STBO Gravelina

Wildcat · Sunday at 10:56 PM

"I wonder if one of the Moderaters could transfer this thread over to the Builds section."

Never mind I'll continue on with it right here. I painted the lugs and outlined them in gold, matches the spokes.

Pondo · Monday at 6:48 AM

Glad to see you continuing this one, it's a cool build!

Wildcat · 2024-10-02T18:56:04-0500

I like the weathered bare metal, so I'm going to try to get the fork to match instead of being chrome. My plan is to wire brush it enough so paint will stick then use thinned out black paint to get the same shade as the frame. I might black out the logo on the cranks also. I'm still waiting on the seat that's in shipping between China and here. Then it may be about done.

The fork bearings are binding even though it's loosened so the fork needs to come off anyway.

metalchewy · 2024-10-02T19:09:08-0500

Montana gold makes a decent transparent black rattle can. An Airbrush with transparent black works paint works a bit better.

Never tried thinning out black spray paint for the darkening effect. Looking forward to seeing the result.

Wildcat · 2024-10-02T19:41:24-0500

metalchewy said:
Montana gold makes a decent transparent black rattle can. An Airbrush with transparent black works paint works a bit better.

Never tried thinning out black spray paint for the darkening effect. Looking forward to seeing the result.

I'm brushing on thinned black acrylic paint, then lightly sanding or rubbing with a wet sponge when it sets, to further thin it out. Then I'll do more if it needs more, if it even works in the first place.
The only spray I can use here is clearcoat. I've got no place to spray, but I could make up a temporary paint booth using cardboard and plastic. But acrylic paint has been working well. Once it is set for 24 hours I clear coat it and it gives a good hard finish. If I don't clear it, it's easy to scratch. From splatter to fake bamboo it works pretty well.