My bars for my Hawthorne build, as well as the whole frame, were caked in rust when I first started. Like you, I was trying to keep some of the original color and let that show through. The frame cleaned up pretty well, but my chrome on the bars and chain guard was like yours; really chipped and not a lot there to work with.
What I did was to use a couple of different rattle can paints to give them some 'color' , but also keep that vintage vibe.
Here's what the bike looked like when I got it:
You can see the bars, frame, and chain guard are pretty badly rusted. Here are a couple of photos of the chain guard / bars process. This is the chain guard before, as I found it, literally 'in a barn'.
I first scrubbed the stem, bars, chain guard and crankset with a 50/50 white vinegar and water mixture and #0000 steel wool to get the flakes of chrome and rust off. Then I sprayed everything, fairly lightly from a distance of probably 18" - 24". Just to get a light coating of the Hammered paint on there. This was a bit 'too shiny' for me, so I then took a Light Gray color, matte with no gloss, and sprayed a VERY light mist of that to tone down the shiny spots in the Hammered color.
This is what I ended up with. It tied in well with the frame that came out well (just like your painted parts came out nicely!) and fit the vibe of the original bike.
Notice I didn't go overboard with the paint. My number one rule in faux-tina is, "Always quit before you think you are done."
And the final result....
Hope this is helpful.
What I did was to use a couple of different rattle can paints to give them some 'color' , but also keep that vintage vibe.
Here's what the bike looked like when I got it:
![hawthorne build.jpg hawthorne build.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162189-hawthorne-build.jpg)
You can see the bars, frame, and chain guard are pretty badly rusted. Here are a couple of photos of the chain guard / bars process. This is the chain guard before, as I found it, literally 'in a barn'.
![hawthorne chain guard.jpg hawthorne chain guard.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162190-hawthorne-chain-guard.jpg)
I first scrubbed the stem, bars, chain guard and crankset with a 50/50 white vinegar and water mixture and #0000 steel wool to get the flakes of chrome and rust off. Then I sprayed everything, fairly lightly from a distance of probably 18" - 24". Just to get a light coating of the Hammered paint on there. This was a bit 'too shiny' for me, so I then took a Light Gray color, matte with no gloss, and sprayed a VERY light mist of that to tone down the shiny spots in the Hammered color.
This is what I ended up with. It tied in well with the frame that came out well (just like your painted parts came out nicely!) and fit the vibe of the original bike.
![18360587_1836829429676541_1578807494_n.jpg 18360587_1836829429676541_1578807494_n.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162191-18360587-1836829429676541-1578807494-n.jpg)
![hawthorne9.jpg hawthorne9.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162192-hawthorne9.jpg)
Notice I didn't go overboard with the paint. My number one rule in faux-tina is, "Always quit before you think you are done."
![18361459_1836828966343254_309094919_n.jpg 18361459_1836828966343254_309094919_n.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162193-18361459-1836828966343254-309094919-n.jpg)
![18360602_1836828783009939_1077867748_n.jpg 18360602_1836828783009939_1077867748_n.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162194-18360602-1836828783009939-1077867748-n.jpg)
![18361667_1836827606343390_1553751573_n.jpg 18361667_1836827606343390_1553751573_n.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162195-18361667-1836827606343390-1553751573-n.jpg)
And the final result....
![hawthornemoneyshot.jpg hawthornemoneyshot.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/162/162196-hawthornemoneyshot.jpg)
Hope this is helpful.