working on/painting/respraying Yeti 303

[tooFATtoRIDE]

Andrew,

Any idea how yeti 303 is painted? Is it powder coating or any other method?
I am about to start working on my yeti and one of the jobs I need to do is to et rid off that yellow paint - nothing wrong, just not my thing. I need to find some quality place to do it that will not cost me a fortune. It could be very very difficult here in London.

If it is powder coating I would have to remove every single part and have just bare frame so it could be high temperature treated. If it is any other method it would not require that extra stripping.

Also, any idea what is the colour code for that turquoise colour scheme? Just in case I decide to have 2008 colour scheme on my yeti303. Thanks in advance.

best
toofattoride

PS. there are some initial changes to the setup: new Formula Oro Bianco 200mm, new pedals, new set of wheels (mavic 721s, hope Pro II hubs, CX-Ray black spokes, brass nipples, stan's notubes - these should be ready some time at the beginning of February), also thinking about while Charge grips and white Charge saddle when available.

I am still thinking about tyres and Schwalbe Big Betty UST (around 980gr each) are my choice at the moment.

[Andrew]

Ok, As far as I understand its Powder Coated, Specturm powder works does the jobs for YETI in colorado, you can find them on the web.

The closest colour match anybody can find is RAL5018 - Turquoise

do a RAL search on google images, you will see a chart.

Hope that covers it?

[tooFATtoRIDE]

Thanks for info.

I need to get some sort of price estimation. The extra difficult part is that I would rather leave turquoise paint on the frame and only replace yellow but if I do that, the frame number sticker and that one at the rear end of the frame would get burned in the oven (part of the powder coating process).
Then, if I decide to do the whole frame that will cost me a lot and then I will not have that frame number thing.

Tight spot here, any suggestions?

Andrew, have you ever had a chance to weight your bare frame (or with the rear shock)? Is that 12.75lb claimed weight with or without the rear shock?
How is your yeti btw? Already up and running or work is still in progress?

[Andrew]

both my bikes are up and running, I've only used the 303 twice, I wish it were more often though! Hope I get to use it soon.

As for your problem, there is no way on earth you will strip just the yellow off it, I'd say the only way is to paint over the Yellow, but that will look awful.

If the bike is pretty smashed up, the get the whole lot painted, if the frame is in good condition, then I'd live it with! you won't see the Yellow when your on it, if you can, your not going fast enough!

Or you could send the front end back to Yeti and get it sorted. Not cheap though.

[tooFATtoRIDE]

admin said:

you won't see the Yellow when your on it, if you can, your not going fast enough!.

I love this comment! ;D
No doubt I will be slow initially but hope to improve with time

Once back to the UK, I will start getting quotations for the whole job. Only then I shall decide.

Do you have any new pics of your yeti303? If so, let me know where to find them.

Off-topic
I was thinking about creating a database of yeti frames here in the UK. It could be useful in establishing a bike ownership history whilst thinking about purchasing a second hand bike/frame. It could also help create a closer links between tribesmen here in the UK. Please, do not get me wrong, I am not proposing "big brother" thing but I thought the database could be useful sometimes

[Andrew]

This could be hard, with the amount of bikes in the UK, and the amount imported and exported.

I know that some people just like to ride their bikes and are not fussed about sending them into me for the 'your Yeti's section, that has been added to every week for 6 years now, and its only small compared to the ammount of bikes Yeti make.

There is a few pics of my bikes, but I don't tend to put them on the site at all.

sometimes with the 303 you can see what numbers are on here......... www.yetifan.com/your_303.html I try to put the 303 frame numbers up.

Oh, and as for your parts list, check out the WHITE YETI TEAM saddle! Pimp as! in stock, email me for a deal!