SkyWave

Oops.

Mine is and was always RED!

Reynolds 531 

Easily fixed.

SkyWave

Sorry won't match my kit so I will be the outlier.

francophile 

Is that product worthwhile? As in, have you used much? I'm always interested in new options for paint.

Reynolds 531 

No, but I have a Blue Bianchi, that needs to be corrected.

I have yet to see this paint in real life, so I about to just go ahead and buy some. I have heard good reviews, but I do want to see for myself.

mechanicmatt

There's plenty of already good advise on here so I probably won't add anything useful. That said if you are going to upgrade a bike, I am always hesitant to replace the headset if it is threaded because the different headsets have different threaded height needs (ball bearings and grease always good to replace), the seat post (which often matches with the frame well), and front derailleur (as long as it is all metal, and not Simplex).

It's fine to find low end stuff to work on but there is a sweet spot of used bikes like Univega's, Schwinn Prologues and Preludes, and Trek Multitracks, that likely have decent frames and okay parts to get you going well. If you are not looking to flip, 90's MTB's can be had with nice parts for a fair price, but they don't bring much in returns. Get to know what are good frame materials, Reynolds, Columbus, Tange, Easton, and True Temper in general are good. Items marked as 4130 steel, 7075 Alum, 6065 Alum is typically still good. Hi Tensile Steel and 1030, 1020 steel, not as nice usually. I'm sure there is plenty others but I'm trying to use broad strokes here.

And all Gitane's must be purple. Unless they are not. If they are blue they need the chrome holographic lettering.

mechanicmatt

The spray bike has a shop in Atlanta with the color spectrum available, at least according to their website they do.

the sci guy 

Fun thread. I'm almost through my 3rd bike refit.
The first time I took a 10spd to a single spd, but had the shop install a new BB and headset, and order a lot of the parts, which I assembled myself, but it was nothing harder than brakes & wheels & a crank.
The 2nd time was a much older bike, and I had a shop find the right BB for it, and replace that, and the headset, since I still didn't have a tool for that. I did everything else myself again.
This 3rd time, I've done everything myself. Borrowed a headset press, bought even more tools for removing BBs, cassettes, cranks, etc. I felt much more confident, but also spent a lot of time watching youtube over and over and over, and reading Sheldon, and asking questions here. I researched and found all the parts I wanted myself, and bought them myself through various online retailers, and some from LBS. It's almost done.

Biggest agreement I have without already posted thoughts is DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take craploads of pics of everything before you disassemble. You will absolutely refer back to them when you're reassembling. Also take pics of any size or model information stamped/stickered on any parts you take off - even if you aren't replacing it. I keep track in the Notes app on my iPhone of everything and check them off as I replace, and it's easy to quickly check sizes and stuff, etc.

Go online and try to find the bike manufacturer's catalog from the year so you can look at the back and find as much info about the specs, parts, build, sizing, etc of your bike model as possible - it's not always 100% of the info you need, but gives you a starting point at least.

Tools tools tools. Buy or borrow. You'll need them more than you think. Besides once you start tinkering, you'll always tinker.

Be ready yo do things over and over because you screwed it up.

Be as period specific as you can with any swapped parts. If you want a steel bike with new fancy components, just go buy a new All-City or something. Keep vintage bikes as vintage as you can. As was said, most older parts can be brought back to life with some cleaning and scrubbing. And they don't all have to shine like the sun - as long as they work well.

ltokuno

Awesome advice here. Read the websites posted. My Ten Speeds and Sheldon Brown’s sites are a treasure trove of information.

I’ll just reiterate some of the things I found really important.

Take your time.
Breath, relax, let it go. That nut you just stripped isn’t laughing at you, and there’s ways to fix it.

Get the right tools or don’t do the job. Bike communes are great for this. You don’t have to buy expensive tools you won’t use much, or maybe only once. They will usually show you how to use the tool too.
Another note, don’t buy the cheapest tools. For example, some stores sell cheap 12spline sockets, and they’re even guaranteed for life. You’ll hate these when it strips a bolt that will cost $10 to replace, and maybe some serious time to find.

A torque wrench is you friend when you’re starting out. Not only does it help so you don’t strip threads, but over time you can learn what different amounts of torque feel like. Tightening by feel is handy to be able to do when you’re out on a ride.

Honestly, I think you’re off to a good start by posting here.

Miele Man

Can't agree with a lot of that.

I painted a MIELE Tange Infinity frame green-white-red because I wanted a custom paint job on a bike I was going to put an all Italian Campagnolo groupset on.

I have an old 1980's red BIANCHI here I'm gradually restoring to catalogue new. Most of the parts I put on it so far are NOS Cyclone ones. They might be used parts once I rode the bike but at least I know they are not defective in some way.

Cheers

BFisher 

Um...some of the nicest builds on this site can be found here: Retro roadies- old frames with STI's or Ergos

Want a period correct Colnago? Rock on!
Want to put Di2 on your Paramount? Go get it!

Chombi1 

Uhmmm.....No!

LDBenjamin

The best guide is Donald Adams' "Collecting and Restoring Antique Bicycles." He focuses more on the period from Draisine to Safety, but a lot of it applies to restoring more recent bikes as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Re...2916402&sr=8-2

francophile 

Yeah, but that's not the right size!

Gary Fountain

Don't give up! That component is out there. It may take years to surface but it is out there.

francophile 

You may need to buy 20-30 more bikes before you find it though

mpetry912 

Prowler up above said it. Get good quality tools, particularly screwdrivers and allen keys. Don't use 25 cent Walmart junk, you'll round out fasteners.

The best allen keys out there are the Wera. I have the stainless ones. they are awesome ! The flats are "cupped" so they are like Snap-On Flank Drive sockets and Will Not Slip. available from Chad's toolbox dot com or seller KC_Tools on ebay.

Also, anything tight - don't force it. Stuff gets corroded and stuck. Spray your Aero Kroil or PBBlaster. Wait. Make sure you have a good fit on it with your tool before applying mega-force. Goes especially for BB fixed cups.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA

Fixit

Hehehe....true.

3alarmer 

...the painting thing always pops up in this topic. Then someone always says something like, "It's only new once." Which is true, of course. But I have to say that lately I've gotten much better at painting, myself. This was after inspiration by a number of Cycle Art repaints I've either bought or encountered over the years. I recently "restored" a Lenton Grand Prix, and because the paint and decals that were on it were both relatively intact and kind of fragile, I overcoated everything with Spraymaxx 2K Clear Glamour out of a spray can.

There are only so many bicycles that are both of interest to me and my size that have survived in good cosmetic condition.

I think, but cannot prove, that a lot of the anti-painting sentiments come from seeing so many crummy home paint jobs over years of looking at bicycles. But liquid paint is clearly a very flexible medium, and most of us are not doing concourse d' elegance restorations. You can make a bicycle restoration look very impressive painting it yourself, but it's labor intensive and time consuming. I just finished repainting a Mark I Raleigh Pro that needed a few tiny frame repairs. (With some of the paint burned off, it wasn't hard to make the decision to repaint it.) Turned out OK.

I'm not sure I'd recommend frame painting as an endeavor for everyone without reservation, but it does help to reduce the number of bikes you buy when you have to look at the prospective purchase in terms of the work that might be involved.

3alarmer 

...if I can offer anything, it is that by far the best penetrating oil (for disassembly issues) is a mix of 50/50 acetone and ATF. Most really old stuff will require the heat of a torch somewhere along in the disassembly process. I use the same one I use for copper plumbing repairs, a MAPP gas torch from Home Depot. Don't burn the paint.


And sometimes you will have to make a decision to sacrifice something like a freewheel by doing a destructive removal, in order to save something else like a nice Campagnolo hub in a solidly built wheel that you are at risk of ruining in the regular removal process.

3alarmer 

...there was a bike shop here that carried it (that has since gone out of business.) So I stopped in one day to check it out. At the time, the color palette was somewhat limited. The product itself is a one part acrylic, and interesting in that the application of it is done with the nozzle pretty close to the surface (maybe 6-8 inches), rather than the usual spray technique for painting that is farther away and more sweeping strokes. It does dry pretty quickly, and does seem to be as good at least as any other acrylic enamel paint. the examples I saw at the shop were mostly frames that had been "personalized", by overpainting with stencils. I imagine it's excellent for something like that. Also it was kind of pricey at the time.

But availability now in single use, disposable spray cans of 2 part acrylic epoxy paints like Spray Maxx 2K, (which at 20 bucks per can will exactly cover one frame and fork (or two forks if you have one that needs it when you have it mixed up,) has rendered it unattractive for me as an option. I'm unlimited now in color coat choice, and I know that any 2 part paint with a hardener will be tougher and more durable. And it allows spraying the whole paint job including the graphics (usually on vinyl) reproductions with a hard clear coat, that has good depth and gloss as the final finish coat.

So in fairness, I've only seen it used, not used it myself. But in my applications, it makes little sense because of the cost of it and the limitations on color matching.

Miele Man

With DIY painting preparation is the key and next is to not make haste. I take my time and I only paint when I really feel like so that I don't get tempted to rush it just to finish.

Here's the bike I painted green-white-red back in 2001. It has a mix of 9-speed Campagnolo Veloce (silver parts) and Mirage (black) components. The Ergo levers and front derialleur are Mirage the rest is Veloce.




Cheers

Kahsyrbag

For rusty bare steel, spray with WD-40, then scrub with Chore Boys, my 70 year old bike I did that to the handlebars when I first got it five years, still shiny and looking new today, if you are unsure if it is steel, don't use it, Chore Boys is a stainless steel version of steel wool, it will scratch anything not steel.

Alex Atkinson

Hello to everyone!
I'm planning to start restoration of a vintage bike with my friend soon, so we need a proper equipment to do this work. Earlier I had only a small toolkit for carrying with me while riding. But now, I need a tool kit for home maintenance. I was looking for it everywhere in the internet and, I've found some sources with tool kit reviws, here is one of them,https://outdoorsly.org/best-bike-tool-kit/ (maybe, it'll be useful for someone). Here are pros and cons for every tool kit, and I've chosen 2 variants, but I need to choose only one and that's why I'm asking for some advice. I'm interested in the Bikehand Tool Kit Set (first one here) with 23 tools in it. And at the same time, I like the Demon Tool Kit too, even if it has only 19 tools instead of 23, because it still has all the necessary tools, as I understand. Which one would you recommend? I've asked that question on several forums and I'm waiting for all the experst opinions.
Thank you in advance. Wish you good riding.

ckter

Some great advice here!