Scratchy

[Pondo]

It won't perform well on simple bare metal. It comes out too dark and you lose most if not all of the anodized effect. You can see my mistakes around that exact thing if you read through this page and about 3 or 4 pages further

Western Sizzler X-53 Blue Light Special - More pics and Video

It sure looks cool with the spear tip and shorter. The headlamp turned out amazing. Fascinating stuff this paint! I had a look at their site and would probably order a can of yellow. I assume you wait for every coat to dry before you apply the next? (30 minutes according to the manufactorer).

ratrodbikes.com

Cool, I will check it out.

 

[Pondo]

Wet sand

I tried a little wet sanding on the forks this afternoon and, oh man! You can see how badly mangled the chrome was in these pics.

10 or 15 minutes wet sanding with 1200 grit yielded some eye opening results. I just did the shoulder of the fork and you can really see the contrast.

It's already looking pretty decent! I've still got the 1500 and 2000 grit to do too. I think the yellowish hue I was seeing must be the softer tone of the nickel plating under the chrome.

I think I might be getting that original decal sheet after all if the frame comes out this well. It's fairly well scuffed but I think it's worth a shot.

I'll break out my super big gulp sized jar of elbow grease and maybe (hopefully) I can stick to the original plan.

 

[sdframe]

It's gonna be a beauty, for sure.

 

[Pondo]

Got the seat post today. I had one of those blue anodized grooved posts on it at some point but this is the style I had on it when I got a little older.

I worked on the left side lower tube for a half hour or so. Wet sanded with 1200, 1500, 2000, polished with green and white rouge and... it still needs a ton of work. But a lot better than it was for sure. It looked like the top tube in this pic before polishing.

With a bunch of time sanding I think it may be fairly presentable.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

a lot better than it was for sure. It looked like the top tube in this pic before polishing

Some wax or polish will make that SHINE!!

 

[Pondo]

Some wax or polish will make that SHINE!!

I hit it with the polish occasionally to see what it's looking like. I think some more work with the 2000 might help. I might get some 2500 and 3000. I wonder if some swirl remover might help. It's always going to show scratches and swirls but it's amazing how much better it is.

 

[Pondo]

The car door ate my thumb the other day and I can't do much with my left hand. But I can still wet sand!

I got the left side of the frame done with the wet sanding and polishing. Still need to do the other side but I should have that done in the next day or so and I'll be ready to begin assembly when my parts show up sometime this week.

This is the side I haven't done yet.

And the side that is polished.

It's never going to be nice chrome again but at least it's shiny and so much better than I thought was possible. It's just got character.

 

[yoothgeye]

Looks amazing especially compared to the black spray bomb.

 

[Pondo]

Looks amazing especially compared to the black spray bomb.

Thanks man! Yeah, the spray bomb really didn't do it justice. I'm finding that although this bike will never be the exact same bike I had back in the day, with the work, time and attention going into it it is really growing on me and becoming my own.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

with the work, time and attention going into it it is really growing on me and becoming my own.

You are investing sweat equity and it is building worth

 

[CRASH]

This pains me to keep up with, because I know I have the same work ahead of me. @RustyGold believes the frame and fork may be worth some bucks if I clean them up. I just want a giant vat of evaporust to make the job easier. Regardless, I'm really, really, really hoping the frame and forks aren't scratched like yours.

Really.

 

[yoothgeye]

Here where I live, over half the bikes you see riding around are sprayed black, frame, bars, grips, tires, chain, chrome, everything, because they’re stolen.

I’ve grown to hate it.

 

[Pondo]

I'm really, really, really hoping the frame and forks aren't scratched like yours.

Ack!! I hope not too. At least you know a guy in the chrome business. I wonder, does it cost less to just go to polished nickel than all the way to chrome?

 

[Pondo]

Here where I live, over half the bikes you see riding around are sprayed black, frame, bars, grips, tires, chain, chrome, everything, because they’re stolen.

I’ve grown to hate it.

I hear you on that. The 1st 2 paint jobs on this frame were better than the rattle black. It's possible it was stolen once upon a time but no way to tell. I bought it from a reputable person so I know it wasn't stolen recently. I just hope that whoever wound up with my original bike needed a good bike and got some good use out of it.

 

[yoothgeye]

I find and recover stolen bikes in my town a few times a year, the problem is, 9 times out of 10 the person I recover it from was not the thief and knows no history on the bike, they just “acquired” it.

 

[Pondo]

Some goodies showed up today!

When I finish wet sanding I can begin assembly.

 

[Pondo]

Wet sanding complete. Reassembly begun. The chrome came out just ok in areas and much better than expected in others. It's definitely down into the nickel plating in the more heavily sanded places but I like the softer glow of the nickel. I should have it road worthy in a day or so. Really looking forward to riding it!

 

[Cyclist]

This is looking good. I wish you well on making it like the one you had before.

 

[yoothgeye]

Some goodies showed up today!


When I finish wet sanding I can begin assembly.

I love Porkchop, you made me go shop for parts I don’t need. Haha

 

[CRASH]

Ack!! I hope not too. At least you know a guy in the chrome business. I wonder, does it cost less to just go to polished nickel than all the way to chrome?

Nope. I asked. Same price.