2nd Floor Workshop

[slarv]

Hi BNA,

This thread is all about my first restoration project. I live in the 2nd floor apartment and for the next few months the office and the balcony will be my workshop. I don't know much about 'vintage' bikes, fixies or restorations and have been researching the topics for a few months now. Research can only go far and it's time I get my hands dirty, so I started looking for a kerbside quality bike to see how far I could take it.

I got one on eBay. The listing read like this:

Classic LEADER Steel frame 10 speed road bike. Sold by Clontarf Cycles.

They say that you can't buy history, but they are wrong, cos for the princely sum of 99 cents you can have a crack.
Lets just see what this beauty has to offer

5 speed cluster - Rusted
Double Crankset - Rusted
Chain - Very Rusted
Index shifters on stem - Rusted
Headset - Rusted
Pedals - Shinbusters
Saddle - hard
Wheelset - Spins ok, Rims well rusted
Reflectors - Reflective
Tyres -Classic Square groove tread, made in Thailand. Yeah Thailand !
Bell - No ringing here
Brake levers - Drops AND Flats
Kickstand - functional

Enough waffle, unless you want this bike to hang on the wall, or use it as a movie prop, you are looking at it for the frame. It's Red and it's Steel. There is no serious rust, a few pinhead size surface spots where the paint is chipped and the chrome on the fork has light rusting per the photo. With Oh So Cool original Chrome stickers, this has been unmolested and unrestored, so work your magic. Built for comfort.

I may have paid too much or too little, I don't know and I don't care; I will get my moneys worth of enjoyment from pulling it apart, doing it up, and dealing with the challenges along the way.

This is what I have started with:

[ValleyForge]

All the rust from that salt air up Clontarf way!

Enjoy the resto.

[slarv]

This business listing supports your comment very well.
http://www.hotfrog.com.au/Companies/Leader-Cycles#Map

[ldrcycles]

Good luck, i'll be keen to see how you go with it.

[slarv]

Good luck, i'll be keen to see how you go with it.

ldrcycles... that's not short for Leader Cycles is it?

[ldrcycles]

Wouldn't it be your lucky day if it did! Nope .

[slarv]

The first thing I did when I got home was sit on it. It felt like a good fit and I was able to peddle a stroke or two before the thought of all 64 spokes simultaneously combusting popped into my head.

I weighed it when I got up stairs and it came in at a modest 15.4 kilograms. Being my first road bike I was expecting something lighter or the around the same as my mountain bike. It feels very back heavy compared to what I am used to. I figure it will probably lose a few kilograms in rust and parts that I will have to replace anyway.

Is that heavy / light / average for an unknown steel bike probably from the mid 80s?

I loaded it onto my workstand and stripped off all the parts I could with the tools and equipment I had at hand. This is how far I got before meeting some resistance, or being affected by a lack of tools:



The next day I investigated the cranks and did some research on identifying them. They are cottered. Oops! Had I heard of this before I would have made sure I picked a bike that didn't have them, especially a rusty bike. That's my first lesson learned but I think if I get through these cotters I will be able to handle any cotter.

[master6]

Two observations slarv:-

1. You could probably get a heavier bike, however the concrete inside the tubing might cause corrosion. I know weight is not part of this exercise; just joking
2. Do a search on "cotter pin". I recall such a thread here, and it covered the subject well, so no point me trying to reproduce it.


Good to see you DIY

[slarv]

[slarv]

The picture says it all.

In the end I don't think it was the WD-40, the vice and socket set that fell into my lap, or the creme brulee torch.
I think they finally broke under the pressure of me thinking about getting through them for the entire week.

[slarv]

I have made a bit of progress since I finally got the cotter pins out. After that I was able to remove the handle bars and headset. Previously I was unable to do this as they formed an integral part to my work stand.



After a few trips to a hardware shop for sandpaper and tools, I was able strip the rest of the parts and old paint from the frame. Now I am researching painting options and waiting for both a sunny weekend and a free weekend to coincide. Worried about surface rust occurring until then, I sprayed the frame with canola oil. The kind you use for cooking.



The forks are half chromed, with half the chrome flaking off leaving some interesting rust veins. I would like to try and remove all the chrome to check underneath. Electrolysis seems like a good option, except for the upfront cost on a car battery and/or charger. Any other ideas?

[gururug]

autosol / gumption / fine steel wool

nice work

[ldrcycles]

Looking good, congratulations on getting the sotterpins sorted, they can be a real pain.

[stevebaby]

Have you considered taking the fork to a plater? They could have that chrome off in no time, although you don't get the same satisfaction as doing it yourself.
If you do, ask for a quote on replating the fork. Make sure you're sitting down when they tell you.

[slarv]

Have you considered taking the fork to a plater? They could have that chrome off in no time, although you don't get the same satisfaction as doing it yourself.
If you do, ask for a quote on replating the fork. Make sure you're sitting down when they tell you.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am definitely after DIY options where possible, for the fun of it.
It's possible I could have used a sandblaster at work to strip the frame, but I considered that cheating and sanded it back by hand.

[slarv]

I was able to make a bit of progress over the last few weekends. This paint job is being staggered out to over a month.

I primed the frame and waited a week to add the black. I wasn't able to prime the forks that weekend because I still had to deal with the flaking chrome. In the end I removed it with patience and a scalpel while waiting for coats to try.

Another weekend I was able to apply the black to the frame and prime the forks. I have realised that I need 1.5 400g cans of paint to cover frame and forks. This has meant a few extra trips to Repco to buy more, and then another few trips to pick it up as they ran out of stock and had to order it in, delaying things further.

I have spent $67 on paint so far, and thats with the 50% catalogue special. Next time I think I will opt for the cheaper Australian Export paint after seeing some good results with that here.





Dust was a bit of a problem with the primer on the frame. It was drying in a carpeted room. I have gotten a little bit creative to dry the parts in the tiled living area.





In the mean time, a few acid baths and things are turning out shiny. I think they could use one more bath.

[ldrcycles]

Wow those are coming up very nice, what kind of acid did you use?

[slarv]

Wow those are coming up very nice, what kind of acid did you use?

This stuff:
http://www.recochem.com.au/index.php/pr ... in_cleaner
Contains 100% oxalic acid. Has a warning not to use on metal parts.

Handy tip: it occurs naturally in Rhubarb leaves.

[Mulger bill]

Wow those are coming up very nice, what kind of acid did you use?

This stuff:
http://www.recochem.com.au/index.php/pr ... in_cleaner
Contains 100% oxalic acid. Has a warning not to use on metal parts.

Handy tip: it occurs naturally in Rhubarb leaves.

Also sold in hardware shops as "wood bleach" IIRC.

Coming up very nicely Slarv.

Shaun

[slarv]

Forks and frame are painted. Now I am just waiting for paint to dry, then I can get creative with some masking tape.

In th meantime I am cleaning up some of the other rusty bits, hubs, rims, shifters, derailleurs, etc.
I may have wasted a bit of time playing with a cleaned up jockey wheel.

I am a bit hesitent to just throw the entire deraileurs into the acid, because of the springs. What do you think?
Is there anything you wouldn't put in the acid? I read somewhere that spokes is a bad idea.

I think am using a pretty weak solution. It takes about a 8 hours to make a noticable difference.

[ldrcycles]

What colour are you going with?

[slarv]

What colour are you going with?

Black with purple lugs. I am not a Phantom fan but thats the kind of colour scheme I imagine. Think I will name it.. Hero.

I have done the base coat as black and need to paint the purple on top. Figured it would be easier to tape that way. I may have to go over it with a lighter primer first, or use lots of coats of purple. I will test this theory on something else first.

Any hints or ideas for adding other interesting flares to the paint job. Stenceling etc.

[ldrcycles]

What colour are you going with?

Black with purple lugs. I am not a Phantom fan but thats the kind of colour scheme I imagine. Think I will name it.. Hero.

I have done the base coat as black and need to paint the purple on top. Figured it would be easier to tape that way. I may have to go over it with a lighter primer first, or use lots of coats of purple. I will test this theory on something else first.

Any hints or ideas for adding other interesting flares to the paint job. Stenceling etc.

Sounds cool . I would suggest the light primer before the purple, I haven't got first hand experience but it sounds right.

There's a framebuilder/painter in the US, damned if i can remember his name atm but i think he makes Steelman frames, he has a flickr/photobucket account with THOUSANDS of photos and there are some amazing things on there, plenty of ideas. I'll try and find it this evening.

[slarv]

Doesn't the weatherman know that people are trying to paint bikes. Spent most of the day playing Age of Empires and waiting for chemistry.

Before and after shot in the one image:


I think the humidity also affected the masking tape holding my forks up. Luckily they didn't have too far to fall but I will need to do some minor touch ups. A minor set back.

[slarv]

Question: What do you do when the weather is bad for riding or painting?
Answer: Buy another bike!

Some impulse bidding got the better of me this week and I had to drive up north again to pick up another bike.
This time a Repco Traveler. It's a 57cm frame which I thought would be too big for me, but it felt comfortable enough when sitting on it. I am now one of those people with multiple projects on the go.

The plan for this one is to do the bare minimum to get it rideable as quickly as possible.

Where is a good place to buy 27" tyres and tubes in Brisbane (or online) for very good value? I am not after anything fancy.