Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser -- OMG IT'S DONE!

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

A little more progress. Baby steps. The mounting hardware came out of its vinegar bath tonight. A little steel wool action, and some time to dry, and its nice and shiny, ready to be bagged up for assembly in a few months.


IMG_20130219_211028 by sunliner500, on Flickr

 

[Voyager Al]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

pholTmonx, my experience with lace painting back in the 70's, was ya had to DUST the paint on, so ya werent really soaking the lace,or paper. ya only painted enuf to color, not cover. Just saying. Im old school,and i use whatchagot. That was in the lacquer days, and didnt even know about bc/cc. We DID clear, but it was lacquer clear, and ya 600, then 1000 sanded be4 buffing with Parko Fast cut. man, those were the days. Nowadays, its buff with non-abrasive compounds. ....things have come a long way. Clear with urethanes that ya dont have to buff, if ya got it dirt-free. Nice!

 

[pholTmonx]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

pholTmonx, my experience with lace painting back in the 70's, was ya had to DUST the paint on, so ya werent really soaking the lace,or paper. ya only painted enuf to color, not cover. Just saying. Im old school,and i use whatchagot. That was in the lacquer days, and didnt even know about bc/cc. We DID clear, but it was lacquer clear, and ya 600, then 1000 sanded be4 buffing with Parko Fast cut. man, those were the days. Nowadays, its buff with non-abrasive compounds. ....things have come a long way. Clear with urethanes that ya dont have to buff, if ya got it dirt-free. Nice!

I feel you, i was only suggesting alternatives that are more forgiving. the detail and designs you can get out of things other than doilies is crazy. we are dealing with 1.5" tubes, so bang for your buck w/ the real estate at hand Id rather fine line detail as opposed to 1/8" designs. Also it seems to me that most guys around here are rattle canning stuff, and at all sorts of experience levels. the nylons and lace both are easier to lay out.. the nylons want to wrap/ stretch, and cotton you can use a spray bottle with water and mist it till it lays to the curves, let dry and go to town..as for paper, i personally hate it anywhere around my booth, cheap masking paper is my biggest beef, it lints everywhere.. my materials costs are silly here in Cali, so i like to reduce my variables. i tend to use lace not in my base coats but candy mid coats, being kandy inercoats, i cant cut into them, so its an issue. not saying it cant or wont work, just some alternatives that i and others have good success using. just tools man just tools and ideas..
if i am air brushing or using a mini gun, i may use some paper shields here and there, but with a rattle can, Im good on it, the millage is to heavy. if its dusted too dry and you get orange peel. lacquers were fun cause they cut back into each other and settled, rattle is dry on dry on dry..
next time i shoot a wagon roof, by all means ill be hitting you up about this magic clear!!!
ps as for fishnetts etc, i get em from my girl.. so that should count from using whatchagot.. :lol: :lol:

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

VoyagerAl and pholTmonx, I'm reading everything you're writing...very informative. I'm fairly inexperienced at painting past sticking down masking tape and spraying a rattle can, so I'm soaking up all the advice I can.

I was *thinking* of doing a black base, laying down the lace and spraying white base, then covering with the Roth metalflake rattlebomb product, like in Chop's thread. You are suggesting using the lace on a layer of Kandy between the base and the flake? Are there any examples I could see of how that turns out?

At the heart of this bike, my wife wants big, fat metalflake, and I thought the lace would add that bit of "pop" on all the accent colored pieces. I haven't told her I'm thinking of the lace pattern, I wanted it to be a surprise.

As for the flake, would it even work if I got a jar of flake, and sprinkled over a wet color coat, then cleared it? I even read of one project where the guy mixed flake into liquid paint and *brushed* it on. :shock: I'm leaning heavily toward the Roth base/flake/clear system, though.

 

[pholTmonx]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

oh indeed i do think Ichops method is great and is the way to go with a rattle can.. i was only trying to suggest materials for the lace, my use is different as i use automotive paint systems, so i have different limitations and a few extra cheats...
that said your wife is i for a treat. best of luck!!!! if she really wants a heavy flake, id try some test pannles, as you may end up burying the lace pattern if you bury it in flake. also for heavy flake I have always shot it first so i can cut back the texture in the clear before going in with my graffics, it is just easier to hide the paint edges.
here is a sample of the candy only over lace.. to each his own, there are no rules, just different effects and methods..
http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2012/01/ ... lMa.80.jpg
I shot you a pm about it..

 

[Voyager Al]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

pholT, I bow to thee!!! Thats awesome, 50's styling. Thats how I remember it!

 

[sleepy]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

You can see the original Firestone 500 lettering on the tank. Same deal as the chainguard, I'd like to save it, but might be able to re-create it.

There's a member here, "axsepul" I believe that did a set of those '500' decals for someone here with the same bike.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

You can see the original Firestone 500 lettering on the tank. Same deal as the chainguard, I'd like to save it, but might be able to re-create it.

There's a member here, "axsepul" I believe that did a set of those '500' decals for someone here with the same bike.

Thanks! I'll search around here, that'd be cool.

I LOVE the lace buried in the kandy coat on that car! I think I may lean toward that. I saw that Roth has Kandy coats in spray cans...

 

[panelman]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Progress is looking good and loving the paint talk!

 

[pholTmonx]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

I LOVE the lace buried in the kandy coat on that car! I think I may lean toward that. I saw that Roth has Kandy coats in spray cans...

yeah i think it reads a little better IMHO... but again, try some test pieces, i know for sure ANY pre mixed candy is going to be light on the toner, thats to help keep it from "blushing"(getting splotchy in color tone), cause i use a gun, i add toner to make the color hop faster, w/less paint. It should still work fine just a few more passes. Id def try fishnets or leggings, they are stretchy, so you ca do your panel tape out first, then wrap the lace and use some clips to hold it tight. if the candy is thin in color this will help alot to prevent blow through past the lace...
your wife is a lucky girl!!!
feel free to ask if you think i can help point you in a direction...

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Thanks again, I appreciate it. I definitely have a better idea of what to try when I get to paint.

Not so much progress on the bike tonight, but I'm pretty excited. A trip to Harbor Freight and $18 later, and...


IMG_20130224_190030 by sunliner500, on Flickr

I have a workstand! When we moved to Florida I had to leave behind my workbench and sawhorses, so when I finished the Vista Cruiser, I had makeshift work surfaces like the freezer in the garage, and the kid's little red wagon. I'm excited to have a real work surface that I can clamp bike parts in.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

I had to try out the new stand after dinner last night. No pictures, but I cleaned up the pedals, crank, stem and kickstand. I started to sand the paint off the rear rack, and remembered that I stripped the Vista with some nasty Bix stripper that saved a lot of work.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

A little more progress this weekend. I found my old sander and sanded off the rear rack. Power tools make short work of stuff. :wink: That, and some hand sanding, and a bit of steel wool, and the rack was down to bare metal.


Rear Rack, Stripped by sunliner500, on Flickr

Then I took a break to toss around a football with my son and the neighbor's boys. When we were done I sanded the underside of the rack, then sprayed it all with self-etching primer. I laid it on too thick, so I have a couple of runs. I'll have to sand it down and redo some of it, but I think I've got further rust prevented at this point.


Rear Rack, Primed by sunliner500, on Flickr

I think I'll have to get a sanding disc for my drill to really get inside the rims and stuff. But, I'm slowly making progress.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Little bit more progress. The tank halves and a couple of other pieces are soaking in a couple gallons of vinegar. I've got half the handlebars and half a fender in the bucket, and I'll have to flip them in a few days.

It's gonna be slower going now. The past couple of weeks have absolutely sucked at work. My job was eliminated, and the position they offered me (at the same place) was at a 25% pay cut. We've spent a lot of time scouring our finances and deciding if we can stay in our house and stuff.

Thankfully, our landlord reduced our rent, and we can change some things in our lifestyle, and we'll be able to meet our needs, but the bike project will be slower.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Anyway, I pulled the tank halves and the piece that sits on top of the fork out of the vinegar bath tonight. The original paint peeled off in a sheet and was floating on the surface. Not sure if that was neat or gross.


Tank After Vinegar Bath by sunliner500, on Flickr


Tank After Vinegar Bath by sunliner500, on Flickr


Tank After Vinegar Bath by sunliner500, on Flickr

Nice and shiny after 4 days in vinegar, and 5 minutes with some steel wool.


Tank, Primed by sunliner500, on Flickr

And...primed.


Parts in Vinegar by sunliner500, on Flickr

I did half the handlebars and half the fender, and swapped them tonight to do the other half. Man, that's ucky-looking. You can see the strips of paint floating around.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

I made some more progress on the Firestone 500 tonight. Pulled the handlebars out of the vinegar, then decanted it back into the jug, and left all the metal and rust and paint residue in the tub I was using, for disposal. Now the jug of 'white' vinegar is more icky red than anything.


Gold Handlebars by sunliner500, on Flickr

First off, I wirebrushed, sanded and steel-wooled the handlebars, then primed and painted gold.

Actually, that's a change in plans. With the pay cut I had to take at work, I'm not looking at $20 cans of metalflake spray paint anymore. I have a can of satin pink and a can of metallic gold in the garage from other projects, so the bike is going to be those. I'm still planning to do the lace pattern, with the gold as the accent color. So, accent-y parts are getting a coat of gold.


Fenders 2 by sunliner500, on Flickr


Fenders 1 by sunliner500, on Flickr

Like the fenders. Wirebrush and steel wool on the insides, then a coat of gold inside and on the struts. The chrome shined up pretty nicely with some chrome polish, and I was happy about that.


Wheels, In Progress by sunliner500, on Flickr

The wheels are something else. Really rusty, really pitted. I took the wire wheel on my drill to 'em and I found metal under the rust, but they're going to need a coat of paint, and just be okay, not pretty.


Primed Parts by sunliner500, on Flickr

And just to make me feel better, the nicely primed chainwheel, tank and rear rack.

So the remaining cleanup work I have to do: Finish scraping the wheels and paint them; fork; chainguard; frame. The bearings for the bottom bracket and headset need degreased and regreased. Then I suppose I need parts -- tubes and tires, chain...and that's about it. Oh, my wife wants a basket, so one of those. Then painting and assembly. And I have an idea for a front cap on the tank -- the bike originally had a space-age-looking plastic light sticking out in front of the head tube, but my wife wants a front basket, so I'm thinking of cutting a cap out of one of the license plates I have in my garage and bending it to fit. That'll protect the paint from the basket, as well.

Anyway, I'm happy with tonight's progress.

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

I made some more progress tonight. I went at the wheels with my old power sander, until pieces fell out of it and I had to throw it away. Oh well, I got it at a yard sale for about $5. After that it was 80 grit by hand, and 150 grit. The front wheel was rusty and pitted but smoothed up nicely.


Front Wheel Gold 1 by sunliner500, on Flickr


Front Wheel Gold 2 by sunliner500, on Flickr


Front Wheel Detail by sunliner500, on Flickr

After sanding I laid a thick coat of gold spraypaint on them. The back rim was REALLY pitted. It'll only ever look okay, never better. I'd have gotten a closeup of it, but by the time I painted it, the sun had gone down.


Gold Wheels by sunliner500, on Flickr

The pile of pieces that need cleaned up is getting smaller -- frame, forks, chainguard and bearings. Pretty soon I'll be in full-on paint mode.

 

[panelman]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Looking Good, Keep up the good work !

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Looking Good, Keep up the good work !

Thanks, Wayde! Maybe once I get this bike done for my wife, you'll see all 6 of us at one of the Gulf Kruisers rides.

 

[ratTED]

Re: Ladies Firestone 500 Speed Cruiser

Really nice find, and your doing a great job. I like what you have done so far and will be watching to see the progress.