Bicycle Mechanics - Re-spraying a bike, the lazy way.

I'm off work for a few days in two weeks, and I plan on respraying the folding Raleigh twenty, I mentioned in an earlier thread.

The plan is to strip down as little as possible, but use plenty of masking tape...

For the headset badge, I was thinking of painting on melted wax as protection - this should work shouldn't it?

I'll be spraying indoors (un-used spare room with window open), probably using sprat enamel after keying the surface with fine emery paper.

Any tips? - I'm not expecting a pro-finish, but hope to get it looking half-decent.

Richard

Oh - and will dark green or dark blue show off the newly polished chrome better ? :)

Richard, go for the green. Isn't that British racing colors? And with that new paint job I'm sure you'll be racing to work to show it off.

The wax idea sounds doable but I've never tried it; in fact I've never heard of it. Masking areas with tape often leaves a ridge of paint where the tape was. I've never figured out how to feather that out. Maybe there are some experienced painters that will comment.

Are you using a spray gun or a spray can? Sparay cans put the paint on so thin that you allmost need a dozen coats to get a decent looking finish.

Sounds like your short-cuts are going to make a mess.

Go to www.oldroads.com or www.schwinn.com (look for the restoration forums) and get some tips from guys that refurbish bikes.

Thanks - the bike only cost £15, so it's not the end of the world if it's not a stunning finish.

Richard

Since it's not that difficult to disassemble the bike completely, I strongly recommend that approach over masking.

Originally posted by John E
Since it's not that difficult to disassemble the bike completely, I strongly recommend that approach over masking.

It was the fear of my first attempt at dealing with cottered cranks that was scaring me :eek: Brakes, gear cables and so forth I'm happy with, but those cranks look scary...

Richard

Cottered are not difficult. There are three ways to do it: the right way, the wrong way, and my way. Actually there is a special clamp that does the job in a minute and most of the older mechanics have one. You can make one with a couple pieces of wood and a strong C clamp. Drill a hole in one piece so that it fits over the top of the cotter and place the other one on the nutted end --after backing the nut off a few turns. Put the clamp on and squeeze. It will take a lot of pressure to get them out of there. The other way is to pound on the loosened nut with with a hand maul. (You have to decide which is the right way and which is the wrong way.) Good luck.

Originally posted by Richard D


It was the fear of my first attempt at dealing with cottered cranks that was scaring me :eek: Brakes, gear cables and so forth I'm happy with, but those cranks look scary...

Richard

Leave the cottered cranks alone. It isn't worth the hassle of befuggling them up if they don't come off nicely.

Cottered cranks are a royal pain in the asss.

The cotter pins should still be available at about $0.50 cents US if you decide to try extracting them --sounds like pulling teeth and can be almost as difficult at times-- and they get knackered. (Is that the right English word for bent, screwed-up, made useless?)

There is another option, you know; remove the old cranks, throw them away and install cotterless cranks.

Leave the cottered cranks alone. It isn't worth the hassle of befuggling them up if they don't come off nicely. ...until your unlubed bb bearings come to a grinding halt and you are befuggled worse than before!



Easy way to remove cotters w/o ruining them:

1. Spray with a penetrating lube.
2. Go inside, have a beer.
3. wipe off crankarm, and fit an old sock over the bb end
4. Carefuly apply a set of vice-grips on the edge of the crankset and the threaded side of the cotter so as to put a constant pressure in the correct direction.
5. Go inside, have a beer. Play Playststion2 for 30 min.
6. Return to garage, check vice grips. If the cotter has popped loose, it should have fallen inside the sock. If it has not come loose, adjust vicegrip tension as needed, then return to step 5.

Either this works, or you get drunk doing it. I only remember waking up on my garage floor with a pair of vice grips hanging from my earlobe and a bad hangover the last time I tried this. ;)

weird....i woke up the same exact way this morning, except i was at a party last night...

:rolleyes:

Originally posted by stumpjumper
...until your unlubed bb bearings come to a grinding halt and you are befuggled worse than before!



Easy way to remove cotters w/o ruining them:

4. Carefuly apply a set of vice-grips on the edge of the crankset and the threaded side of the cotter so as to put a constant pressure in the correct direction.


This sounds intrigueing. I have suffered through many a cotter that would not come loose for ANYTHING.

Stumpjumper, can you post a scanned sketch or pic of what you are talking about here? I am VERY interested in giving it a try.

Due to family commitments and almost constant rain, I didn't get round to sanding the bike down this holiday, it's going to be a weekend job soon. I did buy the paint though - Lawn Green, so I'm going to have to name the bike 'Galactica' or 'Bonanza' :)

Richard

Spraying it yourself is never a good idea unless you are a pro.

People here spray their bikes and scooters to prevent theft, cus they will look so ugly.

Anyway, all the best to your adventure adn although I am not a Christian, I will pray for your bike:)

BTW, you know that hologram-like paint that Klein bikes use a lot? My dad makes it. Too bad that it if will take too many layers to look good on a light colored base, or else I will have it on my bike long ago. Now I am just trying if it will look good on my helmet:)

By the way, if you don't have much time to paint, remember the 'Mr. Bean' approach to painting.

Did you see the show where he covers all his furniture with newspaper, puts a GIANT fircracker in a bucket of paint, lights the fuse, and then leaves the room?

That is a hilarious show.

Originally posted by Richard D
Lawn Green, so I'm going to have to name the bike 'Galactica' or 'Bonanza' :)

Richard

Subtle, but very funny.

Originally posted by unrelated

People here spray their bikes and scooters to prevent theft, cus they will look so ugly.


I've done a couple of bikes and they don't look too bad. Just take your time, and wait the 24 hours between undercoat and main coat. An undercoat is really important. Granted they never look quite as good as the original, but it's a good cheap alternative.

I'm also a believer in waxing the paint afterwards. Dunno how much it really helps, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Ellie

Originally posted by Ellie


I've done a couple of bikes and they don't look too bad. Just take your time, and wait the 24 hours between undercoat and main coat. An undercoat is really important. Granted they never look quite as good as the original, but it's a good cheap alternative.

I'm also a believer in waxing the paint afterwards. Dunno how much it really helps, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Ellie

What I meant is people do it on purpose to prevent theft. Like my cusin was mad at his dad because he sprayed her new bike in random order to prevent theft. Of course I am talking about cheap ones. We never leave our bike alone outside cus it's not as safe.