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I've always suspected alien, because of your 'out of this world' skill set.

Not sure about the AI part. 😏
 
Here's another one that I thought was pretty cool.

Time Machine.jpg


As usual, there are some nonsense parts of the bike (AI still has some learnin' to do with physics) but I really like the tank below the second top bar!

I might have to make something along those lines sometime!
 
The Renaissance Man said:
Here's another one that I thought was pretty cool.

View attachment 272467

As usual, there are some nonsense parts of the bike (AI still has some learnin' to do with physics) but I really like the tank below the second top bar!

I might have to make something along those lines sometime!
Click to expand...
That tank is the shape of one of the brands of E-bike motors I've seen.
 
Okay, this is very difficult to show in pictures because it is subtle. But here goes.

This project is somewhat harder than other patina restorations that I've done because I'm having to match the whole bike to the tank. With the RMS that I showed on the last page, everything was taken to bare metal and brought up to my own level of patina.

The Hoppy tank has original paint and graphics and is in fair condition. What is interesting is that the paint still has a nice gloss to it in spite of the scratches, dents, and rust.

IMG_7560.JPGIMG_7562.JPG

The new paint that I just applied looks like what it is, freshly painted. If the paint were dull and oxidized on the tank, I would be looking at ways to dull the new paint. But because the tank still has a gloss, the new paint needs to follow suit. This is where it gets tricky.

The new paint looks new and shiny but the tank looks old and shiny. Placed side by side the new paint has just a little more shine. To get a better match I sanded the fresh paint to level out some of the orange peel and then buffed it back to a glossy finish. It is subtle but the difference is more obvious in person.

I purposely did three stages on the carrier to show a comparison but it is hard to capture in a photo. The top part is untouched fresh paint. The center section is sanded paint and the bottom section is sanded and then polished. Hopefully you can see the difference between the top and bottom sections.

IMG_7708.JPG

This is just the foundation for the rest of the 'aging' that will follow.
 
The Renaissance Man said:
WD-40 is the gift that keeps on giving.

While sanding the rack a couple of spots flaked off. I stopped and used compressed air to confirm that more areas were also popping loose. This time it was on the top and bottom sides. I just stopped and will take everything back down to bare metal again as soon as I can make the trip back to the blasting cabinet. :(

View attachment 271416

The good news is that the frame and fork are fine since they were not in on the WD-40 party.
Click to expand...
Bummer, downer
 
The Renaissance Man said:
Here's another one that I thought was pretty cool.

View attachment 272467

As usual, there are some nonsense parts of the bike (AI still has some learnin' to do with physics) but I really like the tank below the second top bar!

I might have to make something along those lines sometime!
Click to expand...

That tank reminds me of the Vintage Electric E-Tracker bikes

1720485107856.png
 
The Renaissance Man said:
Okay, this is very difficult to show in pictures because it is subtle. But here goes.

This project is somewhat harder than other patina restorations that I've done because I'm having to match the whole bike to the tank. With the RMS that I showed on the last page, everything was taken to bare metal and brought up to my own level of patina.

The Hoppy tank has original paint and graphics and is in fair condition. What is interesting is that the paint still has a nice gloss to it in spite of the scratches, dents, and rust.

View attachment 272473View attachment 272474

The new paint that I just applied looks like what it is, freshly painted. If the paint were dull and oxidized on the tank, I would be looking at ways to dull the new paint. But because the tank still has a gloss, the new paint needs to follow suit. This is where it gets tricky.

The new paint looks new and shiny but the tank looks old and shiny. Placed side by side the new paint has just a little more shine. To get a better match I sanded the fresh paint to level it out and then buffed it back to a glossy finish. It is subtle but the difference is obvious in person

I purposely did three stages on the carrier to show a comparison but it is hard to capture in a photo. The top part is untouched fresh paint. The center section is sanded paint and the bottom section is sanded and then polished. Hopefully you can see the difference between the top and bottom sections.

View attachment 272475

This is just the foundation for the rest of the 'aging' that will follow.
Click to expand...

What is really amazing about those killer Hopalong tank halves is how great the condition of the graphics are, yet the paint has plenty of scratches scuffs, and age. Looking forward to your process and progress.

1720485783238.png
 
Chad T said:
To hot to paint? Or too hot to be outside painting? Hotter than the 4th of July over here in OH. 😅
Click to expand...
Cool and rainy here in the U.P. all spring and summer. Some in the upper 50s, but mostly in the 60s. For about a week it’s been in the 70s, a few times almost 80. The problem we’re having as far as bike work is heavy rain. A lot of grass mowing because it’s so well watered. It seems to rain every other day.
 
I finally had some time this afternoon to work on the fork. As with the carrier, I sanded and buffed the new paint. After that I reassembled everything just to have a look at the complete assembly.

The fork actually has two springs, a small diameter spring that is held with a carriage bolt and nut and then a larger diameter spring held with the same bolt and a decorative threaded cap. The inside spring goes together easily because the carriage bolt is longer than the spring. The outer spring is the opposite. The bolt is shorter than the spring so it is extremely difficult to compress the spring while pushing the cap down far enough to threat the bolt.

To get around this, the spring needed to be compressed low enough to thread the cap without the spring pushing against it. I'm sure that the factory had a special tool for assembly, but who knows. At first I wasn't sure how to achieve this, but the solution turned out to be quite simple when the light bulb lit over my head. lol

I threaded a couple of zip ties through the spring, squeezed the spring together in my bench vice, and pulled the zip ties tight.

IMG_7715.JPG


It worked like a champ! I was able to assemble everything easily with the shortened spring not interfering with the cap.

IMG_7716.JPG


I will remove the zip ties when the time comes, but everything will come back apart until I can finish all of the paint regrestoration.

IMG_7723.JPG

IMG_7724.JPG


This is the first Rollfast springer that I've ever messed with. It's a very cool design!
 
Good solution. Wonder what they did back in the old days? May twisted wire.
Fork is looking great!
 
Thanks!

The pictures didn't show the paint very well. Here's a couple in better light.

IMG_7718.JPG



I didn't think to get a before picture of the fresh paint but I'm loving how buttery it looks after sanding and buffing! If you look closely you can see how new the paint looks around the crown where it didn't get touched.

IMG_7720.JPG
 
 
 
 

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