Redbird74

I got into cycling last year and I have enjoyed both it and my Cervelo S1 thoroughly. This year my wife is interested in trying it out. We live in the Persian Gulf but will be moving back to Canada in the summer. Over the holidays, we were home and I saw a deal that was very enticing. There is a shop in Toronto that burned down a couple of years ago but had several bikes that survived the fire, locked in a back office. They only suffered smoke damage, though extensive. We checked out the 2008 Soloist they had in a grey anodized finish and I knew that for the price it was an unbeatable bike.

The components have been discolored by heat and smoke and are probably always going to be gold and black. The frame looked extremely grungy. We took it home and tried some metal polish on it, finding that the soot and staining started to come off. I have now only polished a small section of the non-drive side on the downtube, as shown in the pictures between the graphic line and the "L" in "cervelo". I also tested it on the rear section of the non-drive side chainstay. I'm open to any ideas anyone has for working on the logos of the fork and the componentry.

When we return to Canada in July, we'll be working on restoring the rest of the frame and getting her on it to enjoy it! I will post the progress after the work begins in 6 months.

Muztard

Jeez, the fire was obviously very localised as all but the saddle survived!

pdedes

that gold is PIMPIN'

RichinPeoria

You might want to give a fire restoration company a call. The might have some cleaners or techniques that will make that look like new in no time.

thegunner

i kind of like the goldish look of the shifters...

awesomejack

wow! that looks sweet, but of course I can't see it up close in person. give all the moving parts a good cleaning and tune, if the bike runs fine, keep it as is.

Kurogashi

This is from Duke's right?
If so, can you please tell me the price of it. I was actually interested in this bike, but I already had a new bike waiting at home.
Sweet bike nonetheless.

Redbird74

Does anyone know what Ultegra levers are on the outside? Is it bare metal? Is there a tinted plastic over it? Just wondering if there's someway to polish them up. I tried the same metal polish as the frame and it didn't seem to do anything. My wife likes the gold look too, but the one lever is pretty black as well.

bdcheung

I am in shock that you joined the forum just to post this.

MrTuner1970

Can you not just do what you did with the spot that you already polished? Basically, all polishes (metal or otherwise) have some sort of abrasive. You could also try rubbing compounds, car cleaner/waxes, or something similar from a local auto parts store. Shouldn't be complicated. It's just paint. Just go easy so you don't rub through (i.e., take off some of the topcoat and/or lettering).

I'd begin with a mild rubbing compound to see how that worked. Then finish up with finer --then finer yet-- polishes. You'll need to change cloths each time you change grades of compound/polish/whatever.

Bah Humbug

I would have left it as-is. I think it adds character.

FuryUs1

So are you going to name it Phoenix?

cjump

you say you got it for a steal, right? i would take a bit of cash you saved and repaint it. choose the colors you want or have it look good as new. thats just me though

eric01

Try toothpaste. Has a very soft abrasive in it and can be used as a lightweight polishing compound.

Redbird74

It was a steal for the bike it was, not compared to the budget idea we had for a first road bike for my wife. I think the frame will end up coming out pretty much like new, so I'm more concerned about the finish on the components. If they don't clean up, we're not too worried about it, they still work like they should.