Project Ti - finish advice please

I have acquired a painted ti bike. Its my main bike and I use it for commuting, also relevant to the discussion is that I cannot build for toffee or beer!

The frame was powdercoated, then that removed and then painted smooth and lacquered over.

I would prefer the plain ti finish not least because its got the last owners name painted on and I am tired of having black bikes.

So can I get rid of of the paint with the bits on the bike - its not ideal I know, but it means I can still commute on it and work on it.

Do I just use nitromors and rub it on and will I have to do anything to the finish underneather?

This is likely to fuck up the bike at all ?

cheers

Trying to strip a built bike sounds like a bad idea to me.

Whether you use a chemical stripper or abrasion, there is ample scope for screwing-up the components.

Not to mention that you won't be able to get at all the frame.

Are you sure it's Ti/not fucked? Powdercoating and painting a Ti frame isn't common...

It rides fine and I am sure its Ti, as I have a record from whom it was bought and sold from. Yeah, I know its not common, wish the previous guys had just left the thing alone.

Ok, good.

But it's still a bad idea.

You are right, I am just going to leave it alone and ride the fucker :-)

Good call!

And a good excuse to buy another bike...

You should be able to strip the paint using Nitromors, but I'd strongly advise that you remove all the components first. Titanium is tough stuff and a stripper like Nitromors won't damage it.

Annoyingly, the parts you'd be most likely to damage are the parts that are (for a DIYer) the hardest/costliest to remove and reinstall - the BB and Headset.
Black tape over the bits you don't like for now, ride it through Winter and strip it in Spring if you actually like the frameset. Otherwise move it on.

"New" Nitromors isn't as beefy as the old stuff: the active ingredient (Dichloromethane) has been changed.

You can still get stripper with it, but I think it was dropped on account of it being carcinogenic: proper PPE and use in a well ventilated space is a must.

I got mine from clostermanncoatings.co.uk: Sprintline HD paint stripper.

Thanks the plan to see if I like it enough otherwise go back to cheap and cheerful with kaffenback.

i think you should try to strip the bike with the parts on it. take photos.

Why not just strip the rear triangle giving it that vintage bike look instead? You face less chance of fucking shit up and it'll look good.

do it in the living room.

black is staying for now, need to get comfortable on it first.