Bacnine

Help............ I have a 1965 Violet Schwinn Varsity 10–speed. All the original equipment. It is in bad shape. It has been in my garage gathering dust, dirt, grim and rust. I am thinking of trying to restore it……….project for the winter. The first thing I want to do is to clean the frame but I want to be careful and not hurt the paint job or decals. Any suggestions on how I should do this? This is the first post so I hope I am in the right spot.

thanks

Doohickie

You can get some specialized cleaning stuff at a bike shop, but on my 1966 Raleigh I used WD-40 for the first cleanup. It did a decent job and didn't hurt anything it wasn't supposed to. That and a little brass wool (or 0000 steel wool) will clean up the rust on the chrome parts pretty well, too.

stringbreaker

Whats wrong with warm soap and water to start on the whole bike just to see how bad the rust is, then start with the chrome. Very fine 000 or 0000 steel or brass wool and lotsa soap. Get some fine short bristle brushes of different sizes to get in the nooks and crannies. If you disassemble the bike down to the frame nothing cleans like kerosene

cudak888 

Polishing paint: KIT Scratch Out or Meguiars Scratch X. Work AROUND the decals, and if you are daring, go over VERY LIGHTLY over the decals, remembering that you will have to wipe the stuff off with a buffing motion too.

-Kurt

sonatageek

Hey how about a picture or two? I have a pair of '65 Varsities waiting to be fixed up too. I wonder if yours are as bad as mine?

Rabid Koala

Pictures.....PLEASE!

I love Violet Schwinns. I really love the pre 67 Varsities and Continentals.

I cleaned up the decals on my Paramounts with a very mild abrasive. In my case,clear coat polishing compound. It did a nice job removing the yellowing.

pastorbobnlnh 

I used cudak888's method on my '62 Continental and it turned out pretty well. It had been in a barn unridden and gathering grime for a decade or more. Schwinn paint can really make a comeback if you go at slowly. Best of luck and let's see your bike! Welcome to C&V.

THEMONDIA

I am working on a '64 Varsity right now, as well.

I bought in August, in rough shape. Grime mismatched, mix-size wheels (the front one is smaller, so there is no front brake. The tires are original, cracked, and barely hold air.

A part of one cable guide is broken off and the rig that was used to make the shifting functional was crap. I have a solution for this however.

Decals were pretty much worn away, and the chrome on the handle bars is deteriorated and crumbling, and has cut my hands.

I bought it for my wife !

It's a restoration project.

I stripped the frame and primered it with 4 coats Duplicolor primer, 2 coats silver, and 5 coats Duplicolor ocean blue, because this color is similar to Schwinn's sky blue. The next step is to put new NOS Varsity decals on the frame and darts on the fork. After this I will empty several cans of Duplicolor clear coat on it.

Then I'll see how it reassembles.

More on the chrome:

It is astonishing what soaking in thinner followed by using a cotton polishing wheel on a dremel and rubbing compound will produce. It is no exaggeration that the chrome pieces which looked nearly gone now look brand new.

I began working on the rear (S-7) steel wheel. There was a fair amount of surface rust of the speckled variety present. The dremel polishing wheel and the polishing compound have produced the same results.

I have not posted pictures here because my intent is to show all the progress in one batch (cause the project will take a little more time).

I have not had to use any kind of steel wool. The rubbing compound has just enough abrasive that the 3000 rpm dremel wheel needs in order to eliminate the rust.

The result is beautiful.


This bike is will be my wife's 4th bike. She has a cheapo heavy mountain bike which she does not have use for. I bought her a chrome moly Nishiki for rails to trails riding. Her road bike is a C'dale Synapse 7 Feminine with a koi fish decal.

So what's this Varisty for? It's a bike that will be mounted on rollers for spinning, never to see the open road in all likelihood. It's just a fun restoration project for kicks, and the weight is of no consequence as it is stationery. But it sure looks nice at this stage, an old classic for display and indoor training.

pastorbobnlnh 

akcapBF, the chrome fork is original. Sometimes you can find them on ebay.

THEMONDIA, Schwinn chrome is amazingly resilient. Now the French chrome on the Huret bits, that's another story! Be prepared for your NOS water slide decals to simply fall apart when you try to apply them. They don't age well. If you need modern look alike decals, JRrestore here on BF can set you up. If you need his email PM me.

John E

True. Schwinn paint and chrome quality was legendary.

THEMONDIA

Thanks for the tip on handling the decals. Even though I've handled a lot of them as a kid with various plastic models; I took heed of your advice and was very careful.

The decals went on without protest or problem.

Next step is clear coating.

Thanks.

BTW I have a I have five sets of starburst Varsity decals, if anyone has a need.

Bacnine

All----thank you for all of your posts.

NOW I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP. My paint job is much worse than I thought. I got a sponge and hot water and just dabbed the frame. The top tube is very bad. It is so rough it feels almost like a piece of sand paper. I am really bummed. Do i just scrap it or do I continue on? I was committed to work on this. I have the whole winter and I have been to Home Depot trying to figure out how to make a repair stand. I am new to this so I need advice. So many questions. Can I find the paint and decals? How do I smooth out the frame---- do I sand the frame with steel wool or sand paper? HELP ME!

Thank in advance

Bacnine

I am embarrassed to post this.

cudak888 

Looks like one of those fun tear-down, cleanup, and rebuild jobs !

-Kurt

King of Kadence

It's gonna be a long winter for you.

pastorbobnlnh 

Bacnine,

WOW! This will be a tough call based on how much money you want to throw at this old Varsity. If you have $500 plus that you don't need, this would be a great candidate to completely restore, including new paint, but remember, it is a Varsity. It was Schwinn's entry level road bike back in 1965. They made lots of Varsities compared to Paramounts and Super Sports that year. Your money might be better spent looking for a '60-'66 Varsity in better shape.

Now, with that said, I would not hesitate to begin attacking that paint with Meguiars Scratch X and automotive polishing compound, just to see what you might be able to do. It could be that you are dealing mostly with a build-up of 43 years of barn/garage/basement/backyard crud, that is actually protecting the original Violet paint underneath. Work on the top tube and see if you can make any progress.

Also, try pulling the cranks off and soaking in a bucket of wood bleach over night and then hitting it with bronze wool. There might be some hope under that rust. I sort of doubt that the pedals, derailleurs, or rims are worth even trying. If you need new shifters, take a look at these: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=360105287683 They should unthread from the downtube band and thread right into your shifter bosses.

Best of luck!

cudak888 

You bet, for that Varsity looks to be a classic example of shot chrome mixed in with a salvageable frame. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how the frame will polish out.

-Kurt

Bacnine

Stupid question. Some of my parts especially the chrome is in bad shape. I have tried numerous ways to clean. They are looking better but still rough. I am thinking of what someone suggested to find donor bike(s). I have found some Continentals and girls Varsity's . Would some of these bikes components work with my Varsity even thought the frame size is different than my Varsity?

King of Kadence

Yes, good idea. Just about everything can be switched over, except maybe the stem and shifters(that depends on the year).

cudak888 

Continentals share the same identical drivetrain parts, and brake levers. Brake calipers are centerpulls instead of sidepulls. Varsities should be drop-in. You will find that later models use stem shifters and a "mag" chainwheel though - those might be difficult to source. Nevertheless, shoot for either as a donor, if you can find one cheap enough. Seatpost and bars will be the same as well, though your early frame looks as if it uses a PIVO aluminum stem.

-Kurt

wrk101

Use the search feature. Lots of detail recommendations on bike cleaning out there. Soap and water and Simple Green are two common cleaning methods.

After looking at your picture, this bike looks like either a candidate for oxalic acid, or it should be used as a donor for another bike. And even if you turn it into a donor, it is going to need the oxalic acid treatment. Do a search on oxalic for details on how to do it.

Bacnine

Thanks , question? What are "mag " chainwheels.

cudak888 

They are designed to look reminiscent of a mag rim from a car (Crager, et al.):



The chrome bits on this one were just nearing a condition similar to your Varsity when I first got it.

-Kurt

Bacnine

Thanks, I have used Bar Keepers Friend (it contains oxalic acid). It seems a little less toxic than Wood Bleach.

Bacnine

That is a really nice bike. What is the color? I hope to get mine close to your Continental. BTW what is the difference a Conti and Varsity. They look identical. Another question? I keep seeing NOS. What does that stand for.