Yeah use it. I usually cut a rag in half, then fold that piece in half to make something that will fit in the sander. You want to stretch it tight when you secure it in the sander so that the sander effectively moves the cloth. When you are done polishing there will still be a residue and you will need a clean cloth for the final wipedown. But that is usually the case when doing it by hand as well.
Columbia Mach 1 rehab
- Thread starter ozzmonaut
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
I went to the paint shop to get some touch-up paint made to match the bike. Because there is no flat panel large enough to scan on the bike itself, they cannot match the paint by computer, and they didn't have any panels that matched close enough on hand. So for now I am trying to figure out the paint situation.
Pretty wild looking bike, I just missed the muscle bike era getting into bikes in the late seventies early eighties, I pretty much jumped in when every thing went hard core bmx. Makes me think of the Brady bunch everytime I see these old muscle bikes, very cool though non the less, should clean up nicely.
I've just purchased a whitewall Goodyear Wingfoot 20x1.75 to go on the front. Should go well with the Goodyear 24x2.125 in the back. Looks like the frame will just get cleaned for now, with touch-up paint being a pain to figure out.
I was born in 79 so I definitely missed it. It's never too late to catch up. I'm actually not a huge fan of muscle bikes, but I got the orange frame many years ago, and started looking into these bikes, and they kind of stood out to me a little more than standard muscle-bike fare.Pretty wild looking bike, I just missed the muscle bike era getting into bikes in the late seventies early eighties, I pretty much jumped in when every thing went hard core bmx. Makes me think of the Brady bunch everytime I see these old muscle bikes, very cool though non the less, should clean up nicely.
I'm not sure how evident it is in this pic, but once the BB was disassembled, I noticed that the non-drive side arm on this crank appears bent in a few degrees. While I look into options to straighten , I have a very nice WALD which is quite similar I will be using.
It does look like it might be bent in a bit... Happens when bikes get dropped on their side sometimes.
Luke.
Luke.
I'm pretty sure I can straighten it. I've straightened worse but they were prewar cranks that weren't quite as beefy. Plus I'm not sure I even care since these WALD cranks are so close in appearance. I still haven't looked in my basement. There might be a set of Columbias from the era down there.
Had some time to clean the frame up today. Some was dirt, grease, etc. Unfortunately, there are a lot of spots that were chips or scratches that it seems rusted and were then treated with rust converter, leaving them black. This was just a good wipedown, no toothbrush or q-tips or real elbow grease. It's looking ok, but I'd really love to touch up some of the really bad spots with paint. Also the chainguard is pretty bad
Looks like a survivor now!
Luke.
Luke.
Front rim is still a concern. I'll either find a replacement 28-hole from the era, or disassemble this one and try the OA bath. Either way, disassembly happens, so probably try the OA first
Well, I managed to get a few things done today. I have decided not to get too crazy with cleaning the rims, as they will then far outshine the frame. I am, however, going to keep an eye open for replacement rims at the upcoming swap and anywhere else I normally look for stuff. If I find them, at that point I may become more diligent in touching up the paint. But I managed to clean the front wheel up some, snug up the spokes, clean, grease, install drum brake setup and bearings. Got the front tire mounted. Cleaned up the rear wheel (hub cleaned up amazingly and red stripe is as bright and perfect as new) rebuilt hub and all of that.Soon I will get the rear tire on and start assembly. Still have a ton of cleaning to do to the seat and sissy bar pad. But here's the wheels
They are looking great! Love drum brakes on the front!
Luke.
Luke.
Cool little bonus: I was getting the rear wheel ready to clean up, and removed the hub shiner. It was literally caked in grime and grease. I wish I had taken a before pic, but I didn't really think that it was even going to be worth keeping as bad as it looked. But here it is cleaned up, gold glitter, not perfect but it will continue being a useful accessory. I'm glad I took the time to check.
Something else kind of odd happened. While putting the rear wheel on the bike, I noticed that if I rubbed the brown areas that appeared to be rust around the spoke holes, it softened a bit. It became slightly sticky, but still quite firm. So I rubbed some with paint thinner and with some effort it came off. No idea what it is, but it may mean that these wheels are not so bad after all. I'm going to finish assembling the bike and work on the wheels as I have time, with a rag and paint thinner.
Also I'm going to switch badges with my other Columbia mach frame, since this one is more complete. The badge on it had been treated as to remove all color. So I will be adding the one on the right instead.
Very cool! Loving this build more and more!
Luke.
Luke.
So I'm done for now. Last night I cleaned the original chain, soaked it in oil, cleaned some more, replaced the cracked link. Then I polished a few bolts as well as the front hub a bit. I found a reflector from the same time period to throw behind the seat, and put it all together. I wanted to go ride it some but we just had 15" of snow, so I'm gonna wait a while. My road and the three other roads I take before hitting a main road are still untouched and hardly traveled. Still waiting on the rivets to attach the badge. Also going to use clear vinyl adhesive to fix a couple of splits in the seat and backrest pad. But here it is anyway
