Happy Feet

This is the rebuild thread for the bike previously mentioned in this thread (thanks again all who helped with the ID):

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...b-id-pics.html

It appears to be a 1984 Diamondback, possibly Ridge Runner, though I don't know about all the chrome. I picked it up at a junk store for $20 because I liked the Thumbies and pedals but upon closer inspection also saw some nice lug work and hoped the frame could be rehab'd.

Before shots:

zzzzzP1240569 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzP1240581 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzP1240577 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzP1240574 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzP1240573 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzP1290613 by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzP1290607 by dc460, on Flickr

She was rough but the good news was that all the parts were there, the frame was not rusted through and nothing was seized. So step one was stripping it down and putting it in a box.

zzzzzzzzP1290599 by dc460, on Flickr

cont. next post...

bicyclridr4life

Looks like a good one to restore/upgrade. Nice score.

Happy Feet

This week I worked on stripping and finishing the frame.

First I used paint stripper to remove most of the paint and then a brass wire wheel to get it down to bare metal. I'd thought I would need to sandblast but by the time I was finished it worked out ok. The rust left some staining but I wanted that to create a patina in the finish later down the road.

zzzzzzzzzz20170722_174048[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170723_142742[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170729_075939[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170729_080020[1] by dc460, on Flickr

After the wire wheel I finished by burnishing with 000 steel wool in preparation for the the next step.

Cont. next post...

Happy Feet

Thanks bicyclridr4life

Instead of repainting I decided to Blue the frame. I did this last winter on a frame and liked the effect. Bluing is used for gun barrels and causes a protective oxidation to occur. So far I find it creates a nice warm bronze hue on a bike frame and to protect afterward I top coat it with Lacquer.

First I rubbed the frame with a cloth soaked in the liquid. Wear gloves of course. The more you apply and rub, the deeper the colour change.

zzzzzzzzz20170729_083551[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170729_083617[1] by dc460, on Flickr

There is a layer of rust oxidation that develops that I wiped off and when it got to the level of colour I wanted I began lightly burnishing the frame again with 000 steel wool. Where you rub and how hard creates a sort varying in colour. After that I clear coated with Lacquer.

zzzzzzzzz20170729_175933[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzz20170729_175958[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzz20170729_180006[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzz20170729_180019[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzzzz20170729_175905[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170729_180213[1] by dc460, on Flickr

Cont. next post...

Happy Feet

Last but not east was the chrome of the fork and dropouts. This I lightly polished with steel wool to remove surface crud and then I polished it with Turtle wax. The dropouts are perfect but the forks have some flaking. For now I will just leave it as is.

zzzzzzzzzzzz20170729_180207[1] (2) by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170723_142717[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170723_142730[1] by dc460, on Flickr

Tomorrow I'll detail the crankset and rear rim work.

Velocivixen

Wow, what a fantastic and creative way to color a frame. I LOVE this! Thank you so much. Have you lacquered it yet? If and when you do, please document. I will definitely try this. Where did you buy the gun bluing?

Happy Feet

Thanks, It is lacquered. I will take a pic in the sunlight to try and show the colour. The hardest part is not to mess around with the frame too much while the lacquer cures. For the next while I will be rebuilding some components and waiting for some tires to arrive.

The blue material can probably be found in most gun/hunting stores. It is common stuff. Look for cold bluing though.

Here is the other bike I blued. In that case I left the original paint on the lugs and around the name "Atlantic" and the Woodwards decal.

20161226_160031 by dc460, on Flickr

z20170122_141522 by dc460, on Flickr

z20170213_144445 by dc460, on Flickr

bwilli88 

A little heat will help set the blue better, nice looking bikes.

bikemig 

Cool restore project.

2cam16

Nice! Love the "blue" thing. How much of the bottle did you use ?

clydesdale65 

I think this looks fantastic! I really like the look, and it looks fairly affordable. More pictures when it's done, please!

Velocivixen

How much heat is "a little"? Are we talking blow dryer or heat gun?

ryansu

That "raw" finish looks very cool. Chapeau!

Rotten

A hair dryer would be enough heat the trick is to get it uniformly warm and apply the blueing solution evenly. The more serious issue though is getting every single bit of rust and grease off for uniform finish. Although cold blue from a big box retailer will work if you want a close match to a high quality blued firearm finish then I would recommend using Brownells Oxpho cold blue, you can apply successive light coats until you get the finish color you want. Brownells has several good videos available on youtube about blueing.

Blueing a bike frame is not something I have thought about before but I have a Le Tour that would make a great blueing project when it comes up for a rebuild.

Happy Feet

Last winter I researched doing it and the consensus was it wouldn't work so of course I had to try. I think it was because those people were thinking in traditional gun terms ie. oxidation and oiling afterward.


The stuff I used (in one of the pics) cost about $12CAD at a hunting/fishing store. I used about 1/3 of the bottle.

Getting the metal prepped is a big issue but for me the imperfections are sought as a feature. It started with the first bike where I wanted a faux beater look. I tried distressing the frame initially by adding various concoctions of salt, vinegar and bleach to purposely surface rust and discolor it which sort of worked but then I tried bluing and it gave just the patina'd look I wanted in a far more stable form.

How far down the rabbit hole one goes depends on the bike and personal tastes. The original condition of this bike left rust staining in the metal that would take a lot of buffing to get rid of completely which may not be the case with a better cared for frame.

zammykoo

Very cool raw look. Tempted to try this on my clunker build.

Bikerider007

Very cool and budget friendly. Looking forward to the finished project.

beicster 

That looks great. I know what I am going to do next time I strip the paint off a frame.

Wileyone 

The Bluing is also available in a Cream from a Company called G96. I find it works better than the Liquid but I have never done a Bike with it. What do you plan on using as a clear coat?

Happy Feet

A cream would be interesting...

I use spray on lacquer, several small coats.

Back to heat for a second.. The frame was about 82 degrees when I applied the liquid yesterday just from the sun. I did the last frame in the winter. The liquid evaporated quickly and I had to soak a shop rag and rub it on a few times. When it was where I wanted it I hosed the frame off with water.

bwilli88 

I have been told that heating a part to cold blue if it is just hot enough that you can still handle it the better. Remember that you are trying to rust the metal and the heat helps the oxidation form in the blue color not in what we typically know as Iron Oxide rust.
Cool Idea and really makes a Fillet brazed frame pop.

beicster 

I was in WalMart today and they have the same stuff in the hunting and fishing section. So tempting.

MaximumCoast

Oh wow, this is a really great option for me as I'm very partial to beaters and well used bikes with a lot of patina. Curses... now I'm going to be looking for another project! Thhaaannkkksss.....

Happy Feet

A little more work in between other projects.

The spokes on the front wheel were too rusted so I replaced it with another rim I had lying around:

zzzzzzzzzzz20170728_154250[1] by dc460, on Flickr

The back rim was in far better shape so I decided to rebuild it, but the freewheel had to go. I probably could have rehab'd the rust but the small cog was also busted (2 o'clock position):

zzzzzzzzzz20170728_154225[1] by dc460, on Flickr

I happened to have a 5 speed freewheel handy so I cleaned it up and stuck it on. I also overhauled the axle. It is in not bad shape although a little bent and the sealed bearing rolled pretty easy so I cleaned, re lubed and slapped it back together:

z20170729_184206[1] by dc460, on Flickr

zzzzzzzzzz20170729_175826[1] by dc460, on Flickr

Next up were the pedals. Again, cruddy but basically in good shape. I lucked out with this junker!
I pulled them apart, cleaned and re lubed.

z20170807_135953[1] by dc460, on Flickr

Now it's on to the crank. The small ring (26T) is bent but I just happen to have another (24T) kicking around but I'm debating whether to do away with the front DR all together and just make it a 1x5 for a cleaner look. Either way I'm removing the rings, cleaning and buffing a bit...

zzzzzzzzzzz20170729_184222[1] by dc460, on Flickr

TenGrainBread 

I say go 1x on the chainrings. Maybe down the line go freehub and a big cassette. And replace that bent axle. It's more likely to break now that it's bent.