TRADITIONAL 🅵🅾🅾🅻🅸🅶🅰🅽 - 1930s Elgin Oriole - 2nd Place (Tie) - BUILD JOURNAL

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Another rainy night in Georgia. But I still went to the lane when it was drizzling and sprayed some paint into a cap.

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While I had the paint in the cap, I remembered someone suggesting painting the recessed outline of the B&M shifter. I'll clean off the high spots after it dries.

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Also tested the HotWheels on the guard with red, white, and no stripe.

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That came out slick. 👏👏👏

Thanks, I was a bit worried that I didn't have a good patination for the white on the fork shroud, but I am very pleased with it.

Big difference in the before and after. 😎

Yes, it's always fun at the end to look back and see how big the journey was.

It has come a long way! Makes me really appreciate that fork you chose for this build. Excited to see the before and finished after. 😎

Thanks. After 2.5 months of a fork that didn't match, it's awesome to see it all blend together in the end.


I vote the red stripe with a white pin running parallel (top and bottom).

#2 or #3.


I love how the red turned out to backlight the HotWheels letters. It makes the whole badge visually have more depth.
I don't have a preference for the HotWheels guard just yet. We'll see how it all plays with the whole build.
 
Backpacking the B&M logo really ties the shifter handle in more.

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HotWheels badge is looking good with the backpaint.

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I am going to use the RatFink headbadge. I just need to get a blow dryer and heat it up a bit because it has a smaller radius than the headtube.

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The backfills turned out real nice. For anyone who doesn't know, there is a dedicated tool for that purpose. It's called a "flow pencil," and it looks a lot like an airbrush, but is gravity-fed--no compressor needed.


Now you tell me! 😀
I remember seeing those now. Guess I'll search ebay while my mind is on it.
 
I couldn't find one of my old screw on valve air pumps, so I opened up the mooneyes to inflate the tire.

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Something felt a little rough when I turned the axle, so I removed the discs again to check out the bearings and assembly.

What a fool. I knew this was a walmart Chinese wheelset. I never even thought about greasing the hub, so guess that means I am qualified to be a walmart bike assembly mechanic.
No damage, the races and bearings look fine and there is a smidgen of lubricant in there.
As much as we love the visuals, we have to keep reminding ourselves to pay attention to the mechanicals.

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Maybe just a tad of Zinsser Amber Shellac (or similar) on the white parts of the fork shroud to 'creamatize' it to the color of the tank color.

Really like the HotWheels work and how it fits in! And the Rat Fink head badge is $$$ !
 
Have to reassemble the fork because I forgot the original pivot bolt sleeves.
With my painting, I forgot that the holes were machined surfaces, so I had to scrape away the paint.

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Despite how complex this fork looks, it's assembly and operation are actually quite simple and beautiful.

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Fork is completely assembled, greased, and installed.

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