Sculptor7

The 82 Fuji Monterey I found at our town dump was my January project and I feel that I have taken it as far as I would like to at this time. It is a small 20 inch bike and was found dusty, dirty, with a bent derailleur and a right hand brake knocked out of line. The bottom bracket had a growling sound as did the headset. The wheels turned but only half-heartedly so I knew the hubs needed service. This project was the first for me and undertaken with a view toward learning a bit about bike maintenance and how much I felt comfortable doing myself. Also I can't bear to see good things get thrown into a hopper.
There were considerable paint blemishes and the paint along the top tube was absent for a good part of its length. For this reason and also to test my abilities I decided to re-paint the frame and fork. Although I have both a spray gun and an airbrush I elected to use a soft-haired one inch camel hair brush to give it 4 coats of thinned Rustoleum sanded between coats. Each coat allowed to dry overnight near my wood-burning stove in the basement. In retrospect I should have taken more "before" pictures but will on my next project.
Before:



Bent derailleur:

And the "After pictures". Unfortunately I won't be able to test drive it for some time as you can see from all the snow we have here. The new chain and the repaired and overhauled derailleurs work perfectly on the work stand, as do the brakes.
Work done was:
Overhaul bottom bracket, hubs, brakes, shifters, derailleurs, headset, new bar tape, cables, brake pads, new tires and one new tube, two new rim tapes, paint and seat repair. Also clean, lube and polish pretty much everything that moves. Flushed and lubed the freewheel as best I could without dismantling it.

bikenut2011

THAT is slick!! Nice Job, you should be very proud!!

andy

cb400bill

Nice job. I have a similar Fuji to yours, a 1986 Palisade. I bought it to flip, but haven't been able to bring myself to put it up for sale. I find it to be a nice comfy recreational bike. Enjoy!

jstewse

Great work. I have a couple of Univega's that look very similar to that component wise that I plan to fix up in a similar fashion before spring.

auchencrow

Hi Sculptor7 -
I see your Fuji started out as a totally unmitigated POC , and you turned it into a nonpareil of C&V handiwork!

Fine job!

SteveSGP

Excellent work, I never would have expected a brush paint job to turn out that well.

bikenut2011

You would be shocked at how nice a "brush job" can look when done correctly. The key is a quality brush and thin the paint just right so it flows out smooth. Of course color sanding and rubbing it out after can fix any imperfections too!!

Again, OP, Great Job!!

andy

beech333

Nice job! Got any recommendations(ratios) on thinning the paint? I'll be headed down that road shortly, with a can of green rustoleum that I picked up yesterday.

Is the RD really bent or is it just the claw? I think that is the first time I've seen a Suntour 7 being used on this forum. What do you think of it, regarding shifting?

BigPolishJimmy

Very nice! I've been debating with myself on going with silver or black bar tape for my Monterey, and I think now I'm going with Black, it just looks so good on your bike.

Sculptor7

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. In regard to the derailleur it was just the hanger or claw that was bent.
As to painting I used thinner to get the paint just thin enough to stay on the brush and not run too easily. Also did not fuss too much with each stroke; painted each tube completely before going on to the next; used good light; made sure the paint was really dry before a light sanding with 400 paper and/or scotchbrite pads; cleaned the brush thoroughly after each coat, first with thinner then with soap and water. I wanted the brush to be as soft and supple when I finished as when I started. (This is also the technique of cleaning I use when doing my oil paintings).
Got a lot of good inspiration and help from this site:
https://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...troduction.htm

ColonelJLloyd 

Great work, Sculptor 7!