>>>Eliminator 20" Muscle: Final finished picture here, p. 62

[Jake Sensi]

You are building a bike I wanna ride, and that's the kind of bike I vote for.

Hey! What he said! At the Phillies game right now! peace

[MattBiker]

WOW! I am drooling over that paint job! I love gassers! Can't wait to see if you incorporate some tinted plexi!

[Peatbog]

Thanks guys.

WOW! I am drooling over that paint job! I love gassers! Can't wait to see if you incorporate some tinted plexi!

Like this?:



I was going to cut out a windshield and squirt it with translucent red, but now I am not sure I am going to do that because I bought this cool little LED light whose lens I am going to squirt with the red. I think both the light and the windshield will be too much. Sometimes less is more. Haven't decided yet though.



The front fender is ready to have some black laid upon it:



And there's the black:



But I don't have the tape-removed picture. Now that it is done though, I am not sure I like it. I might redo it just plain yellow. The rear fender is going to be just yellow--no stripes, no checkerboard. I think it will look too "busy" with checkerboard on it what with the checkerboard already on the seat tube back there and the black paint with red pinstripes on the back of the bike and the chainguard with the lettering on it also. Again, less may be more.

Now here is my real rat bike:



It looks good in the picture, but it is all scratched up rather badly. I was riding with my youngest daughter once at a school construction site when I decided to ride into a bunch of mud. Problem was, it wasn't just mud; it was dirt soup. I sunk in until the derailleur was covered. I got off the bike and it stood straight up in the mud all by itself. When I got home, the mud was getting dry and did not want to come off. Lots of pressurized water was involved. Now the bearings aren't quite right and the chain falls off every time I used 7th gear--so I don't use 7th gear. And the seat is broke. I listed the bike on Craigslist last year and a guy came to test it out. He was a fat guy. He broke the seat when he sat on it, which I didn't notice until he left. But I can throw this bike in the back of my truck, along with my daughter's rat bike and off we go to somewhere we can ride (my street is too busy to let here ride there). See likes riding around the school parking lot. The point is, this bike is really a mess. I don't care if it gets another scratch or dent. And I don't have to preform any maintenance on it, not because it does not need it, but because I simply don't care. It is great to have a bike like this.

[yoothgeye]

Tell me, on your masking and painting, at what point are you removing your masking tape, wet, tacky, dry to touch, cured? I do it differently it seems like each time and thought I normally have success, I've had some screw ups and believe it's due to inconsistency.

[Peatbog]

Tell me, on your masking and painting, at what point are you removing your masking tape, wet, tacky, dry to touch, cured? I do it differently it seems like each time and thought I normally have success, I've had some screw ups and believe it's due to inconsistency.

I did it when it was tacky. I don't know if that is the best way, but I am afraid if I let the paint dry completely, it won't separate as easily from the painted areas and may pull the paint off. Actually, the tape on the sides, I pulled off very soon after the final coat of paint when it was still really wet because it was easy to grab those pieces of tape. I waited on the little squares just because handling the fender with really wet paint was a problem. Anyway, so far I haven't had any problems with messing up the paint when taking the tape off when the paint is tacky.

[Houndog]

I think some really small checkerboard on the fenders right down the middle would be sweet...

[kingfish254]

Even if you don't keep teh checkerboard, post the after photos for us to see.

[Peatbog]

I'll get a picture. I may use the front fender with the checkerboard.

[jaysmo]

man this is looking real nice i like the fender looks real good.. question .. do you mind posting a pick of the head tube bolt does yours have a regular hex head on it?? im just wondering mine does but it looks funny that way...

Is this the bolt of which you speak--meaning the bolt at the lower left in the picture?



That is the acorn nut on that side though. But the bolt head on the other side is indeed a hex head. Now that you mention it, the hex head does look funny. If I can get some threaded rod of the right size and another acorn nut, I could eliminate the hex head. Or do you mean a different bolt?

yupp that sure is it... and i was thinking the same thing a piece threaded rod to fix it i thought mine was rebuild at some time or something..
Thanks for the info!!!

[raggedjim]

Not trying to be smart but if you decide to use threaded rod get hardened rod (Fastenal has it as well as others). Regular all-thread is too soft.

Good luck, Rg

[Peatbog]

Not trying to be smart but if you decide to use threaded rod get hardened rod (Fastenal has it as well as others). Regular all-thread is too soft.

Good luck, Rg

Good idea. Thanks.

[jaysmo]

Not trying to be smart but if you decide to use threaded rod get hardened rod (Fastenal has it as well as others). Regular all-thread is too soft.

Good luck, Rg

Good idea. Thanks.

+1 Thanks for the tip

[Peatbog]

Even if you don't keep teh checkerboard, post the after photos for us to see.

Here you go:



I think I'll pinstripe it and clear it and see how it looks. If I don't like it, I'll strip it and do it over. First I have to fix a few spots I nicked up when removing the tape.

[kingfish254]

If you don't use it, hang it in your shop as art!
Beauty, eh?

[N8NBOX]

Yeah I think it looks great but a red pinstripe might tie it all together a bit better and change your mind