12/71 Cotton Picker

[barbedwire]

Here's some pics from tonight of attempts to clean and shine up paint while most parts are soaking. I'm looking forward to once everything is back together to compare the real before and after shine because although I can tell in person that it is shining up, I don't feel the pics and my lighting in the garage are showing its transition as well. But overall areas I've been working on don't appear to have the dirty tint to it. Using the Flitz polished even permitted me to gently wipe over the chainguard decals without damaging them as the chainguard paint is my biggest pet peeve right now, but not much I can do without possibly rubbing too much and having the Decals wear away. Will take post polish chain guard pics tmrw as my gallery on phone ended with the "before" pics showing the - to me at least - yellowish dirty look of paint.

note how shiny the paint is beneath the shifter base. As the night went on and wax on wax off continued over and over, I do feel the paint is getting closer to that hue even though I'm pretty sure I won't get it all exactly to that since that area was never exposed to sun or elements.

 

[CRASH]

The headbadge is set with screws, so you can remove that easily to polish. The cups can me knocked out pretty easy to polish, and you can whack them back in with a piece of 2x4 and a BFH. Be very careful with the chain guard. Those are water transfers and will clean off very easy. So that's going to be a sketchy fix. A decent rubbing compound should work wonders on the frame. You're well on your way! You'll find that Schwinn chrome is the most forgiving. They used very thick chrome, and with the right techniques it will come back very well. Keep it up!

 

[Pondo]

Nice work man! This is a great project and restoring the original finish is going to be great. I'd like to find a '69 Pea Picker but these things are so expensive out here that it's unlikely to ever happen. They were expensive originally. About $95 which is nearly 800 bucks in today's money. Keep up the good work!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Looking good!

You and I are in the same boat trying to preserve the original finishes. It's a lot of work!

 

[barbedwire]

The headbadge is set with screws, so you can remove that easily to polish. The cups can me knocked out pretty easy to polish, and you can whack them back in with a piece of 2x4 and a BFH. Be very careful with the chain guard. Those are water transfers and will clean off very easy. So that's going to be a sketchy fix. A decent rubbing compound should work wonders on the frame. You're well on your way! You'll find that Schwinn chrome is the most forgiving. They used very thick chrome, and with the right techniques it will come back very well. Keep it up!

I didnt realize they were tiny flatheads until your post so thank you for this info!! I thankfully found a small enough screwdriver to remove the badge and that's about all I did today due to other commitments. But it now gives me something else to polish and also gives the items in Evaporust another day of soaking lol

Nice work man! This is a great project and restoring the original finish is going to be great. I'd like to find a '69 Pea Picker but these things are so expensive out here that it's unlikely to ever happen. They were expensive originally. About $95 which is nearly 800 bucks in today's money. Keep up the good work!

I also felt like I'd never get a Krate til this came our of nowhere and was well below normal asking price making it something I could pursue. I'm going to make the finish as good as I can and leave every nick and scratch alone since to me that'd the history of this bike displayed visually. Every nick and scratch has a story to it that I will never know but appreciate all the same. Thanks foe the confidence boost!

Looking good!

You and I are in the same boat trying to preserve the original finishes. It's a lot of work!

It's certainly a delicate task trying not to do any damage isn't it? My fingers are hating me for all the scrubbing I've been doing, but there's a lot more ahead so they gotta deal with it lol... it's very satisfying to me tho once a bike like this is all reassembled with its original parts all shined up. The little flaws on it make it unique ad there's not a single bike out there that the identical look could be duplicated. Best of luck achieving your goals as we go thru this process!

 

[barbedwire]

Didn't do a whole lot today since it was a busy 24 hrs.... removed the head badge as mentioned above, did some quick polishing to see how much work around the headbadge is going to be to get as close to the original unweathered paint beneath the badge will be.

I'm looking for some input on my seat situation. The original seat has a 1 inch rip in it that I fear will only grow as I ride it. It is also weathered due to sun exposure and I feel isn't going to match the grips and Lever covers. I was in contact with Joe Crawford today who said I'd either need to send in my original seat to have redone or send a Stingray seat that he will drill out to make work for a krate. I don't want to send my original since if I got a new one made I'd still like the option to reinstall the original again if need be. What would you guys do and does anyone have a Stingray seat needing redone I can get hooked up with?

 

[Pondo]

I don't want to send my original since if I got a new one made I'd still like the option to reinstall the original again if need be.

I support this option. You should be able to turn up a Stingray seat pan or at worst get a repro and have that redone. Crawford does amazing work but that original will only be original once.

You could contact @mike1117 on the CABE. He's a Stingray collector with tons of parts, he'll be at the swap in Sacramento tomorrow.

 

[barbedwire]

I support this option. You should be able to turn up a Stingray seat pan or at worst get a repro and have that redone. Crawford does amazing work but that original will only be original once.

You could contact @mike1117 on the CABE. He's a Stingray collector with tons of parts and he'll be at the swap tomorrow too.

Sure that'd be fine. I'll inbox you with my # so if you find something you can get ahold of me. I'm not looking to spend a ton since to have one done would be $180. I've had Joe do me seat for a Fastback I cleaned up and it was truly top notch.

 

[ingola]

Didn't do a whole lot today since it was a busy 24 hrs.... removed the head badge as mentioned above, did some quick polishing to see how much work around the headbadge is going to be to get as close to the original unweathered paint beneath the badge will be.

I'm looking for some input on my seat situation. The original seat has a 1 inch rip in it that I fear will only grow as I ride it. It is also weathered due to sun exposure and I feel isn't going to match the grips and Lever covers. I was in contact with Joe Crawford today who said I'd either need to send in my original seat to have redone or send a Stingray seat that he will drill out to make work for a krate. I don't want to send my original since if I got a new one made I'd still like the option to reinstall the original again if need be. What would you guys do and does anyone have a Stingray seat needing redone I can get hooked up with?View attachment 247759View attachment 247760View attachment 247761View attachment 247762View attachment 247763View attachment 247764View attachment 247765View attachment 247766View attachment 247767View attachment 247768

I can cut an iron transfer for the decal on the seat they hold very well scrub that white with proxcide and nail polish remover to get the old decal off.

 

[CRASH]

I can only tell you my opinion from my perspective. If I were looking for a seat for my cotton picker I’d want one in good shape. I rip and worn ink isn’t something I’d want. That being said, there may be Schwinn collectors who value originality over condition. But I couldn’t estimate a value.
What I’m concerned about for you is your costs. Finding another seat may be expensive, then you have Joe’s costs on top of that. So hopefully you can find a derelict Persons seat for cheap.

 

[barbedwire]

I can only tell you my opinion from my perspective. If I were looking for a seat for my cotton picker I’d want one in good shape. I rip and worn ink isn’t something I’d want. That being said, there may be Schwinn collectors who value originality over condition. But I couldn’t estimate a value.
What I’m concerned about for you is your costs. Finding another seat may be expensive, then you have Joe’s costs on top of that. So hopefully you can find a derelict Persons seat for cheap.

I agree on the cost factor and will hold out until I find another seat needing redone for as cheap as possible. With mine having the 1" tear and worn ink I feel is going to take away from the end result of what I am trying to accomplish. With that said, seeing what some are listed for With larger deformities, I'm not willing to send it out to have it redone when down the road if I need to say find a Speedo or find a drum rear wheel that I'd need to fund, I could always hope to get some of what I need from selling the original seat. At same time tho i prob never will but would rather have the original seat on hand jist to keep with the bike versus having it redone to a non original cover. So hopefully I can find someone letting a persons one go and send it out to have redone before the deadline on this build comes about. I do feel I'd be happier with a redone seat being installed so I'm ok with spending the amount needed since I want this to be eye catching.

 

[barbedwire]

Today I pulled all the parts I had soaking out of the evaporust and I am most impressed with my Pedals as I scrubbed them down with a toothbrush in dial dish soap/water mix and aside from the end caps needing polished they look absolutely like new!

I also ordered an NOS front tire on eBay, and am still finalizing the purchase of a 98-99 style rear slick with white letters. Although it won't be original, it will at least get me by until someday finding a true NOS one.

I also removed the kickstand tonight to send it for a dunk in the evaporust. What a PIA they are tho!

The one thing I am most disappointed in despite all this is my mag sprocket. It was very very rusty looking prior to coming off the bike and I had hoped for it to come out of its bath looking like new. Although it looks far better, it is not a smooth surface nor as shiny chrome wise despite some polishing as other bikes I've done have come out. In order to stick with the bikes originality I am going to use it on the final product no matter what, but any advice for me as to what I can do to make it look better aside from rechroming or sending it to professional polisher who may have better luck/equipment?

 

[CRASH]

Only new chrome will make it look like new chrome. So if you don’t have one, get a 6” polishing wheel machine from harbor freight, Blue Magic polishing compound, and get to work. It’ll look shinier, but can’t fix the putted chrome.

 

[barbedwire]

Will do about making a stop by Harbor Freight,Mike. Sounds like a good investment I need to make.

Figured out my seat situation today. I bought a nice 99-00 reproduction Stingray
seat off a private seller today and am going to install it on my July 69 coaster Stingray Deluxe as that original seat has a large rip in it (see pic). It has the correct reflector tab under it, and even tho it has a different mounting bracket, Im OK with that since I still have the original seat being kept aside. The Deluxe seat is what's be sent out to Joe Crawford to have a new Cotton Picker seat made out of it. So I think I got it all settled! Haha

Pulled my kickstand out of the evaprust bath and it's back to that regular steel color.

Mowed all day and didn't really touch anything else bike related. Hoping for more progress this week tho!

 

[barbedwire]

I can cut an iron transfer for the decal on the seat they hold very well scrub that white with proxcide and nail polish remover to get the old decal off.

With it having a tear I'm just going to set it aside and send a different seat out to have a new repro made but if it wasn't torn I'd def go this route!

 

[barbedwire]

Been a busy week so I haven't made much progress. I had picked up a 6" bench top buffer from Harbor Freight thinking I'd be able to polish a lot of the chrome parts faster, but upon bringing it home and setting it up, it began making bearing noise when I would use the left hand wheel, so I had to return it and exchange it and that took up an evening on its own. Then I wanted to create some more space in my work area so i did some tidying up.

What did get accomplished is I polished the handlebars by hand and got my seat sent out to Joe. Hoping for some time to work this weekend tho! Here's pics of the 69 Stingray seat I sent to Joe to serve as a "before" of my soon to be redone seat.

 

[barbedwire]

I did examine my Speedo drive gear and took some pics of it to share "before" images of the wheels before I get them sent to bike shop to be serviced and then polished once home. Although I really want a true Stingray Speedo, I am probably going to go with a Schwinn Approved style of one for now. I do need a cable which I've been told by a reliable source is prob 21.5" in length? Also do i need to locate another foam spacer like the grease filled one that came off this wheel? I think it is pretty neat how the speedo drive gear fits right into notches in the center hub of front wheel. The front tire is original, but i have an NOS one on the waym i am going to look it over though as i think it may still be usable as a rider so I will prob keep as a backup if som

 

[barbedwire]

Finished reddin' up the garage today and got many of the pieces I need to get polished laid out. Got the nee bench polisher set up and running and it is much better than the faulty one I purchased earlier in the week. I tried to polish the bottoms of sissy bar on it, but the one side is a bit rustier than the other, so I ended up trying out the pb blast/brilliant pad method on it but even that's not making much headway. I really don't want to go to a coarser steel wool. Lastly I had my brother make a detour in his travels today and he picked me up a Schwinn Approved speedometer for $15 I found for sale , so at that price I couldn't beat it. Now to find a correct length cable. I still ultimately want a Stingray appropriate one, but visually from 5 ft away this oke at least crosses off the box of having one.

 

[CRASH]

Wow, that chrome has had some harsh years. The rims will be exceptionally difficult with the spokes on it. I’m going to make a suggestion: Remove the spokes and clean it, re-lace them, then take it to your LBS to tension and true.
The rear wheel will be the hardest.
How:
1) take the rear wheel to your LBS to have the freewheel removed. Buy a spike wrench of the correct size while you are there.
2) take detailed pictures of the spike patterns of both wheel. Rear wheel is called 3-cross. Front wheel is 1-cross.
3) remove the nipples. (I know, I know)
4) remove the spokes ENSURING you keep the drive side and non-drive side separated.

Clean and polish the rims and hubs. You should overhaul the hubs. You can clean/polish the spokes with scotch pad. They are bare metal at this point.

There are several tutorials on lacing wheels. I remember Sheldon Brown has a good one for 3-cross. The front will be the easier of the two. Take them to your LBS to pay to have the rest done.

Just a suggestion to help out those wheels.

 

[barbedwire]

Wow, that chrome has had some harsh years. The rims will be exceptionally difficult with the spokes on it. I’m going to make a suggestion: Remove the spokes and clean it, re-lace them, then take it to your LBS to tension and true.
The rear wheel will be the hardest.
How:
1) take the rear wheel to your LBS to have the freewheel removed. Buy a spike wrench of the correct size while you are there.
2) take detailed pictures of the spike patterns of both wheel. Rear wheel is called 3-cross. Front wheel is 1-cross.
3) remove the nipples. (I know, I know)
4) remove the spokes ENSURING you keep the drive side and non-drive side separated.

Clean and polish the rims and hubs. You should overhaul the hubs. You can clean/polish the spokes with scotch pad. They are bare metal at this point.

There are several tutorials on lacing wheels. I remember Sheldon Brown has a good one for 3-cross. The front will be the easier of the two. Take them to your LBS to pay to have the rest done.

Just a suggestion to help out those wheels.

To be honest it sounds like a daunting task! Haha I'm willing to try tho. I'm hoping to head to LBS tomorrow to inquire about cost of servicing the wheels. Ive cleaned worse with spokes still on however I had access to quick glow and as of now it's unobtainable.