Sounds like you achieved your goal. If you did ++ more work the next scratch might hurt! :)

Heck, the second it goes from shiny new and rebuilt with almost all shiny new parts to picking up dirt about 10 feet down the first unpaved bit of trail it hits, it is going to hurt :)

But yeah, its a workhorse, no point in trying to make it perfect!

I'm curious to see before and after photos when it's complete.

A joking thought occurred to me when I first started the thread - "why not clear shellac?" Now I'm sure it's a terrible idea for a myriad of reasons, but now I'm really curious what those reasons are. Anyone want to enlighten me about it?

^I love shellac ^ in general (it's natural and renewable, plus can be non-toxic, even classed as food-grade, when dry) but there are many reasons why it's not ideal for clearcoating over paint (or metal): even the clear (super blonde is the often-used class) is not truly water-clear, there's a bit of yellow in it and SOMEtimes will darken over time/UV exposure. The resin itself is soft (even more so then lacquer) so won't hold up to hard outdoor use on sporting equipment when you want it to keep looking good. The good news is that the solvent (alcohol) USUALLY does no harm to cured paint or MOST decals (but if the decals are water-slide or varnish-set: better check-test first!) and you can coat over damaged finish easily and the "new melts into the old". Plus it's the "universal binding agent" for many other varnishes/finishes with generally NO mishaps....but doesn't play well with WAX.
If you stick with the spray can (Bullseye) it goes on fairly smooth but always has some texture, this stuff dries so fast (a plus) that there's no flow-out or leveling, plus it's not something you can 'rub out" or polish up the sheen with good results (as you can with lacquers), tends to give a lower sheen which is great on furniture. But if you apply with a brush there's a whole "shellac technique" that differs from any other finish or paint brushing, if you perfect that you get a much better brushed-on sheen than if you don't.

Shellac has wood alcohol (methy hydrate i.e. bad moonshine in it) and 5cc ingested will kill you or at least make you blind and destroy your kidneys.

Shellac does not like water so you will be unable to bike in rain, traverse puddles or sweat on it. Hanging on wall should be OK.

:)

Doug

I could be wrong, but isn't shellac over cotton cloth a popular old-timey handlebar grip option?

Sorry, I don't have any better before photos, but here are a couple:

Before any cleanup:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psq9khfhnf.jpg

After a soapy water rinse:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pskgbdgwmk.jpg

After 1000 grit wet sand (and trialing another fork):
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psuu3nuipt.jpg

In the acid bath:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psgpw0s7yf.jpg

After the spray, good from a few feet:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pse1sgcmc5.jpg

One visible area of orange peel:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pswoteml3y.jpg

Spraying over the worst of the missing paint:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psxb9vowtf.jpg

The worst area, I sprayed the fork upside down, and it ended up collecting here and going no further:
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psxa4c6lav.jpg

I had a buddy who painted a Mustang deck lid with this, he said Mother's polish cleaned up the orange peel quite well, so I'm going to give that a shot after it's cured for a week or so. Probably wouldn't have bothered with anything, if not for that bit on the fork.