Getting an old frame refinished and am getting a quote to have the old finish removed. The shop has asked what the current finish is (I think if its powdercoated the process is a lot more labor intensive) but embarassingly I don’t know.
Is there an easy way to tell? This is a cheap aluminum LeMond frame with the original finish including decals if that helps.
Thanks
Powdercoat is a type of paint. What they are asking (or should be) is what type of resin is used in the paint. That will determine how easy it is to strip. For instance an epoxy resin (which can be used in podercoat or liquid paint) is tougher to remove than urethane resins. You aren’t likely to find out which resin was used. Most bike have paint which will vary from easy to remove to medium. The toughest paints aren’t normally used on bikes because they aren’t normally as attractive.
Be sure to find out how the painter will remove the paint if they don’t specialize in bikes. The normal choices are:
Chemical removal - Normally safe steel, maybe safe for aluminum, probably will destroy carbon.
Abrasive removal - Can be safe on anything, can destroy anything depending on the abrasive media.
Burn off oven - Normally safe on welded steel/Ti, may destroy brazed frames, will certainly destroy al, carbon frames.
Styrrell
To the best of my knowledge Lemond has never powdercoated any of their frames, especially the less expensive ones.