"Before" Paint Detail

Here are some "before" pictures of the rough shape the paint is in.

Nothing too exciting today. I removed the rear brake assembly and discovered that it was even dirtier than the front brake assembly (see yesterday's post). So that was fun. It is very satisfying to clean all the parts, though. See if I still feel this way next week.

Priming Update

Update Update: This morning/afternoon, I put the two extra coats of primer on the fenders, chain guard, and fork and also primed the frame. I went ahead and put 5 coats of primer on the frame, well-spaced at about 15 minutes between coats. I didn't get a real smooth coverage on the whole frame, not sure what the problem was. I'm hoping that buffing with the steel wool will smooth it out. I'm going to let everything dry again for at least 24 hours before I start with the paint.

I forgot to take a picture of the primed frame, but imagine this: it's all gray.

So, last night I used some "0000" steel wool to smooth out the primer before doing the first paint coat, and even a very light touch completely removed the primer in a few places on the fenders. I'm going to do another two coats of primer on everything; that's five coats altogether, if you're keeping track.

I'll post another update once I've done that.

Day 1 & 2: Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman

The first shiny bits made their appearance today. I've got the wheels, fenders, chain guard, kickstand, etc. off the bike, but have left the handlebars/stem/fork assembled and the saddle and post on so that I can upend the bike to clean from all angles. I always clean everything first before I get too serious about the technical bits like bearings, crank, hubs, etc. Part of the reason is so that I can handle the bike without getting too dirty, and I also like the psychological boost I get from sprucing everything up. I washed the whole frame with Pedro's Bio-Clean squirted on a wet cloth, then went over it with rubbing compound to get a deeper clean and to coax what luster is left out of the paint. The fork and its chromed cap came out beautifully, but the head tube reveals the overall poor condition of the paint. The head badge turns out to be chromed copper, which explains the greenish hue it had. I made a go at the handlebars, and confirmed that much of the chrome is flaking off, but what remains shined up better than I expected; same with the stem. I didn't take a photo of that yet.

Priming: The Fork

I had planned to paint the fenders and chain guard today, but I decided to let them sit a while yet with the primer on them, just to make sure they're good and dry. I'm sure it's overkill to let them sit this long, but you never can be too careful. I did prime the fork today (Photo #1), which went fine. I also masked off the headbadge and bearing cups on the frame (Photos #2 and #3). Photo #4 is the "bicycle butcher shop" (a.k.a. the laundry room where I've hung everything up).

It's probably going to be the weekend before I can get back to the bike, so everything should be nice and dry. By Sunday night, I hope, everything will be painted.

Sturmey-Archer Shifter Before/After

I thought I'd have a go at resurrecting the original trigger shifter on the Huffy/Raleigh instead of putting on a new one. I really like the name plate on this one, so I wanted to try to keep it. These were not made to be dissembled, so I had to use a cotton swab soaked with cleaner (actually, just rubbing alcohol) to get to the inside parts. I also used a small screwdriver and a toothpick to get way in there and chip the dirt and grit away. I'll put a couple drops of oil in there when I'm ready to put it back on, and it should be fine.

To clean up the outside, I used my usual combination of fine steel wool and light oil, followed by Brasso. I would have used RidingPretty's wonderful green cleaning techniques, but I had that part done several weeks ago before she guest-posted here. Finally, I used a bit of red and black craft paint on a paper towel to refresh the color on the lettering. I just applied the paint across the letters with a corner of the towel, then wiped away the excess from the surface. It's not perfect, but certainly looks better than it did.

Huffy/Raleigh Chrome Before

While I procrastinate putting the wheels back together and starting the sanding and painting, I'm going back through all the parts I have already cleaned and doing a second, more thorough cleaning and inspection. The brake calipers and levers are the pieces in the worst shape. These photos are after two cleanings with steel wool and oil, followed by rubbing compound and then polishing with a clean cloth. Trust me, this is as good as they're going to get:

The only chrome bits on the bike that aren't bad are the crank arms and chainring. The stem and handlebars were quite terrible, and after my adventure with the stuck stem bolt, they've been replaced anyway. I'm going to try the silver paint trick for these and a few other once-shiny bits like the frame clips for the cables.

I found this in William Love's How to Restore Your Collector Bicycle (which is now out of print, darn it). Love is talking about cadmium or nickel-plated bits like fender braces, kickstands, etc., but I'm going to try it with chromed pieces. I figure they can't look any worse than they do now.

Good old "chrome" silver (shinier) or aluminum (duller) spray paint works wonders to touchup these...plated parts, but not necessarily by spraying them. First, wash and thoroughly dry all of the parts.... Spray the paint liberally on a paper towel, and rub the paint on the affected part.... The deteriorated portions are a bit rough compared to the rest of the surface, and the paint sticks to these areas while blending with the original surface nicely (Love p.64).

We shall see. This is probably going to be this weekend's project. I'll let you know how it works.

The Runwell: Day, Uh, 13? 14?

Honestly, I've lost track of the days. I've been working on sanding/chipping the old paint off the fenders, and priming, painting, and top-coating them. I'm about half-way through that process now. I also gave the frame a rubdown with rubbing compound, which really brought out the shine and deepened the color. No more pictures of the frame or fenders (well, maybe the fenders) until I'm all done--don't want to spoil the suspense!

My cork grips from Velo Orange arrived yesterday, and I promptly set about cutting them down so they would fit on the Runwell's smallish handlebars. Because I lopped about two inches off the end of each grip, I was left with open-ended grips that needed bar plugs (it was an aesthetic choice not to take the two inches off the already-open end of the grips). To match the color of the cork grips (and boost my DIY cred), I whittled two plugs out of some scraps of 1" wooden dowel I had laying around.

I'll varnish these separately, then put the grips and plugs on the bars and varnish them both together to create a good water-tight seal. I'll be running to the bike shop this weekend to hopefully get my tires, tubes, rim tape, chain, and new spoke. Then, it's an order from Harris Cyclery of rod-pull brake shoes, new block pedals, and perhaps a new seatpost (to replace the original angled post that seats me too far forward). Once all that is assembled, I'll give the frame a couple coats of polish and I'll be done. I won't say when that will be, for fear of jinxing the whole operation, but soon, I hope.

Priming: Fenders & Chain Guard

Today I finished sanding the chain guard and primed it and the fenders. I strung a rope in the car-hole (garage is too elaborate for what we have) and hung the fenders by their braces, which I taped-off with masking tape (Photo #1). To hang the chain guard, I used a "modified" wire hanger (Photo #2). I primed both sides of everything (topside and underside) to protect against rust and wear. I'll paint and clearcoat both sides, too.

I put three light coats of primer on all three pieces, which seemed to give me good, smooth coverage. Supposedly, you can start applying paint within 15 minutes, but I'm going to wait at least 24 hours just so the primer has a chance to get really dry and hard. I'm also storing the parts in a very warm laundry room--still hanging up--to maximize drying.

By the way, I'm using Ace Rust Stop products for this paint job--so far, so good.

Oh, and if you're working in an enclosed space with poor ventilation, always wear a mask. Fortunately, our car-hole is so small that ventilation (if not a cross breeze) wasn't too much of a problem with the door open, but I was still glad for my mask, and took frequent breaks to step outside. Still might have done some brain damage-amage-amage.

Sanding the Old Paint, Part II

Well, I've got the entire frame and fork sanded now. The fenders I just roughed-up with a sanding sponge, since they have so many dips and contours, and I'm still working on the chain guard. If your fenders are just smooth, it might be easier to sand the paint all the way off, but with mine that would be a study in frustration.

So, here's what I did:

On the frame and fork, I found that 100 grit (medium) sandpaper worked best. It took the paint and undercoat off quickly and didn't scratch the metal. One problem with just using a folded sheet of sandpaper is that I couldn't get all of the little nooks and crannies completely sanded down. After the sandpaper, I took a sanding sponge and sanded off all the remaining spots of old primer and worked the edge of it into as many corners as possible. Picture #1 shows how successful (or not) I was around the area where the seatpost slides in. Picture #2 gives you some idea of how the frame looks all stripped down. In the places where I wasn't able to get the paint all the way off, I did manage to rough it up a bit so it will take the primer. Picture #3 shows the tools used for the sanding (not pictured are my hands sans fingerprints).

Next step is masking off the bearing cups and head badge (I never was able to get them off), and then it's on to primer!

PS--Sorry for the crappy picture quality; could not take a clear picture to save my life today.

Paintin' the Townie Red

I finished the last coat of red paint this afternoon! Some of the rough spots from the last coat have been smoothed out, but there are still some places I'm not completely happy with. Oh well, I'm sure nobody but me will ever notice. Now I'll wait five days (as per instructions on the can), and then do the white paint, including stencils. Then another five days before the clear coat. Then the painting will finally be done. I'm holding off on posting pictures for now, just to heighten the suspense for when the "after" pictures are ready.

Here's a Surprise

It turns out that the Phillips was originally a deep red, not black like I had assumed. The fork steerer tube gives a pretty clear indication that this was the original color. It seems, in fact, that the base coat was black with the red on top, which creates a rather striking and rich red. This could mean that the bike is not pre-war, since most specimens from the 1920s and 1930s seem to have been black. However, at least one pre-war Phillips that I know of had a rather more striking original color scheme. In other words, the color doesn't do much to help date the bike, but it certainly did come as a surprise to me.

Also, I've managed to scrape the yellow paint off the head badge. This will be black, red, and gold when finished, like this one.

Huffeigh Front Fender Paint

This is after the first three coats, and I'll probably do another two or three just to be safe, then the clear coat. One thing I learned repainting the Columbia is that you should probably add at least two more coats than you think is necessary, and also that clear coat is best applied in many very light coats, or else it will run and/or crack. Anyway, I'm hoping to start making faster progress on the Huffeigh now, so it may not be too much longer before it's finished. Barring any unforeseen (but nevertheless inevitable) problems, that is.

Huffy/Raleigh Paint Before

I promised a post on the condition of the Huffeigh's paint a while back, so here it is. The top tube and head tube definitely need to be done, as well as the chain stays and seat stays (sorry for the crummy photos).

The fenders too, and the chain guard.

The down tube and seat tube just need to be touched-up in a few places, but not fully redone. I'm also considering the "silver paint trick" on the chromed parts that have lost their chrome, which includes parts of both brake levers, the brake calipers themselves, and a spot on the front hub. I'll definitely keep y'all posted about how that works and just what exactly I end up doing.

Sanding the Old Paint

One of the bad things about recording one's thoughts in print: it hurts worse when they come back to bite you in the backside.

On August 19, I wrote: "I think the sanding will go pretty fast."

I was wrong. Well, I guess it is going relatively quick, but it's a bit harder than I thought it would be. The fault is partially my own, as I started out using sandpaper that was too fine (220 grit). I have now switched to a 120 grit sandpaper, which is taking the paint off much faster. Of course, there are lots of angles and nooks and crannies where the sandpaper won't reach (at least not very well). I may also be sanding my fingerprints off in the process. Maybe some gloves...

I was going to try to have the sanding done by this weekend, but I don't think that's going to happen, since I just ran out of sandpaper and have to go buy some more.

I'll post pictures when all the sanding is done.

Huffy/Raleigh Decals

Okay, these photos are brutally honest. In fact, I will say that they make the final result look a good deal worse than it appears in person. On the first photo (down tube), you can see that in some places the original finish didn't take the clear coat so well. It looks like pitting, but it's just in the surface of the clear coat, not the paint itself. I'm still not very good at applying the clear coat sometimes, so this is probably user-error.

Other places, like this bit at the top of the seat tube (below), turned out very well. In fact, the whole seat tube came out looking quite good (see second photo below). However, I noticed the other day when I had the bike in the sun that I very thoroughly clear coated some of my dirty fingerprints onto the seat tube. I thought I had the whole frame clean, but I guess I missed a spot. Fortunately, it's only apparent in the right light, from the right angle. I guess it'll help me positively identify the bike if it ever gets stolen!

The chain guard is a bit rougher, as I just did a bit of touch-up on the paint, then applied the clearcoat. It was also in worse shape to start with. I'll post some photos of it later, I forgot to get any of it when I took these.

I picked up some cork grips from my LBS yesterday, and I've got the brakes on now. It's raining today, but I'll try to get another photo in the reassembly series posted in a few days.

To Paint or Not to Paint?

Well, obviously, I've chosen the former, but in the process of researching how to paint a bike, I've come across a lot of old bike people arguing that one should NEVER re-paint an old bicycle, so I thought I would offer my thoughts on the subject. The people who argue against painting (or at least painting it yourself) seem to be the collectors and aficionados--the ones who horde bikes in the garage and periodically set them all up in the driveway to look at them. They also seem to be the ones who derive much of their self-worth from flaunting their superior knowledge on various online discussion boards.

Their argument is this: there is only one "original" coat of paint, and if you strip it off or cover it up, you devalue the bike. I can see the point for rare and unique models, or especially antique bikes, but for the mass-produced late-model older bikes, I don't really get it. It's like an old house; you don't keep the original paint on the house, right? You repaint it, and sometimes frequently. Doing so protects the house and makes it looks better. And why hire a painter when paint and brushes are readily available? You save money and get the satisfaction of doing the job yourself.

My wife is a rare book librarian and I'm a historian, so believe me, I appreciate the value of a pristine historical artifact, but many old bikes are not historical artifacts. They are working machines that should be used and enjoyed. If a new coat of paint (done right and done yourself) is what it takes to enjoy your old bike that much more, then I say go for it!

And speaking of paint, I think I'm going to put on the last coat of red today. I'll update when and if I get it done.

More Before Pictures

While I'm working on the paint, I thought I would post a few more "before" pictures that I found the other day. These were taken about a year ago, I think, a couple months after I bought the bike. Right after I took these, I painted the underside of the seat, rubbed the rust off the front rim, and removed the remains of a reflective sticker from the rear bumper. I'll post the after pictures of the same parts when I'm done with the whole project. A little cosmetic work goes a long way.

The Runwell: Day 8 1/2

File this under "echoes of former glory." While I (still) wait for my cleaning solution for the rear wheel to arrive, I cleaned up the fenders, which had gone untouched since I took them off on Day 1. In terms of dents and dings, they actually look better than I thought, but the paint is in sorry shape. What's worse, actually, on both front and rear fenders, there are small protected areas where the paint retains its original shine and even remnants of the gold pin-striping that used to be there. I'd almost rather not see how it used to look, actually, it makes me sad.

I had been thinking about just leaving the fenders off when I reassembled the bike, but now I'm thinking that sanding them, priming them, and spray-painting them gloss black can't be any worse than keeping them in their present state. I can already hear the howls of dismay from the purists out there, but I refer you to my earlier post on painting. Someday I'll have the bike professionally repainted and re-chromed, but I've got to get it up and running again first, and why not have some nice-looking fenders until then, right?

Stencils

I've been stewing over how to reproduce the "Columbia Sports III" logo on the chain guard, and also to reproduce, with paint, some decals that had completely peeled away from the fork, leaving only the outlines of their shapes. After much experimenting, I finally cut what I think are some passable stencils. The process was harder, I think, than it had to be.

First, I tried frisket paper to create a stencil, but the film was too thin and stretchy for the detailed work. I ended up taking close-up shots of the words and then cropping and printing them on regular printer paper. I cut the letters out to create a stencil, then used it to create another stencil with the backing of the frisket film (not the actual film itself)--the benefit of using the frisket backing for the stencil is that it is coated in plastic and won't (I hope) allow the paint to soak in and bleed through. To make the stencil stick to the metal while I paint it, I put two-sided tape with a removable backing on the backside. To fill in the center of the "O", "B", "A", "P", "R" and "III", I'll use a very small brush dipped in the main color of the bike, which will be red, after I use the stencil to paint the words on.

There are probably easier ways to do this, and it may not work, but we'll just have to see. If anyone reads this, and knows a better way (short of paying someone else to do it), I'd be glad to hear it. This is what I've been doing for the past couple of days, so I haven't gotten to cleaning the rear hub yet. Soon.

Huffy/Raleigh Paint Finished

Well, I got my wish, and the humidity came down a bit today so I could do the clear coat. It's dry to the touch now, so I gathered up all (or most, anyway) of the parts and arranged them for the first of a series of reassembly photos that I'll put together into a slide show at the end of the process. I've included a couple of other shots to show the dramatic results of the painting. Hopefully, I'll get started on the reassembly tomorrow, although I've still got some last parts on order, so I won't be fully finished for a little while.

Here are the fenders, before photo here.

And the head badge/head tube, before photo here.