Any question answered...

This might be the best idea!

Thanks also Tester, will check those out

double post

I've had two letters surcharged due to "invalid stamp".

On both occasions, I've paid £2.50 to see what it was that had the fee owning.

I can't see why this stamp is invalid - any ideas? Both items were DL size envelopes with valid looking stamps on them.

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Were the letters too thick or too heavy? Does the 'bar'code scan with the Royal Mail app?

Letters were not thick or heavy. Didn't know the bar code app was a thing, will have a look at that.

Letters were not thick or heavy

They're super pedantic about the 5mm thick boundary between Letter and Large Letter

My parents (and my in-laws) have been reusing the new barcode stamps since they often aren't franked.

They were surprised when I told them that it could cost the recipient a fee if they detect them as being reused. "I've done it a couple of times with no problem" was the answer I got from my parents, which they use as justification that they can continue to do this forever.

I reckon this might be the best place for this question.

I'm hoping someone 'on here' maybe even owned this frame at some stage?

help needed identifying an NJS frame.

Do they also casually shoplift?

Wouldn't surprise me. Bloody boomers.

Shoplifted the futures of the generations that come after them, right?

I'm sure it's been answered before but what's the best way to strip paint from a frame? I'm thinking of tarting my Pompino up a bit with a DIY paint job.

The best way is to get someone else to do it. It's a horrible job and you'll regret ever starting it.

Ha! As above, taking it to get media blasted is money well spent I reckon

Another advocate for shot/bead blasting here. Protect things like BB threads.

Anyone know where I can buy CAT6A keystone jacks in London today?

I’ve tried the RS Components trade counter, no luck…

I’ve just done one with paint stripper and wire brushes and it was difficult and messy so I say let someone else do it.

I Cleenz Macheenz have a good reputation in the motorbike world

https://www.icmhome.org.uk/contact

And are conveniently close?

I used air cure 2k the base coat worked brilliantly but the lacquer was a complete mess

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What happened with the lacquer?

Also, I hope you used an air-fed mask and suit; the isocyanates in 2K-in-a-can are gnarly business…

It was non-Isocyanate 2k.

The drying is very variable, in some places it pulled up the edges of the decals. It skinned and wrinkled on the forks.

Which non-iso 2K product did you use? Was both the base and lacquer from the same range?

No……that could be the problem……..I couldn’t find cheap supplier who could do the obscure colour and satin lacquer

@hippy or anyone else, please tell me about touring / riding long distances (mostly off road) in trainers. I commute on falts but use spds for everything else but am lining up a long tandem tour and was think I might go flats and clips and straps. Trainers would be my nike off road running shoes, weather would be summer but likely some rainy days, I have size 13 boats.

I did 4 days/320km of lanes and off-road through Mid-Wales with Adidas Trailcross and flat pedals. I ride flats all the time these days, MTB, commuting, gravel etc.

Media blasting is the quickest/most-common way to strip ferrous metals.

There are a few variables in terms of blast medium, pressure, distance, application etc.
It's quite an agricultural process all-told and lots of industries utilise it... to that end, you will find many people who have a blaster in their workshops. You don't need a qualification or a certificate from the Local Authority to buy a blasting setup. That considered then, you'll find there is good media blasting and bad media blasting.

Taking it to someone who isn't experienced in bikes can be an unwise decision as they might not protect threads or appropriately bung any breather/drainage holes on your bike... this will almost certainly see you get shitty dust and grit in your work when you move it around!

In a worst case scenario, a bike can be destroyed; I've seen it happen. On a lugged bike, the lugs can have their crisp shorelines compromised for example.

If you go the blasting route, I'd recommend being clear with the person doing it for you, what you will expect of the job in terms of masking etc. There are people who will take a tenner off you to blast a bike in an hour. There are people who will bill you £200 and take a day to do the same thing. Spending £50-£90 is potentially a good indication of the blaster understanding the value of their work, and your substrate.

Most blasting processes will change the texture of the surface of the steel. Sometimes they will also remove steel. The goal is for the blast medium to be harder than the paint but softer than the steel... aluminium oxide is common and in an optimal circumstance you would prefer it to be fresh/not-recycled from another project as this used medium will have bits of whatever was blasted off the surface of the job before yours; if that's paint then no worries, but if its rusted metal and corroding bits of shit, then you should swerve it.

You'll usually want to prep the steel surface once it's been blasted. Abrading it with a 120 grit and red scotchbrite is a good bet. The scores and scratches from the abrasives will make sharp edged peaks and troughs into which the primers will flow and "tesselate" for the mechanical bond. The finish from blasting usually leaves a softer-edged, more uniform texture and this gives a less-effective 'key'.

I'd recommend you get all your finishing stuff sorted before it goes to blasting so that you can start as soon as it comes back and it spends as little time as possible in a raw state.

If you want to go the route of stripping it yourself chemically, this will give you the benefit of being able to maintain the surface of the steel to a higher standard but it will in turn mean you've got to deal with some nasty, nasty chemicals. In my daily work, I would use Starchem Synstrip on steel but I'd effectively have a full power-ranger hazmat suit on 'cause this stuff really will burn your skin. For a DIYer, work in a clean space, work from the bottom up, cover the bike, wrap it in tin foil, go to lunch, come back and then working top-down, use the scrunched up foil to gently scrape it all clean. Depending on the paint, you might not even need to abrade with the foil at all, the stuff will just peel right off on its own. In rare instances, you'll need a couple of rounds. As soon as you've stripped it, you'll need to abrade it and clean it and dry it to prevent rust. I usually only like to chemically strip non-ferrous metals as on occasion I'll need to use water to clean off or neutralise the stripper.

Unless you are a strict "don't pay someone to do something you can do yourself" type person, or if you plan to do a few projects, chemical stripping isn't the way to go really.

I tend to save a few frames and make a trip to the blaster once I've got a car full of projects. If you want to get your frameset to me, it can join my batch and I'll contact you once it's done, usually a couple of weeks later. It'll be £50. You can also ask for tips/tricks and I'll give you some abrasives so you don't have to buy a box of red scotch in order to use two pieces of it.

For a casual one, you could go to Purpose Powder Coating on the Old Kent Road and pay them cash to do it for you. Depending on how they feel, the've billed me anywhere from £90 - £120 a frame.

For a very pro job, I'd recommend RFI screening but this £90 - £150 plus shipping both ways to and from Stevenage (I think its Stevenage).