Why paint aluminium?

[Low Gear Guy]

I have recently dismantled and rebuilt an aluminum framed bike including touching up the bigger scratches on the paintwork. From a performance point of view, is there any benefit to painting an aluminum frame?

As I recall there have previously been tube trains and aeroplanes in unpainted aluminum finish.

 

[Milkfloat]

I have recently dismantled and rebuilt an aluminum framed bike including touching up the bigger scratches on the paintwork. From a performance point of view, is there any benefit to painting an aluminum frame?

As I recall there have previously been tube trains and aeroplanes in unpainted aluminum finish.

If it were totally unpainted it would suffer from surface oxidation pretty quickly. A clearcoat would stop that but then you would see all the ugly imperfections from the manufacturing process underneath.

 

[Cycleops]

Not to mention the famous DeLorean. As for performance benefits, no, apart from helping it to reach 88mph

 

[fossyant]

You'd have to be out with the cleaners/polishes very often for reasons above. My MTB is painted to look like raw aluminium

 

[Vapin' Joe]

They look nicer painted.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Not to mention the famous DeLorean. As for performance benefits, no, apart from helping it to reach 88mph

Cough stainless steel cough

 

[overmind]

Pleasing ware is half sold.

George Herbert (1593-1633)

 

[Levo-Lon]

Not to mention the famous DeLorean. As for performance benefits, no, apart from helping it to reach 88mph

As said
It was SS but anything to help it move wqas good..

Pity it was a fail, but it was always going to be

 

[Soltydog]

My 'turbo' bike is unpainted aluminium. I thought it would be ok unpainted just sat in the garage on my turbo, but oil & grease marks don't shift too easy & it's starting to look a little messy Reckon once summer is here & I'm not on the turbo so much I'll strip the bike back down, clean the frame up & give it a coat or 2 of paint, just to keep it looking a bit cleaner

 

[I like Skol]

You don't have to paint it..... www.cyclechat.net/threads/decisions-decisions-1994-gt-zaskar-le-update-upgrade-options.91262/page-3#post-2741195

 

[the_mikey]

Depends on the Aluminium alloy, some alloys oxidize quickly and you'll be covered in black oxidized aluminium every time you touch the frame.

 

[MontyVeda]

Cough stainless steel cough

As said
It was SS but anything to help it move wqas good..

Pity it was a fail, but it was always going to be

without watching the movie to find out... doesn't Doc Brown mention it having an aluminium body in Back to the Future? ...or am i just remembering it wrong?

 

[Hacienda71]

I used to have an alu mtb in the 90's that was just lacquered. Looked great until some turd knicked it...

 

[mjr]

without watching the movie to find out... doesn't Doc Brown mention it having an aluminium body in Back to the Future? ...or am i just remembering it wrong?

It's not mentioned on the film's IMDB Goofs page and I think it would be if it did because they spot far smaller mistakes than that.

And he'd probably say aluminum.

 

[DaveReading]

As I recall there have previously been tube trains and aeroplanes in unpainted aluminum finish.

Unpainted aircraft are a maintenance nightmare.