Hi,
I am considering a purchase of a frame that could use a paint job. It still has all it’s decals and pin stripes. Do I have to completely sand off these? Or just a nice wet sand to scuff the existing paint job. Thanks appreciate any feedback.
It needs to be flat. Some " stickers are not stickers. Some are stickers. Rub your finger over the edges and if isn’t perfectly flat, you need to sand them off. Use either 400 or 600 wet sand paper to sand them off. The rest of the frame you can use a scotch bright scuff pad. Make sure any paint chips are painted with high build primer and sand it flat after it dries
Thank you. It’s a S3. I will check and see if it’s flat.
Always sand them off to be sure. That’s been my experience. Much harder to deal with after you paint it.
I always remove any lettering or graphics if they are not painted on. There can be a few issues with not removing them from under the clear.
- Even if you sand flat you may get a halo around the graphic. This happens more once the frame has been exposed to temp changes becuase of different expansion rates in decal and paint.
- Some decals will wrinkle when the solvent from paint hits and exposed decal material.
- The adhesive on decals is weak compared to the bond of paint on paint. This can be seen in instances where a race number decal removal pulls the decal and clearcoat off the frame.
- Proper prep is the key to great paint.
For you Cervelo the decal is under the clear and the clear can be sanded flat enough to repaint without removal.
depending on what you use to paint 400/600 sandpaper would be good for prep. Scothbright pad for the hard to reach areas.
If you have to ask - get a pro to do it. The fame will look as good as new.
thanks. there is nothing wrong with asking for learning purposes. The paint will be done by a pro.