Nishiki Competition Color Problem
 

Hey all - I am a new member-

I have recently inherited my Father-in-laws old Nishiki Competition
He was the original owner - less than 500miles on it.
I am attempting to restore it

It was stored in a covered carport in the Los Angeles area for the last 30 years

My questions for you have to deal with any experience of a wierd anomally with the original paint color that I will describe below - and possibly helping me confirm an actuall production date for the bike -

It is a 10 speed "Competition" model as the original gold leaf "Nishiki Competition" decals on the down tube designate. It has the half chrome fork and the chrome rear triangle. It has a seat tube decal that says it is a Chro-moly double butted frame.
It has a Los Angeles County bike license decal that expired in 1977- it has a Bike shop decal for "Abbey's Bicycles" in Chatsworth Calif. I assume the original retailer.

equipped as below:

Suntour GT rear derailleur and Comp V front
Sugino Crank with Sugino Mighty Competition Double Chainrings 54/48
Sunshine Hubs / Suntour quick release skewers
Araya 27" x 1.25" rims
Suntour Pro Compe / 8.8.8 5speed Freewheel 14/17/22/27/34
Gran Compe Stem
Dia Compe center pull brakes and levers with the extra horizontal touring levers
Suntour Bar End shifters
No stamp on Seat Post
KB Champion Handlebars
Kyokuto ProAce pedals with toe clips and straps

Per the Trek website manufactures component dating codes resource:
Production Date Stamps on the crank arms designate "47-9" = Sept.1972
Production date stamp on the Suntour GT designate "OJ" = Oct. 1972

Serial number on the bottom bracket is - KS195766

I would like to know if the equipment listed and the decoded build date of the 2 stamped components (of 1972) jibes with your knowledge of this Nishiki model(?)

The other question has to do with the color - This bike has he original paint however it is a bit weird.

The overall color appears initially to be solid black - but there are small areas that appear to be a metallic bronze or gold.

The paint is still reasonably shiney, no dulling or matting or oxidation like you would find in auto paint defects.

When I removed the water bottle bracket/kickstand/airpump peg/seat
I found that the areas that had been covered/protected by these brackets were not black but a very distinct seperate metallic bronze color (goldish)

Also where the seat appears to have somewhat protected the top of the top tube due to how low it was adjusted there is a metallic bronze that would be the shape of the saddle's shadow on a sunny day - it fades into solid black -

Also where the water bottle bracket crossed the decals on the bottom tube the paint color there is metallic bronze and the decal is clearly a metallic gold leaf color
The decal gold leaf lettering where it was not covered by the bracket is a greenish blue color like it has tarnished or been exposed to heavy oxidation - the bottom tube beneath the water bottle has some some obvious and subtle fade from the metallic bronze into black .

Could this be UV damage to the Metallic Bronze paint and the gold leaf decals over 30 years of sun exposure - Does anyone have any experience with this type of paint color change/damage that they could share with me?

I am just not sure of the actual factory color is it black or bronze? Or was it actually a two tone? does anyone have any recall as to the original factory colors and paint schemes that were offered back then?

thanks for your help -

Early 1970s Nishiki specs do not have all the detail of modern specs, but the brakes, cranksets, derailleurs and wheels all match. Based on the date codes, it is almost certainly a 1973 model. The freewheel size is not mentioned, but your wide range model seems a bit suspicious and may be a replacement.

Some of the early models did come in two tone schemes, but the frame was a solid color with a contrasting head tube. If the undersides and protected areas of the tubes are a different color, then the change is almost certainly due to some sort of exposure. The color on the underside and protected areas of the tubes is most likely the original color.

My very first 'quality' bike I ever purchased was your model of the Nishiki Competition back in 1973. It was the same metallic bronze color you have on your bike. There was no two-tone paint scheme on that model for that year--the frame was the same color throughout with the exception of the chrome fork ends and rear stays. The equipment you listed was the original equipment (luved pumping that 54 chainwheel!), but you didn't list the saddle--is it an Elina Super Pro? Great comfortable beautiful saddle! Sold the frame several years ago, never had any oxidation problems because it was always stored indoors. :) If I recall correctly, the '73 Competition was available only in Metallic Bronze, Orange, and Yellow--definitely no Black for the '73 model.

not being a real chemist, I cannot say for certain, but it sounds like the metallic part of your paint reacted with UV and became dark. That is weird, because it is almost always the other way - things become lighter with sunlight exposure. But if the metallic particles are real metal, like, say real bronze, the metal bits could darken...

Did you say kickstand? :eek:

Now to offer a potentially constructive suggestion - might want to get your hands on a product like simichrome and test in an inconspicuous area that's become black. Perhaps you can remove the oxidation and restore to the original color.

I bought a yellow American Eagle Semi-Pro (Nishiki Competition), serial number KS78091, in March 1971, when they were offered in yellow enamel, metallic green, and metallic coffee/brown. I worked at Bikecology, a Nishiki and Peugeot dealership, from mid-1972 through mid-1974. Your bike's original color was "coffee," the metallic bronze discussed above, and almost everything sounds original. Are you sure about the 17-tooth cog? Mine came geared 54-47 (earlier bikes had 52-47 chainrings, later ones had 54-48, like yours) / 14-18-22-27-34 (later bikes had 14-18-22-28-34).

After 40k mi / 65k km, the seat tube lug broke away from the bottom bracket shell. I moved the crankset to my Peugeot and later snapped the left crank at the pedal eye, so if those cranks have alot of miles on them, I would not trust them with my safety.

Thanks for the responses they are all very helpful -

I have a couple of more questions But wanted to reply to yours first :

John E.:
in fact upon careful recounting my Suntour 8.8.8. Pro-Compe cog set, it is as you suggest
it should be - 14-18-22-27-34 -- thanks for catching that
and for confirming the metallic "Coffee" color name for the 1973 model line

I think that this bike has so little mileage on it (under 500 miles) the Sugino crank couldn't possibly be suffering from structural fatigue yet but I will take a very carefull look at the area you described to be certain- thanks for the heads up

USAZorro:

I have heard good things about simichrome i have tried to locate some but came up empty - I have used a couple of automotive finish restorers(Meguires) on the underside of the chain rails but no change other than to make them real shiney - wierd huh? The change in color seems to be beneath the Clear Coat which is why it seems to me as it if the metalflake particles changed color to black or tarnished or something rather than there being a defect in the top coat like heavy oxidationsimilar to what you would find on an auto finish after 30 years of neglect - I have been around a lot of auto body and paint work before but have not seen anything that helps me interpret this anomally.

Actually I like the black color more than the Coffee - it would just be great to have one or the other but not the odd fading between the two that has occured - for restoration it would be great to restore the original color.

and the kickstand is gone - not to worry ;-)

Luker:

The location of this bike for the last 30 years has been in the San Fernando Valley area of L.A.- Not to far from the Burbank Airport for years under the flight path at take off- makes me wonder if the airborne Jet exhaust/fuel over the years had caused a chemical reaction as it was deposited and possibly absorbed through the clear coat and caused a chemical reaction with the metalflake below changing it to this black color - A long shot and sort of Sci-Fi, but hey it might be a possible explanation - ;-)

Karmantra:

The available colors for this model year are exactly the confirmation I was hoping to get - So no black in 1973 - The bronze like metallic "coffee" color is the official color of my frame - cool

The seat that is on the bike I didn't mention because it is so worn I couldn't make out the brand - it has an almost unreadable silver embossed stamp on it - after some time online this morning I found that the stamp reads "Seamless Y.F.C." it is a Fujita seat - it is a leather covered seat (with a quilted style top stitch diamond pattern) on a plastic shell - there is a Fujita identification (logo) molded into the underside of the plastic shell - the leather seating surface is shot - it has split repeatedly along the top stitched area. There is some speculation by my wife that her dad was given a new bike seat as a birthday gift at some point but she is not certain that this is it.
So would this be an O.E.M. seat for that model year? Would this seat have been a decent quality?

TMar:

I am not sure what you are referring to regarding the "freewheel size" or the "wide range model" - is that in reference to the cog set 14-18-22-27-34 ?? - How can I find this info you are referring to so that I can report back - I am holding the freewheel right now - the center 2 notch locking nut is stamped with "PA 8.8.8. Pro-Compe • Maeda Industries, LTD. Japan" there does not appear to be any other markings that I can locate.

I am glad to find that the bike as it is appears to be all original - Hopefully I can get this original paint color sorted out.


Thanks everyone for your input -

New Question -
For polishing up the Rims, Dia Comp brakes, derailleurs, seat post, stem and handlebars what is the best product ? - I have been using 0000 steel wool and a lot of elbow grease - they are just very dulled and heavily oxidized aluminium. Is there a better/faster technique?

I found that the heavy rust that appeared on the Chromed fork and rear frame triangle areas was best removed with the crumpled aluminum foil and Coca-Cola technique+ elbow grease - it worked great and was much faster and more complete than the various commercial auto chrome polishes and rust removers I had laying around. I always thought that technique was just one of those urban myths we have all heard. What a nice surprize.

I am under the impression that If I can't get the frame color restored to the original Metallic Coffee color that the value of this bike as a collectible may be nil - If that is the case what moderate improvements if any would you suggest to create a dependable more easily serviced and enjoyable ride. I believe the bike is great as is and I am excited about getting it cleaned up and back together so that I can ride her - I am just being suduced by the sea of components available on ebay, they are all so shiney-
This may be blasfamous - tell me if you think so.

thanks

Seat: sounds exactly like the stock original saddle for the Nishiki with the leather top stitched in a diamond pattern with chrome rails--I found it comfortable once broken in--nice seat, but not a Brooks! You talk of your father in law being given another seat for his bike. If he didn't put a lot of miles on the bike, he might not had 'broken' in the saddle and he was given a gel saddle pad for comfort. As far as restoring the bike--its a nice looking bike with the chrome accents and the cool 'wraparound' seatpost stays, but I remember the lugwork and welds being rather crude and the bike weighed a ton! Would be a project, and replacement decals and stickers might be near impossible to find. Thanks for the walk down memory lane! :)

Very interesting about the colors. Sounds like a winter internet research project.

I'm pretty sure that 14-34 qualifies as wide range. Something on the order of 14-28 is more typical, and what you have now is almost certainly a change made by the owner.

Also, replacement decals are no sweat if you know what the originals looked like. Right Mike? ;)

ps. happy to hear the kickstand went missing. :)

geez, john. I've never known anyone to singlehandedly wear out a good quality bicycle before. You wouldn't be one of those lon haldeman types????

So now that the holidays have passed I have had a few hours recently to spend on my 73' Nishiki Competition with the weird color issue as mentioned in the first post-

So I finally got the nerve to take out some rubbing compound (as suggested) and went at a hidden area on the underside of the chainstays - just in case I created an disaster with my efforts -

Well I found that my assumptions were in error (of course they were)

The Nishiki Metallic Coffee color that faded to a solid black in what appeared to be areas of sun exposure were actually areas where the Metalic paint had been rubbed through/off exposing the base coat (undercoat?) of solid gloss black.

I can only assume my Father-in-law had tried to clean up a weathered oxidized metallic finish some years ago and created this color anomally by inadvertantly rubbing through the finish to the base coat. Boy he must have been bummed!

Makes sense - as it is common to apply a metallic paint over a base coat of black to add depth to the color. It never occurred to me that might be the reason for the odd appearance.

I have since removed most of the mottled metallic Coffee paint with the rubbing compound to reveal a totally solid gloss black frame.

I am much happier with this result than with the prior condition. It actually looks pretty nice with all the aluminum and chrome contrasting with the gloss black.

Needless to say the "Nishiki Competition" decals on the down tube have been removed by this process - they were in very poor shape anyway - I was able to workaround the decals on the seat tube (the Chro-mo Laurel Wreath tubing decal and Nishiki build decal)

I have also located mounted front and rear Suntour Cyclone derailleurs
a pair of Shimano Tiagra brake levers and a new Serfas Dual Density Vado saddle.

I have got the bike back together now and have yet to actually take it out for the day - however my recent ride around the block put a very big smile on my face (it might have been the saddle) and I think that makes it all worthwhile - thanks again for all your help guys-

later

scott m

I had a 73 Nishiki International. The decals were not clear coated and barely lasted the first few months. The bike was great-it took lots of abuse by me at age 15 and never broke.

I don't know how many times I wished I had saved a few more bucks and bought the Competition model.

I have heard that the Nishiki frames would crack at high mileage.

I loved my 77 ish competition. I still regret giving it away about 7 or so years ago.

Scott, Glad to hear a happy ending. Makes so much more sense now. Enjoy many sweet rides.