"AEON" Pista

I found this post on Bikeforums.net, and it worked like a charm:

1. search bikeforums.net.

2. broke down the bike, cleaned off all the areas around the decals, and masked the surrounding areas with tape. this took awhile due to a winters worth of grime had collected.

3. tried using goo gone & a blow dryer. totally didn't work, not one bit.

4. using a 1.5" paintbrush I applied a light coat of jasco adhesive remover (thanks Fixer!!) and let it set for 5 minutes.

5. Crazy! this stuff immediately started attacking the clearcoat/decal (you could actually hear it work). I then used an old calling card to scrape away the flakes. Not all of the decal came off so I decided to repeat step 4 for longer.

6. 15 min after the 2nd (more generous) application I went back and noticed that the clear coat tends to flake off, while the decal itself turns into a weird juice substance that you could easily wipe off.

This made me realize that a large amount of jasco is needed to get the clear coat off and that a very thin layer is need to jucify the decal. If I was doing this on a bike with paint I'd either use very little jasco the 2nd time or just goo gone & elbow grease so I wouldn't ruin the paint.

7. Flip bike over & do the other side. even though jasco is a semi-paste applying it upside down seemed like a recipe for instant baldness

8. I then removed the masking tape & used goo gone & tape to remove any remaining junk

9. wiped, washed, & dried frame. remasked.

10. sprayed several coats of krylon enamel clear coat.

and voila done!

tools of the trade

All of Stickerguy's steps worked well. Do look specifically for the Jasco Adhesive remover.

I used a thick coat of jasco and let it sit. You can actually see it work and bubble up the clear coat and work into the decal. If you rush it, then you will see little bits of clearcoat and logo that the jasco didn't get into. Let it sit. I don't think that it will hurt the chrome much. I let the jasco sit on the clearcoat for about 20 or so minutes. Used a plastic fast food knife with a serated edge and scraped up the clearcoat as it buibbles up. I even dabbed here and there to get rid of bits. You can tell if you have clearcoat left as the Jasco will react with it, but not on the chrome.

I wiped it clean, and then washed it.

WEAR GLOVES. DO NOT GET ANY ON YOU. IT WILL BURN AND TAKE OFF HAIR. WASH IMMEDIATELY UNDER WATER.

Here's the materials safety data sheet for the Jasco Adhesive Remover: http://www.jasco-help.com/msds/adhesive_remover.pdf

Seriously, wear gloves. This stuff is very poisonous. I recommend not doing this as a stony project, or drinking copious amounts.

I'm debating whether or not to clear coat. You can see how the naked chrome looks so much brighter. The clearcoated sections looked almost milky. If I had the time I would strip everything off the bike and jasco the entire thing. all the little dings, and nicks that were on the clear coat and that I thought were on the bike dissappeared. The frame looks almost new.

I'll look at it under better light tomorrow and decide about the clearcoat then. I can see using the clearcoat to protect against dings and whatnot, but I'd rather not complicate this project more then needed.

Yep, this is my baby.

I added a new pic. that has all my new junk on it. New wheels (Phil Wood & Velocity w/ DT Swiss spokes & nippels), bars (Syntace), and chain (Sram PC-1 Nickel Plated).

Chris King headset, Carbon strait blade fork, Thompson Elite stem & seat post (All Black) coming up next!

what's with all this pista angst anyway? mine's a treat.