Repainting of carbon frames

Neulackierung eines Carbonrennrades auf Deutsch lesen

Often, there is the desire to design his own bike, to remove  the existing paint and repaint it .... STOP !!! 

Never repaint an already painted carbon frame, it can be a game with your own life. 

Carbon is a material with a lightweight potential, in which every fiber counts and can not simply be cut off, or sanded down. If this happens, the structure will weaken, which may cost you dearly, in the dumbest case, personal damage, beyond materiality. Carbon is an anisotropic, direction-dependent material, in which the grinding off of a layer already has a massive impact on safety. In comparison, aluminum or steel frames are isotropic, the same properties on all sides, here it is only about the material thickness. In addition, carbon is highly sensitive to abrasive surface treatment compared to aluminum and steel.

In the photo you can see a pierced spot, but this is only the tip of the iceberg in damage. The general microsection shows extensive shades, which means that several layers have already been sanded off in addition. Self-explanatory it is also to do without sandblasting.

Who still wants to take it into their own hands, should take the existing paint as a primer and as soon as the sanding dust becomes black to stop immediately and above all to do without mechanical aids, manual labor !  Sanding as a challenge for maximum concentration and stamina, definitely not a job for the inexperienced. 

Another important point to keep in mind is that repainting will invalidate any claim against the manufacturer.