Classic & Vintage - Trash-Heap Moto Update (Putting Perfume on a Pig)

For those who haven’t read last week’s thread, I found a 1982 Taiwan-built Motobecane Randonnee in my neighbor’s trash, and have made the decision to rebuild it. Why, in God’s name, you say, would anyone spend any time and money on this bike? My reasons are these: 1) I have two other Motos and I like the way they ride; 2) this one actually fits me better than the one I ride most; and 3) I need the mechanical experience of working on a bike that has absolutely no collector, user, or even scrap, value. I figure if I destroy something in the process, I won’t be out much, and if I don’t, I’ll have a nice “beater” for foul-weather riding. Plus, I’m totally inspired by what Cruentus did with his Schwinn Varsity.

So, this weekend I accomplished the following:
1) General cleanup – cleaned frame, ripped off the old bar tape, removed the remains of the gum-rubber brake hoods, polished as much of the aluminum as possible, steel-wooled the rust off of the chrome forks, polished the chrome rings around the headset, knocked the rust off of the seat post, removed the old chain, cleaned up the saddle.
2) Replaced mangled components – rear derailleur (replaced the broken Suntour ARX with a V-GT) and chain. Checked RD hanger alignment just for drill – OK.
3) Wheels – front wheel is a 27x1-1/4” Raleigh with QR and Belgian-made rim (32 holes). Obviously a replacement. Bearings feel good, so I’m saving it for later. Rear wheel is the original Maillard hub with Rigida alloy rim, but has a solid axle. I removed the Atom 77 freewheel, cleaned and lubed it, repacked and adjusted the bearings, and remounted the freewheel. Still need to polish the rims and true the rear wheel a bit. The front wheel also needs to be repacked before I ride this thing.
4) Pulled the brake cables out for cleaning, decided I need new housings all around. Remounted the levers, stem, and handlebars that were removed for cleaning. Still need to redo the bar tape.
5) Checked the headset – no play, feels really smooth, so I’ll live with it for now.
6) Checked the bottom bracket – no play, very smooth feel. OK for now.
7) Appearance assessment – this bike is UGLY. The paint is a pearly sort of off-white, with brown around the headbadge, brown “M” logos, and brown lettering. The frame is in excellent shape, and I could certainly get away with cleaning it up as is, but wow, it’s really ugly. Those Moto logos in brown are really hideous. I’m thinking about a repaint - red metal-flake with black trim and gold details around the lugs.
I’ll keep you posted and will post pics as soon as I have it ridable.

A couple of questions for the group:
I’ll be repainting at some point, and I have a small compressor and a spray gun. But how to strip the frame? Anyone have any experience with that automotive paint-stripper-in-a-spray-can?
Also, does anyone have any general recommendations about primers, prep, clearcoats, decals, etc.?

Motofan :beer:

...But how to strip the frame? Anyone have any experience with that automotive paint-stripper-in-a-spray-can?
Also, does anyone have any general recommendations about primers, prep, clearcoats, decals, etc.?

Motofan :beer:
First thing; take good close-up pictures of your decals, and accurate measurements of their size and positions.... You may need to have some made, in case you can't find originals. If you need some made, contact forum member mswantak. Stripping the old paint is the easy part... I like "aircraft stripper", but any good hardware store stripper should remove the original paint. Using assorted sizes of wire brushes helps a bunch, as would coarse steel wool. Don't forget gloves and eye protection! When all the paint's gone, lightly wet sand the whole frame with something like 180 grit, wash clean, and follow that with "metal prep" which is phosphoric acid based. Again, use gloves and eye protection. Be sure not to wash the metal prep off with water, but rather, wipe the frame dry with paper towels... That way you'll not have it rusting before you can prime the thing. I say get either some 2 part "self etching" primer, or some 2 part epoxy primer, in something close to the finish color. You might want to use automotive 2 part acrylic enamel over your primer base. Check with your local auto paint store for their recommendation. I can't lhelp you too much with spray booth info, other than to say you need one. Make it yourself if you can, but you want a dust free environment.

sounds like you spent your weekend well.

A roll of heavy weight "visqueen" - make walls with it from the rafters to the floor in the garage, spray everything inside with water before you shoot, and you'll have a pretty dust free environment for spraying. sounds like you spent your weekend well

For those who haven’t read last week’s thread, I found a 1982 Taiwan-built Motobecane Randonnee in my neighbor’s trash, and have made the decision to rebuild it. Why, in God’s name, you say, would anyone spend any time and money on this bike? My reasons are these: 1) I have two other Motos and I like the way they ride; 2) this one actually fits me better than the one I ride most; and 3) I need the mechanical experience of working on a bike that has absolutely no collector, user, or even scrap, value. I figure if I destroy something in the process, I won’t be out much, and if I don’t, I’ll have a nice “beater” for foul-weather riding. Plus, I’m totally inspired by what Cruentus did with his Schwinn Varsity.

So, this weekend I accomplished the following:
1) General cleanup – cleaned frame, ripped off the old bar tape, removed the remains of the gum-rubber brake hoods, polished as much of the aluminum as possible, steel-wooled the rust off of the chrome forks, polished the chrome rings around the headset, knocked the rust off of the seat post, removed the old chain, cleaned up the saddle.
2) Replaced mangled components – rear derailleur (replaced the broken Suntour ARX with a V-GT) and chain. Checked RD hanger alignment just for drill – OK.
3) Wheels – front wheel is a 27x1-1/4” Raleigh with QR and Belgian-made rim (32 holes). Obviously a replacement. Bearings feel good, so I’m saving it for later. Rear wheel is the original Maillard hub with Rigida alloy rim, but has a solid axle. I removed the Atom 77 freewheel, cleaned and lubed it, repacked and adjusted the bearings, and remounted the freewheel. Still need to polish the rims and true the rear wheel a bit. The front wheel also needs to be repacked before I ride this thing.
4) Pulled the brake cables out for cleaning, decided I need new housings all around. Remounted the levers, stem, and handlebars that were removed for cleaning. Still need to redo the bar tape.
5) Checked the headset – no play, feels really smooth, so I’ll live with it for now.
6) Checked the bottom bracket – no play, very smooth feel. OK for now.
7) Appearance assessment – this bike is UGLY. The paint is a pearly sort of off-white, with brown around the headbadge, brown “M” logos, and brown lettering. The frame is in excellent shape, and I could certainly get away with cleaning it up as is, but wow, it’s really ugly. Those Moto logos in brown are really hideous. I’m thinking about a repaint - red metal-flake with black trim and gold details around the lugs.
I’ll keep you posted and will post pics as soon as I have it ridable.

A couple of questions for the group:
I’ll be repainting at some point, and I have a small compressor and a spray gun. But how to strip the frame? Anyone have any experience with that automotive paint-stripper-in-a-spray-can?
Also, does anyone have any general recommendations about primers, prep, clearcoats, decals, etc.?

Motofan :beer:

Second vote for aircraft stripper - works like a charm. It evaporates quickly though so wrap the frame in plastic after you spray it. I put the frame on a painter's drop cloth and pull the whole thing over the frame after spraying. Then let it sit, and bubble and all the good stuff happens.

When you come to re-spray the frame, make sure you put vaseline in all the areas where you will want to re-insert things, like the head tube, the bottom bracket openings, the derailleur hanger etc. The re-sprayed paint will not stick to it, won't get in the threads and the vaseline then just washes out.

yep a/c stripper works great. if you read carfully its only for use on a/c ... .. .. just tell the epa your working on a expeimental a/c ... with your bike... .....

no really be carefull that stuff will burn the crap out of your skin. even a drop.



try that linkhttp://www.mikebentley.com/bike/paint.htm


at the bottom a how to do it yourself ... and other cool pro jobs

Sounds like a cool project. I love found objects, even better when they're found objects you can ride.

Cruentus inspired me, too. I'm getting started on my first project bike, a 1970-something ladies' Schwinn Suburban. I'm happily reading everyone else's project journals here and taking notes!