Howdy folks

First post here so go easy The fact that I’m posting rather ignorantly about a flub probably won’t help but I’ve tried to do my homework.

So I just did a DIY spraycan job on my primary/warrior bike (80s Gardin, model unknown) with VHT Roll Bar paint after completely stripping the original (hot pink) paint and grinding lots of nasty corrosion. I went DIY because it was cheap, I have the time now, and wanted to develop my skills, and used the VHT because I couldn’t get access to a ***, it was cheap, no prime, and sounded decently durable. Aside from some roughness and orange peel, she’s not looking too bad – from a distance – and hopefully it holds up. Maybe next time I will brush on marine epoxy or Hammerite or something since my first concern is protecting the ride through regular punishment.

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Trouble is, I didn’t pull off the races from the headset or fork. They seemed pretty stuck on and I was eager to paint, so I painted over them but didn’t consider the need to mask them up.



I did mask inside the head tube and the threaded part of the fork, but not the races. I’m thinking this is going to a problem when I get bearings and grease back in there (especially that gnarly looking bottom race surface). I’m actually at a loss as to where the crown race is – I don’t have it in my parts pile but it must have been there before (?). So I guess I will have to slide one of those on after – right?

As for the paint – I’m thinking to mask outside areas and then brush paint stripper into the races sand the paint out. Might I also be wise to strip the paint off the area where the crown race sits on the forks, or better yet to take all the paint off the steerer, or if the crown race fits then just leave things as is?

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Another issue to deal with before I reassemble is that I stripped the thread on the cranks (Shimano Exage 400 LX). The threads were in bad shape from previous removal efforts, so I pulled them with something very similar to this: https://imavex.vo.llnwd.net/o18/clien...mages/1246.jpg and then returned the tool to the hardware store after use. Given how rarely I need to pull the cranks, I’m kind of ready to put them back on and use a similar tool or tap them out larger next time (is this structurally damaging? I imagine you could keep riding on them but would just have a much harder time finding crank pulls that work in future), but I’m also thinking it might make most sense to replace them (and keep the chainrings?). If it isn’t clear already, I try to operate on a budget.

I do have knowledgeable bike buddies I’ll inquire with after the holidays, but would much appreciate the advice of a wise web community as well.

Thanks!

paint is soft. Put the bike together with plenty of grease in the headset. Adjust and ride. You'll probably need to readjust a few times, and the headset may feel sluggish and had to adjust at first. But soon enough the movement will wear through the paint and the whole bearing will stabilize. Once you feel it has (it holds adjustments and doesn't feel as sluggish) pull it back apart, clean out the grease and flaked paint, then repack.

BTW- the paint not on the now silvery ball track doesn't matter. It'll still be there years later untouched.

You can reinstall the cranks, and use the same or other methods to remove them in the future. The damaged removal treads have no effect on installing, so the worst that'll happen is you'll have the same hard time removing them down the road.

Francis's advice is very simple and correct about he painted bearing surfaces. Or you could remove the paint with steel wool and solvent before assembly... Andy.

2-armed gear pullers often do fine on the left crank, and also work OK on 4-bolt right cranks. But neither 2- or 3-armed pullers do particularly well on 5-bolt cranks. The centers won't line up.
I think FB has recommended chuck wedges for drill presses to remove stripped crank threads.
Looks nice. A bit cruder, but probably easier accessible is a "pickle fork", a tool used to split ball joint assemblies in the steering linkage of cars.

Unless you buy/trade/get given a used pair, cranks are generally sold with rings included. So not much point in transferring the existing ones. Not always possible either, given you have 4/5-bolt, and a couple of different bolt circle diameters to choose from.

If it's square-taper, do make sure you do them up snug and tight on reassembly to avoid mangling the interface.

i would pop off the races and tap another set on from scrap bikes

as for the cone race on the fork - what andy said

If you are missing the crown race get a new headset. Educate yourself first about headset specs - races don't slide on - it's a press fit.

If the paint is only a few days old it will likely come right off with some paint thinner and steel wool.