Restorations.....

[ldrcycles]

Just found this gem, i know exactly what colour i want to do the ladies Healing in now.

http://ajsblogcycle.blogspot.com.au/201 ... mment-form

[ldrcycles]

Finally some more progress! Got the decals on the Mercier last night (decided not to bother with a clear coat, i may do one over the top of the decals in due course) and it looks fantastic.





Apologies for the poor quality, i couldn't get decent photos with the grey weather today.

The weather is one hell of a headache for me at the moment, i have so much painting to do but with the rain and cold it would be impossible to get a good finish. Normally i could wait for clear weather, but the L'Eroica is only 55 days away! I'm going to have a crack at making a sort of oven. The idea is that i will put the frame/fork/mudguard in the booth and warm it up, spray it in another area (so as not to have any concerns about exploding vapour) and pop it back in the warmth to cure.

The two Healings should be off to the blasters this week and if the oven works i will get started on the Tom Wallace frame and the rims for the mens Healing. I've started building the Tarini with a Shimano 600 Tricolour group (waiting for the brake levers to arrive from Austria), should have that all together by the end of this week or start of next.
The Fellini i think will get the Campy Nuovo Record and Galli bits i've gathered.

[ldrcycles]

Heating a small besser block shed is working really well, just did the 2nd coat on the Tom Wallace (looking spectacular in dark metallic green) and the Lawrencia is ready for it's 1st coat of colour tomorrow. The only tricky part is keeping the mongrel possum out!

The two Healings are off to the blasters, along with 2 frames that i will be building into singlespeeds (a man can never have too many singlespeeds ).

Trying to work out if i can get my hands on some new steel 26x1 3/8 (590mm) rims for the ladies Healing, the originals are rusty but the hubs are fine. I might have to settle for 559mm, it would certainly make tyre selection easier. I'll try and get some oxalic acid and see if the originals can scrub up well enough, i doubt it but worth a shot.

[ldrcycles]

Finished polishing the parts for the Mercier, and decided that i have to get a clear coat on there, or the decals will get chewed up in no time. Might be able to get the clear on it, the Tom Wallace and the Lawrencia tomorrow. I've also realised that the forks for the Peugeot are bent, i've got in touch with a local framebuilder who will hopefully be able to sort them out. Also got Mercier and Peugeot retro jerseys on their way, i will be riding in the L'Eroica as Raymond Poulidor and my brother will be Phil Anderson .

[ldrcycles]

I was very anxious about how the clear coat would go, my only experience with clear coat has been some metal part i had a go at several years ago. With no prep or skill in application it's unsurprising it looked horrible but i was very worried the same would happen with my frames. I needn't have been concerned though, they look absolutely incredible. The green on the Tom Wallace looked good before but didn't really have any 'life' or 'pop', the minute the clear went on it sparkled. The Lawrencia already had plenty of pop so it is absolutely spectacular now . 2 coats on all 3 so far, the Tom and Lawrencia will get stickered up on Tuesday and then another 3 coats, the Mercier will get another 2.



Got the primer and first coat of black on the Peugeot and it's looking good. Got the BB, cranks, shifters, stem and bars on the Tarini this arvo, just waiting on the brake levers and front derailleur adapter to turn up. Picking up the rechromed stem and cranks for the mens Healing tomorrow, and i should be able to get the Lawrencia and Tom Wallace built up by the end of the week. Oh and then there's a BSA Tour of Britain which i should be able to scrub up to a serviceable condition.

[utedeej]

They look fantastic. Can hardly believe they are all rattlecans. Did you use supercheap enamels for all of them and the clear?

I've got a few to do coming up and will have to revisit how i will do them. I'm going to have to scrounge a pedestal fan from somewhere too.

utedeej

[ldrcycles]

Thanks! . The purple is the Australian Export brand enamel (they call it claret would you believe ), the green bike (the Tom Wallace) is Sherwood Green Metallic and the blue Lawrencia is Cyan Metallic, they are both Power Plus brand acrylic, also from Super Cheap Auto but a lot more expensive, the Australian Export is $3.45 for a 250g can, the Powerplus is $19.99 for 350g.

The clear coat i used is the cheap stuff but it went on perfectly, and one 250g can did 2 coats on the Mercier and Tom Wallace, and 1 coat with a little left on the Lawrencia, hows that for value for money!

And remember as well that at the moment the weather is pretty poor, quite cool and lots of rain about but with 2 $20 fan heaters from Big W warming up the shed, no problems. Oh and with the fans, unless you are particularly nimble/flexible, try and get a 44cm instead of the usual 40cm, the bigger fan has a taller and more sturdy base that makes it easier to get the top of the top tube. Oh and i found out the hard way that they don't work with Peugeots, damn 24.0mm seat tubes! I think i might have to make a 'how to paint with rattlecans' thread when i get a chance.

[utedeej]

Would be great to read your step by step. The thing that i'm worried about down here is how cold it is (being near Canberra).

[ldrcycles]

With a small shed and a couple of 2400W fan heaters you should be able to get some decent conditions. The only downside is the electricity they suck, nearly a dollar an hour! . If you aren't on a deadline, far better to wait for warm sunny weather.

[slarv]

I think i might have to make a 'how to paint with rattlecans' thread when i get a chance.

There is an FAQ here:
TIP - DIY Spraypainting a bicycle frame

See if you can get your guide / tips added to that thread.

[timbo]

The weather is one hell of a headache for me at the moment, i have so much painting to do but with the rain and cold it would be impossible to get a good finish. Normally i could wait for clear weather, but the L'Eroica is only 55 days away! I'm going to have a crack at making a sort of oven.

You mentioned the majic word. OVEN. Most kitchens have one. It will at least go a long way to explaining all the bicycle parts spread all over the dining room table.

[ldrcycles]

Picked up the rechromed cranks and stem for the Healing from Kunda Park Electroplaters. I would say good but not great, but fair cop, they were in pretty poor shape. Given the condition they were in, they look very good. And $85 seems reasonable.

Also managed to get my hands on some oxalic acid so i should be able to start having a go at the rims for the ladies Healing tomorrow afternoon.

[slarv]

Also managed to get my hands on some oxalic acid so i should be able to start having a go at the rims for the ladies Healing tomorrow afternoon.

I read somewhere not to get it on galvanized spokes. For me that was a good enough excuse to give wheel (re)building a go.

[ldrcycles]

Well strangely enough the bottle says 'not for metal surfaces' which threw me a bit. The rims i'm going to use it on aren't in great shape and aren't special so i'm not bothered if something terrible happens. The spokes are surprisingly good, a bit of polishing and they'll be fine.

EDIT: i just saw the photo on your restoration thread of the rim, the ones i'm about to attack look pretty similar, so i'm not sure if they will come up as good as i want, one way to find out.

[utedeej]

Did you find that the Acrylic worked better than the enamel, i've heard that is the case..

[ldrcycles]

I've heard that too, and the first painting i did years ago before i learned to actually prepare things and paint properly showed that. Now though, i think the acrylic sprays a teensy tiny bit better, nowhere near enough to justify the price difference. Other than that the only difference i've found is the enamel STINKS! Especially the clear coat, you need really good ventilation to use that stuff. The acrylic is very smelly too, but it's much better than the enamel. I haven't found any difference in hardness or drying/curing time either.
I would say if the colour you want is available in enamel, there's no reason not to save yourself a small fortune.

[ldrcycles]

Final coats of clear on the Mercier and Lawrencia, both looking great. 3rd coat of black on the Peugeot, clear to come in a day or two when the paint is ready.
Got the 2nd coat of white on the rims for the Healing, those things are going to be a nightmare (3 colours!).

And as if i didn't already have enough bikes on the go, servicimo slung an unwanted frame my way and i've naturally decided i HAVE to restore it for the L'Eroica . It's a 1977 Viscount Sebring and i reckon it's going to be lovely . Put the shifters and brakes through the degreaser bath at work this arvo and now i just need to get the bb off and start cleaning it up. The condition isn't that bad but after reading a 38! page thread on another forum about Viscounts i reckon it needs to be perfect.

[munga]

wish he slung a certain frame my way

i look at this thread and think "if you ever bite off more than you can chew, chew like buggery!"
well done mate, hope you have a big van for all of these bikes

[ldrcycles]

.

Actually that reminds me, i got a phone call from the LBS this morning "an old guy came in with a road bike frame asking if we were interested, we weren't so he was going to tip it then we thought of you". Popped in this arvo and picked up an aluminium lugged carbon fibre 1995 Giant CFR3 . Oh and the set of old Velocity deep vs and formula sealed bearing hubs!
Total cost "sling us a few beers".

Sadly my motorised transport is a lancer, and yes it does look a little worse for wear from being packed to the gunwhales with bikes every other day .
I'll have to borrow the old man's ute to get all the bikes to the L'Eroica show of course .

I'm itching to get the Lawrencia together and photographed properly, it renders me speechless every time i look at it.

[amrjon]

Your a restoration machine. Don't stop!

[ldrcycles]

Hmmm i found out why that CFR3 was free, the previous owner had flogged out the crank extractor threads, wasn't going to work. Tried the 3 jaw puller at work and that didn't do the trick either so tomorrow morning i'm going to have at it with the grinder. At least the frame should be worth something when i finally get that crank arm off. (should have a pic of that thing up tomorrow btw).

But back to proper old stuff, I got some jerseys today from Prendas in the UK, a very subtle purple and gold Mercier item for me, and a classy old Peugeot Shell one for my brother (which to my delight he got very excited about, i've got him hooked now Mwaahahaha!). Got the resized Tom Wallace decals from the signwriter (I gave them the wrong size originally) so i will be able to get those on and finish clear coating that one.
Started building the Mercier with my heart in my mouth, waiting for something terrible to happen and destroy the weeks of work. After taking everything VERY slowly and being obsessively careful with every turn of the screwdriver, all the major parts are on her with no issues at all! Just needs cables, chain and bar tape (and the wheelset which is getting built at the LBS), fingers crossed i may be able to get a photo before i leave for work tomorrow morning. Looking great so far.

The Lawrencia looks ready for building, so that might start happening on Sunday afternoon. Decals and first coat of clear will go on the Peugeot around about then too. And sometime soonish the Healings will be back from the powdercoaters, so that will be another burst of activity . The first colour on the rims for the mens Healing is looking alright (not great but they were in very poor condition) so i'm going to have to pluck up the courage to start masking it some time.
Also found a container the right size to take the rims for the lady's bike for soaking in oxalic acid (along with a bunch of derailleurs etc.) but haven't had the time yet to mix things up, probably next week for that one.

So that's everything up to date for now, my main concern atm is getting enough wheels together, i just have to set aside an hour or so to sort out which rims are going with which hubs and get things started on them.

[ldrcycles]

@amrjon, i just noticed your sig and realised you're the bloke who restored the Ted Easton ladies bike that is my inspiration for the Healing! Fantastic job you did on that one mate.

[Stuey]

Well strangely enough the bottle says 'not for metal surfaces' which threw me a bit. The rims i'm going to use it on aren't in great shape and aren't special so i'm not bothered if something terrible happens. The spokes are surprisingly good, a bit of polishing and they'll be fine.

EDIT: i just saw the photo on your restoration thread of the rim, the ones i'm about to attack look pretty similar, so i'm not sure if they will come up as good as i want, one way to find out.

It removes the zinc plating from the plated spokes. It'd probably also ruin anodised aluminium rims (unless you wanted to remove the anodising). I remember the experiment at school whacking galv steel in acid and producing hydrogen gas. The zinc was removed in no time.

[servicimo]

oxalic works great on chrome or raw steel. it will only eat the rust but DO NOT use it on anything alloy and it does not have a great affect on nickle....

Idrcycles, I'm surprised and stoked you dig the viscount so much...I guess I better give you the wheels too I'll shoot you a pm tomorrow.

I'll find you something munga!

[amrjon]

@amrjon, i just noticed your sig and realised you're the bloke who restored the Ted Easton ladies bike that is my inspiration for the Healing! Fantastic job you did on that one mate.

Thanks, Glad you like it. The colour does look fantastic out in the sun. I'm enjoying your updates and very impressed by your progress. I too have several restoration on the go, but unlike you my progress is measured in months and I actually complete about one a year! Looking forward to your finished products.