Here's how to do it...
> Go to Lowes and get a can of Jasco paint stripper. It's in the paint department. Grab a pair of thick, chemical resistant gloves, a cheap paint brush or 2 and an empty quart size paint storage can. Take your bike apart and lay it out on cardboard. Put some Jasco in the quart paint can and brush it all over your frame. Within minutes the paint will bubble up and seperate from the frame. I just used a high pressure nozzle on my hose and blasted the stuff off. A true power washer would no doubt work better. Rinse repeat until all of the paint is gone. I ended up needing to use a small wire toothbrush like tool I had in the garage to get the powder coat out of the tight areas and some of the welds. Wasnt' too hard. WORD OF CAUTION! Between coats I put the lid on the quart size paint can that I poured the Jasco into and went in the house for a bit. Came back out and started prying open the paint can and KABLOOEY!...some serious pressure built up in that can and the lid blew off and shot across the driveway. Stripper sprayed out and landed on my arms. I never ran so fast to a bathroom to rinse it off before my skin bubbled up.
> ...


How you can achieve a chrome like look off a alu frame ? And would it be faster to simply sandblast the frame, then polish it up ? I can get any frame sandblasted for about $15 only...

Thanks,

David


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

David C said:


> How you can achieve a chrome like look off a alu frame ? And would it be faster to simply sandblast the frame, then polish it up ? I can get any frame sandblasted for about $15 only...
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David


Do not sandblast if you want to polish a frame. Polishing is the material being even and smooth a sandblast would do the opposite and make it a nightmare to polish back out.

Chemical stripper a brass brush and a couple plastic scrapers along with 0000 Steele wool will make short work of the PC or paint.

You can hit it with 2000 grit paper and then polish with mothers to get a mirror finish the new speed ball from mothers and a drill helps out as well. Polish with terry c.other finish with, microfiber


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bullcrew said:


> Do not sandblast if you want to polish a frame. Polishing is the material being even and smooth a sandblast would do the opposite and make it a nightmare to polish back out.
> 
> Chemical stripper a brass brush and a couple plastic scrapers along with 0000 Steele wool will make short work of the PC or paint.
> 
> You can hit it with 2000 grit paper and then polish with mothers to get a mirror finish the new speed ball from mothers and a drill helps out as well. Polish with terry c.other finish with, microfiber


How long the mirror like finish will last before having to repolish it again ? Or can you add a protective coating over it ?

Thanks,

David


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

David C said:


> How long the mirror like finish will last before having to repolish it again ? Or can you add a protective coating over it ?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David


Aluminum scuffs fairly easy its a soft material so cranks will need to be sanded and mothers polish or high sped buff more often because of shoes hitting them. Frames will be OK for a bit oxidization will dull it a little but mother makes short work of it.

You can clear but make sure all polish is off or. The clear will peel and be more work than you want.
I'd look at having a clear PC done to it.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bullcrew said:


> Aluminum scuffs fairly easy its a soft material so cranks will need to be sanded and mothers polish or high sped buff more often because of shoes hitting them. Frames will be OK for a bit oxidization will dull it a little but mother makes short work of it.
> 
> You can clear but make sure all polish is off or. The clear will peel and be more work than you want.
> I'd look at having a clear PC done to it.


Yep, if I raw the bike, its probably be the frame only, and other components might get sandblast or chrome job... What about simply have the frame chromed ? 

And yes, I would have it by PC if I put a clear coat on. Is a HT or rigid looking as good as a full suspension bike or is it kinda lame then ?

Thanks,

David


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## kmpap (Aug 16, 2011)

Nice. I prefer it raw. Sweet bike.


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

ahhh....i can't stop... i think i'm going to do the rear triangle next hahah!

renthal fatbars:


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## aedubber (Apr 17, 2011)

^^^ BOSSSSS right there.. HAHA looks really sick man love it... What seat you have on your spec? Is that a full CF saddle or ?


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

aedubber said:


> ^^^ BOSSSSS right there.. HAHA looks really sick man love it... What seat you have on your spec? Is that a full CF saddle or ?


Thanks.

Naw it's a Tioga Spyder Twin Tail:

TIOGA USA


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## pakimoefaux (Apr 6, 2010)

In the words of the late ODB, Ooh baby i like it raw....

Lookin good...


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

THOSE BARS ARE NUTS :thumbsup: 

so just put the stripper on with a brush wash it off. repeat . and then mother's polish? really 

that will make my bars look like that? 

again sooooooo sick


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## awandrade (Aug 17, 2011)

this thread is about to make me take my new bike apart because i dont like it with paint now lol


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

Gilly32 said:


> THOSE BARS ARE NUTS :thumbsup:
> 
> so just put the stripper on with a brush wash it off. repeat . and then mother's polish? really
> 
> ...


i didnt use any stripper.. i just used different grits of sandpaper (180, 320, 600, quick buff 1500), mothers mags & aluminum polish, a rag, and about 2-3 hours of elbow grease.


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## Jason B (Aug 15, 2008)

ustemuf said:


> i didnt use any stripper.. i just used different grits of sandpaper (180, 320, 600, quick buff 1500), mothers mags & aluminum polish, a rag, and about 2-3 hours of elbow grease.


You were rewarded handsomely - the bars are sick as hell.


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## Kyle2834 (May 4, 2007)

Won't scratches, like you get when mounting bars in the clamp of a stem, lead to potential stress risers on a polished bar? I thought the purpose of bead blasting on handlebars was to give a barrier for scratches to occur while keeping the failure point of the bars within a predictable margin.

Oh well, they do look awesome. The whole bike was tastefully done. :thumbsup:


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

i didnt polish where the stem clamps to the bar, it's still original there. also towards the ends of the grips. i'm not worried about it, if they get f'd up i'll buy new ones and do it again


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## saturnine (Mar 28, 2007)

raw is not a verb. nothing in this thread was "rawed". strip and stripped are the words you're looking for.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

saturnine said:


> raw is not a verb. nothing in this thread was "rawed". strip and stripped are the words you're looking for.


I was looking for some strippin' and got here... damn. But still some nice sexy bikes here.


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

Finally took the raw to polished today


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## sonic reducer (Apr 12, 2010)

Bullcrew that sunday is epic!! what did you use to polish it? you must have worked up in grits?



MaxBS said:


> Sup guys,
> 
> I know there are comments here and there on how people have stripped there frames etc.
> 
> ...


after a few frames under my belt, i'm not a fan of doing it by hand.
the strippers in a spray can and brush on gels are pretty mediocre imho. i have used them many times. it's labor intensive, gross, and toxic. if you have a frame with a lot of nooks and crannies and some decent paint, it's going to be a lot of work. what is your time worth? take the frame to a powdercoater and have them dunk it in their chemical tank for a bare aluminum, just fabricated look. it cost me $40 to have my sunday done. nice and industrial. media blasting or sandblasting provides a nice uniform finish that looks pretty good.

chemical dipped sunday


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## drastic. (Nov 22, 2010)

ustemuf said:


> sandpaper + mothers aluminum polish + a rag =
> 
> saint cranks:


makes me want to do my cranks....

how do they hold up after a few outtings though?


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

sonic reducer said:


> Bullcrew that sunday is epic!! what did you use to polish it? you must have worked up in grits ]


Thanks yeah done a fair amount of custom stuff over the years and by far working up in grit is the best.
600, 800, 1000 and a light scuff of 1200 grit then mothers with Terry cloth followed by micrifiber


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

bullcrew said:


> Thanks yeah done a fair amount of custom stuff over the years and by far working up in grit is the best.
> 600, 800, 1000 and a light scuff of 1200 grit then mothers with Terry cloth followed by micrifiber


looks GREAT MAN.....i'm a lil new tho the whole idea of the raw look...does it stay that polished or dose the finish wear off and you have to do it again?

and as far as sanding it down by going up the grits then using mothers...when you do the 1200 grit for a lil then put the mothers on. how long dose it take for the mothers to shine it up?

i'm gunna start with a set of junk bars for practice


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

Gilly32 said:


> looks GREAT MAN.....i'm a lil new tho the whole idea of the raw look...does it stay that polished or dose the finish wear off and you have to do it again?
> 
> and as far as sanding it down by going up the grits then using mothers...when you do the 1200 grit for a lil then put the mothers on. how long dose it take for the mothers to shine it up?
> 
> i'm gunna start with a set of junk bars for practice


Use the 1200 last when you first hit it you will feel a little more resistance a few scuffs back and forth it slides easier that's how you can tell it leveled the surface and ready to move on.
Mothers doesn't take long use a terry cllth for the polishing it levels the aluminum surface better and final wipe polish no mothers with a microfiber.
Doesn't take long with mlthers do small areas at a time and you will see it go dark with black smudge wipe and it should look like chrome.

Mothers lasts pretty decent the material is soft so it will scuff ligjtly but redoing mothers over it when it oxidizes is simple and NO where near as hard as polishing or buffing out 1200


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bullcrew said:


> Finally took the raw to polished today


Look awesome :thumbsup:

Nice job and wow !

David


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

There its done.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Pure sex :arf:


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## aedubber (Apr 17, 2011)

Looks great guys !! Polished items hold up good as long as you always just keep it clean and apply a cleaner/protector once in a while . One of my cars i used to compete with in car shows , I had the engine bay shaved and fitted with many polished parts . Always held up great for a long time ... If your frame is already smooth with no type of damage or scratches you can start with the highr grit already .. I would go With 800 then 1000 1500 then 2000 wet sanding .. Once it's done you can use a fine cutting compound or just go straight to polishing .


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

Just did my bars tonight and they came out AWESOME i'll throw some pics up tommorow


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## Chuckie (Dec 26, 2006)

oh man, looks great, Morewood are bringing out a raw makulu this year and seeing these pics makes me want!!


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

hey real quick i was wondering......is this gunna rust really easy? i just did my bars yesterday and now that its basicaly bare metal are they gunna rust once they get wet?


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

Aluminum oxidizes it doesnt rust


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

if i have gravity maximus bars, can i strip the paint off of them? and would sandpaper work?


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

I think that either a raw or polished aluminum finish is absolutely awesome. I prefer to watch from a distance though as i don't intend on doing it to any of my own bikes. Has anyone seen the polished boxxer?


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## Norcoshore1 (Apr 28, 2010)

Moosey said:


> if i have gravity maximus bars, can i strip the paint off of them? and would sandpaper work?


I saw this thread and thought the same thing. I had the rocky branded bars I took off my flatline and decided to try it out since I wasnt using it anyways. If they have a bead blasted finish it is a pain in the arse to get the paint off if you are doing it by hand. It took me about 3 hours to get the bars to the finished product, about 1.5 of those were just sweating away trying to get all the paint off. I didnt have a high enough grit to get the mirror finish but I think I did pretty good considering I only had as fine as 600 sandpaper. And btw, supposedly (I may be wrong) but sanding down a bar with a bead blasted finish actually reduces its resistance to cracking so dont do it to a bar you really care about or plan on using heavily!


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

HEY OP .

could you put up a few pictures of your Iron horse? i'm thinkin about doing this to my taka and kinda would like like to see some more of how urs looks 1st....( there's not really an undo button on stripping paint) 

thnaks man


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## Gman086 (Jul 4, 2004)

For those that want the mirror finish look here's a couple HUGE tips for you:
1. Hoosier's metal polish works twice as fast with half the effort as Mother's (or any other polish I've tried): W.T.I Fenders - Add the finishing touch - Kentland, Indiana - Tractor Trailer Truck Fenders - Hoosier Metal Polish
2. Use baking flour on the polishing cloth to remove the oxidized aluminum and dried polish. Don't laugh - it works!!!

We polish out sled's tunnels (snowmobiles for you southerners) and this is the ONLY way to go!!!

Have FUN!

G MAN


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Fabulous looking bike bullcrew! 
This thread has got me itching to do this with my bike as a winter project :thumbsup:


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## kingofthemountain82 (Aug 15, 2007)

Gilly32 said:


> HEY OP .
> 
> could you put up a few pictures of your Iron horse? i'm thinkin about doing this to my taka and kinda would like like to see some more of how urs looks 1st....( there's not really an undo button on stripping paint)
> 
> thnaks man


here ya go.


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

haha i ment now that its stripped


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## robin_hood (Feb 8, 2006)

kingofthemountain82 said:


> Tell me what you guys think. =)


Nice, what did you use to strip the paint?


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

......still looking for some more RAW frame pictures. i'm thinking about doing my frame this winter but not quite sure yet... i did my bars and i love them. 

just trying to get a better idea what i'm going to end up with. thanks :thumbsup:


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hey guys, while preparing my bike for my winter commute, I'm currently in the process of the new paint job for the rear triangle. It's steel and will rust without protection, but I was really tempted to raw it for the look, then put a clear coat. But I made some test and because of the low tolerance uniformity of commercial clear coat, the result isn't that good as a nice powder clear coat. So what are you suggesting for product to clear coat it ?

I also have a airbrush and clear coat paint, but it would take quite a lot of the paint only for the frame...

I was thinking maybe to raw some parts and then mask them, then paint the frame black, then remove the masking, clean up glue and clear coat everything. So I could have some custom graphics in silver and black.

But is it a good idea at first to raw steel or should I limit it to alu parts or stainless ones ?

Btw, I've tried beadblasting a alu crank arm, then I have a buffer/grinder mounted on a bench and with some pillorying paste and I get to the mirror look in only a few seconds after polishing the arm. Might be a faster way then sanding down every parts by hand then ?

David


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## Scruffynerfhearder (Nov 20, 2011)

It turned out nicee


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## Funrover (Oct 4, 2006)

Great looking set up on here!


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## fermenter (Feb 19, 2008)

+++ On the Mothers Mag Wheel Polish. It's the finishing touch. I rawed and polished my old Gary Fisher Joshua and bought my Turner raw. The Fisher was a hell of a lot of sanding, filing and polishing even before shining with Mothers. The Turner took a little bit of work here and there.


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## Gilly32 (Mar 28, 2010)

^ wow :thumbsup:


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## retrofred (Jan 19, 2004)

seeing all the frames stripped of their paint and in the raw makes me wanna do that to my 08 demo 8.


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)




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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

the front triangle is chromed steel though...


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

That's intriguing. Do you have a picture of the whole thing?


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> the front triangle is chromed steel though...


Nice, nothing wrong with that.


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## fermenter (Feb 19, 2008)

Gman086 said:


> For those that want the mirror finish look here's a couple HUGE tips for you:
> 1. Hoosier's metal polish works twice as fast with half the effort as Mother's (or any other polish I've tried): W.T.I Fenders - Add the finishing touch - Kentland, Indiana - Tractor Trailer Truck Fenders - Hoosier Metal Polish
> 2. Use baking flour on the polishing cloth to remove the oxidized aluminum and dried polish. Don't laugh - it works!!!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip on the Hoosier's!


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