How to remove stickers/branding from my frame?

[newuser]

Hello everyone. Could anyone offer any advice please?

After having my fourth bike stolen and forking (pun intended) out for a new one I've brought a new bike that I like.

It's a Claude Butler.

However I wish to remove the branding from the frame (purely a style choice!) When I purchased the bike I thought the branding were stickers but upon closer inspection it looks like unlikely. Although the branding appears to be slightly raised it's not obvious how I could remove it without doing any damage to the paintwork on the frame.

Is there a DIY way to spray the frame instead of a chemical removal? I imagine a professional job will cost nearly as much as the bike (if not more?)

Thanks.

 

[Will1985]

The stickers will be under a layer of lacquer so the only way of getting rid of them would be to strip the frame and respray. Unfortunately a DIY effort won't look very good, but how about just covering the frame with gaffer tape? I think some London messengers do this to new frames to make them less attractive to opportunist theives. You could even use some reflective tape to make it shine in headlights...

 

[LondonCommuter]

Someone I work with has covered his bike with electrician's tape to deter thieves and reckons its works

 

[newuser]

Hello. Thanks. I had thought about this as it's probably the best option all round. My flatmate stripped the old paint off of her frame and did a respray herself. It was really difficult work for her and both the paint and the lacquer 'bubbled' and dripped making an unsightly result.

 

[kyuss]

I've repainted bikes in the past. The mistake most people make is believing the instructions on the can saying it's fully dry in 24hours. Take your time and it's easy to do a decent job. It might take a week or two and it'll never be as chip-resistant as the original paintjob or a decent powdercoat, but it's good enough if you're not too rough with your bike, and it's easy to touch up.

Striping all the old paint off properly is important (nitromors is your friend) and getting rid of grease or dust equally so. Then just remember to get compatible primers and paint ie enamel paint needs an enamel primer, acrylic paint with acrylic primer etc. (sticking to the same manufacturer for each helps).

Even more important than proper paint stripping is sanding down between coats, which gets rid of all the runs and imperfections. Give it a coat or two of primer then sand it down and a rub with a tack rag to get rid of dust and grease, another coat or two then sand it down again. Leave it for a day or so then apply the colour doing the same thing, coat, sand, tack rag, coat, sand, tack rag, then apply the clearcoat.

Then you need to leave it for a while for the paint to harden properly before building it back up (a hairdryer or warm room helps speed up the hardening process), the longer you leave it the tougher it will be.

Doing a decent job just takes time.

 

[Joe]

I covered my fixed with vinyl tape for this reason (massive logos).
I got the reflective stuff thats black under normal light but bright white under headlights.

Works pretty well (under a camera flash at least)

 

[kyuss]

I got the reflective stuff thats black under normal light but bright white under headlights.

Funniliy enough I've been looking at this stuff recently too for my fixie. 3M Scotchlite 680. £24+ postage for a whole bikes worth sounds like a good deal considering the Respro black diamond stuff is £12 for an A4 sheet. Just need Beacon Graphics to agree to ship overseas.

 

[summerdays]

Are all the previous bikes stolen from the same place? Is there anything you could change about where they are locked up or using extra locks? (D-lock and Cable together?)

 

[Joe]

Funniliy enough I've been looking at this stuff recently too for my fixie. 3M Scotchlite 680. £24+ postage for a whole bikes worth sounds like a good deal considering the Respro black diamond stuff is £12 for an A4 sheet. Just need Beacon Graphics to agree to ship overseas.

Sounds like a good deal. I don't recall the seller but I got mine of someone on ebay selling it by the meter. Cost me a fiver (but I only bought enough for the decals).
I've been impressed with it's durability too...I put it on pretty haphazadly and this bike lives out in the rain...yet it's all still perfectly stuck down!