Black Tie-phoon

[Hammond Eggz]

OK, did some work on a chainguard, and it came out way better than I expected.
I forgot to take a "before" shot when I dived into it, but here's a pic of it on the Coppertone '66 Panther it came off of to give you an idea of what I started with:

Obviously, the paint was pretty shot already. So, sanded the painted part down to the metal, carefully masked off the chrome area, and rattle-canned it gloss black in very light coats, sanding with 600 grit first, then 1000 grit between each coat.
10 coats and sanding sessions turned out looking like this:

It's thick enough that nicks shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Not too shabby, and adds a little streamlined elegance to the "black tie" format. 8)

 

[axsepul]

So, sanded the painted part down to the metal, carefully masked off the chrome area, and rattle-canned it gloss black in very light coats, sanding with 600 grit first, then 1000 grit between each coat.
10 coats and sanding sessions turned out looking like this:

i wish i had that kind of patience

 

[yoothgeye]

Wow, you are really sticking to this theme. That guard is pure class. I guess that would be the tux's cummerbund.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

As the saying goes....the devil is in the details.

Cheers,
Dr. T

 

[Arreaux]

Very Nice!

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words.
I fully realize I don't have the "fabbing" talents and/or tools of so many of the rest of you here, so I'm really trying to "dazzle with details" instead.
Lots more to come, and ideas are coming to mind all the time - especially since I'm already humbled by the start of most of the rest of the builds going on! 8)

Wow, you are really sticking to this theme. That guard is pure class. I guess that would be the tux's cummerbund.

I like that interpretation!

 

[herr_rudolf]

Cool...
The bike deserves a shiny chain though...
8)

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Cool 8) Why do you sand it after coats :?:

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Because the paint from a can tends to be rough, "dusty" and a little orange-peely. Sanding with fine paper smoothes it out, and takes out the sprayed-over effect, allowing you to paint it on thicker and shinier with several coats ...without looking so much like a "paint can finish". 8)

 

[Hammond Eggz]

OK, got the horn button installed. I was jazzed - it really works! It's a pretty decently made part, run by a battery. It gives a high-pitched "beeep", which is hilarious. Best of all, I no longer have a gaping hole in the side of the tank.
Also got some nice contrasting black on the tank, sort of along the line of the old Phantom style, but much simpler - less areas filled in, and no script. Plain and elegant, in keeping with the the theme:

So, this is what we're looking at now:

I've got so many ideas for this, but no time to work on it! This slow pace is killing me. By the time I get to working on it, I've already changed my mind about the things I had planned to do to it!

 

[CCR]

NICE BIKE !!! i think the mini apes are becoming my new favorite bars 8)

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Yeah? Funny, I've been second-guessing myself on going to something "swoopier" looking. I may have to put up a poll!
And thanks for the compliment.

 

[herr_rudolf]

I've got so many ideas for this, but no time to work on it! This slow pace is killing me. By the time I get to working on it, I've already changed my mind about the things I had planned to do to it!

If I didn't know any better I'd call this a finished bike...
Beautifully detailed. I'm really curious what you still have in store for this bike.
8)

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Hmmm...I know I have plenty of time to finish this, but things are so nutso at the office lately, I'm getting frustrated at getting so little done lately. Ah well - this is supposed to be fun, so stop stressing, right? 8)
On the upside, I keep getting new ideas for it, so I'll just plug away when I can...

First new item in a while I did the other day: every well-dressed Secret Agent needs a place to store extra clips for his Walther PPK, and a tux is no place for that, right? Well, here's the perfect spot for storage:

 

[Strings_and_steam]

Sleek machine! I'm sorry, maybe this is out of the park weird, but I keep envisioning a black bow-tie on either the front springer bolt or in place of the headbadge...

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Looks cool 8)

 

[tatman]

lol, i agree with the black bow tie idea!! looks awesome!! i keep seeing a little taller bars tho...just me tho.

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Thanks, guys.
Funny, obviously a lot of great minds think alike here - someone else mentioned the bowtie earlier, and that was one of the first things I planned for it! I was going to leave it 'til last, but with so many other people bringing it up, I thought I'd better mention that it is definitely in the plan! The original plan was to cut up a couple of actual Schwinn headbadges in the shape of a bowtie (for a more 3-D, realistic effect) but after playing around with one, it looks like they're not really big enough, so the back-up plan is a real black tie instead.

Well...just writing up that last post got me heavily in the mood to work on it, so I just shoved the workload on my desk aside for a few minutes. :mrgreen:

Dug through my stuff, and found a couple of items I thought might be cool to toss in the mix. At least I didn't have to steal them off another bike like I did the seat and bag! :lol:
The first headlight I grabbed was too big - didn't fit between the legs of the fork, and even if I rigged something up to mount it, it didn't look streamlined enough to fit the theme. Then I remembered this smaller one, and after some digging to find it, it was perfect for what I wanted, and slipped right in between the fork legs. The tail light was a great match and small enough to blend in with everything, and I bent the mount to kind of follow the curve of the tire. Luckily, finding hardware to do the mounting is never a problem, since I own a screw company! 8)

More to come -

 

[skillsthebarber]

that brooks seat makes a world of difference, looks great.

Going off of your bowtie idea. You know how you can get your kids first shoes dipped in bronze or something like that. It might be cool to have the bowtie dipped in bronze to make it metal then spray paint it gloss black, or if money is no object maybe get it chromed aftar it gets bronzed.

Also, a shorty chrome rear fender might look cool on there too


just my .02

 

[Strings_and_steam]

that brooks seat makes a world of difference, looks great.

Going off of your bowtie idea. You know how you can get your kids first shoes dipped in bronze or something like that. It might be cool to have the bowtie dipped in bronze to make it metal then spray paint it gloss black, or if money is no object maybe get it chromed aftar it gets bronzed.

Also, a shorty chrome rear fender might look cool on there too


just my .02

I agree on both accounts, I wonder how expensive the 'bronze dip' process is? And a shorty fender with the 'duck tail' intact would look awesome, almost like a throwback to tux tails.

If you're looking for somewhere to put the bowtie and keep it sleek, what about thread it between the spokes of the front wheel? :idea: