I love the stuff!
Alot of you have already seen my Velo Cheapo project wherein I had used shellac and paperbags to make grips and shellac to finish off some leather.

Well, here is my latest shellac application.

This seat is to be used on a ratbike project so I'm not too worried about authenticity or long duration comfort. Originally I had planned on finding a place to reupholster it. After 2 shops denying my service I finally found someone that would do it for $75.00. I would have let him do the job but he seemed very reluctant to take on the task making me doubt his services. So instead, I decided I was going to do it myself. I searched around for some possible materials to use when I finally decided to use a two layer cotton rag that looked like plain old white t-shirt material, craft foam for minimalistic padding and some Shellac to finish it off. This is what I came up with:








After adding several layers of Shellac I decided that I wanted the seat to be a bit darker so I painted it black, sanded it down a bit and applied more Shellac.
Rivets were added as a finishing touch.

Looks great. Have you been on it yet?

thanks.
I've only sat on it in mock up. The bike is still in the works.

Man you're crafty! It looks great...

lol... Thanks

Here's a shot of the bike it will be on - just in case anybody was intersted. I think it might be a bit out there for most though

Well it looks hella sweet. I seriously doubt I have that much imagination, patience, or skill.

What fork is that? And what are you using there for a battery holder/cover? It all looks awesome!

that's art, man...Art.

+1!

The bike and the saddle are the rat's pajamas!

Wow, I can't wait to see the finished bike.
Great job on the seat. My only concern would be if the foam is dense enough.
I have a couple racing saddles to recover, think I'll DIY them too.

That headlight has me wondering if it's a Hella car driving lamp, or possibly acetylene gas...I think I see a clear tube feeding it.

man you're stuff always amazes me. i was just in the gallery and came across your collection. just awesome. love the cleanliness of your builds.

how do you come up with the colors, lines, etc? do you mock em up first or do you just go along ad hoc or do you just have a vision and go with it?

can't wait to see this done.

is it just me or does the light look like it's having one for the road

That is rad. Will you post up some more pictures? Or is it a secret until it is completely finished? Looks awesome.

I thought that was a whiskey flask w/tube for a bit of courage while riding.
That is pretty freakin' cool.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

The fork is off of a JC Higgins Colorflow. The previous owner had painted all the hardware silver for some reason. A couple of hours of stripping and cleaning revealed some decent chrome. I still need to paint the fork itself.

Before:


After:

The headlight is a 7" fog lamp that I got from Northern Tool. The original plan was to gut one of those 120 LED flashlights and stick the LED's into the housing. I'll probably still do it but for now I just replaced the bulb with a Krypton bulb. I'll let you guys know how I'm powering the light in a couple of days. I'm still trying to get a couple more of the secret units for my other bikes

Thanks again for the super compliment.
In all truth, alot of times I actually start by trying to copy somebody else's build. But I start to change things here and there as I go and end up with something totally different. Usually the changes come in when I refuse to pay big for a particular piece. You guys have probably figured out that I'm a cheapskate.

that bike screams for a motor!
Where can I find pics of your grips?---sam

Actually, the final plan is to have a 49cc motor put in.

Here are the paper grips:

Is this for the Spaceliner Buildoff?
I used to use shellac as a primer when I was a painter (artist like). It really is great stuff. feels great on the hand and on the brush. And now I suppose on the butt.

Yup, it's for the Space Bike Buildoff. Too bad the only thing spacey is the Spaceliner frame. lol


________________________________

But anyway, for those who were asking about the battery holder... Here's what it is:



It's a miners head light that uses 4-D cell batteries. The typical battery cans that were used on vintage balloon bikes can run upwards of $65.00! So being a cheapskate, I opted for this $3.95 alternative. The green paint stripped off easily to reveal very nice brass.

Sorry for not telling right away but I was trying to win a couple more for my other bikes before I spilled the beans. I got the other ones for $9.00 and $10.50. But this brass one looks to be the best one yet since it has a switch already built into it.

Pretty awesome. Can't wait to see more pictures.

I just worked over a great C-dale touring bike. I put on a Brooks honey saddle, and got "natural" color bar tape because it specifically said in the description that it goes well with Brooks. Well, it doesn't. it does not look like in the picture, and is too light. It needs to be darker and redder.

Could I shellac the bar tape? or would that just fail miserably?

I've just gotta say that your bikes are consistently droolworthy. Please keep up the good work!

That's an amazing bike, and a very interesting process for the faux leather.