I’ve never had an issue with JB Weld not firming up. Maybe it was old or you mix was off?
Can’t hurt to clean everything up and try again
Can’t hurt to clean everything up and try again
Shoestring (DONE!)
- Thread starter Bike from the Dead
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Yes, after 24 hours it should be rock hard.
It didn’t get mixed properly.
If the stuff was too expired the part that got hard wouldn’t have.
BUT if you used the first bit out of the tubes, you shouldn’t. That first little bit in the tube of resin is a little bit cured already. And it’s not as good. You should discard the first little bit from the tube each time you open it, particularly if you noticed any change in the consistency.
It didn’t get mixed properly.
If the stuff was too expired the part that got hard wouldn’t have.
BUT if you used the first bit out of the tubes, you shouldn’t. That first little bit in the tube of resin is a little bit cured already. And it’s not as good. You should discard the first little bit from the tube each time you open it, particularly if you noticed any change in the consistency.
Okay, I can't say how old the JB Weld was, I don't know what the right mixture is because I don't have the tubes here at home, and this was my first time ever mixing it myself. I thought it looked right, so did Dad, so I just went with it. Obviously, I need some more practice with this stuff.
That said, most of the Weld is in fact solid. There's a thin layer of tackiness on the surface, but underneath it's firm. It's not perfect, but I feel it'd be more trouble than it's worth to start over at this point. At this point, I'm just going to roll with it. This is just a decor piece anyway, so if this VW emblem falls off, it's not that big a deal. I can redo it later. I'm just going to go ahead and assemble the light again.
Stalled on the tire painting last night, but I'm working on it now in my living room. I scuffed up the surface a little before I got started, so hopefully the paint will stick.
That’s possible there was some stuff on the application stick that didn’t get mixed well and it got scraped onto the top of the stuff that did. The correct mixture for JB Weld is always 50-50.
I’ve never bought epoxy that didn’t come in identically sized tubes, so that you always mix it 50-50.
I’m doing a tire painting experiment myself right now. We’ll see how it works out. I’ve never tried this before.
I’m doing a tire painting experiment myself right now. We’ll see how it works out. I’ve never tried this before.
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Just catching up here. I like the use of the 'old' cloth tieing in with the saddle. I think that it will look really good behind the emblem. Great rat vibe all around!
The tubes were the same size I think, but according to Dad, the instructions said to mix at a 2:1 ratio. I don't know; this is my first time using the stuff.
Cool! First time for me too. I think I'm doing okay, but I know where I can improve. How does that saying go, "the first time you do something, it's going to be the worst, so get it done so you can do it better next time?" I know this won't be the best fauxtina-job on a tire, but for my first try, I'm feeling pretty good about it!
Thanks TRM! Yeah, that saddle was the whole inspiration for the look of this bike. I just finished assembling the headlight in-between paint coats, so you'll be able to see just what that "old" cloth looks like behind the emblem soon. Glad to hear I passed the vibe check! Thanks!
Made some good progress yesterday on the headlight and front tire.
I finished gluing the fabric pieces to the fence post topper and the piece of wood that sits behind the VW emblem.
Once that was done, I went ahead and finished assembling the headlight. I don't really need to take it apart for anything now, so as long as I leave it alone, that VW emblem should stay in place.
I also accomplished my first fauxtina paint job on a tire, which is such an odd but fun challenge to try. Here's how the front tire (pictured left) looked before, next to the rear tire (pictured right) with the patina I tried to match.
Here's what the front tire (now on the right) looked like after my first attempt on one side. Admittedly, I should have stopped here, but I wanted to try and darken the whitewall a little more to match the rear tire (on the left.) I ended up wiping off part of the paint, and had to cover it up.
It could have been better, but I could just say that the tire had some oil or something spill on it at some point in the past. Overall, not bad for my first attempt, but I now know where I can improve. (The front tire is back on the left.)
Not the best photo, but here is the other side of the front tire after I finished painting it. I feel that I did much better this time around.
Today's goals are to get the fork drilled and tapped for a new bolt so the headlight will stay in place better, and to figure out the chain length so I can have that ready. After that, all that's left to do is true the wheels, mount the tubes and tires, install the chain, fine-tune everything, and Shoestring is done!
I finished gluing the fabric pieces to the fence post topper and the piece of wood that sits behind the VW emblem.
Once that was done, I went ahead and finished assembling the headlight. I don't really need to take it apart for anything now, so as long as I leave it alone, that VW emblem should stay in place.
I also accomplished my first fauxtina paint job on a tire, which is such an odd but fun challenge to try. Here's how the front tire (pictured left) looked before, next to the rear tire (pictured right) with the patina I tried to match.
Here's what the front tire (now on the right) looked like after my first attempt on one side. Admittedly, I should have stopped here, but I wanted to try and darken the whitewall a little more to match the rear tire (on the left.) I ended up wiping off part of the paint, and had to cover it up.
It could have been better, but I could just say that the tire had some oil or something spill on it at some point in the past. Overall, not bad for my first attempt, but I now know where I can improve. (The front tire is back on the left.)
Not the best photo, but here is the other side of the front tire after I finished painting it. I feel that I did much better this time around.
Today's goals are to get the fork drilled and tapped for a new bolt so the headlight will stay in place better, and to figure out the chain length so I can have that ready. After that, all that's left to do is true the wheels, mount the tubes and tires, install the chain, fine-tune everything, and Shoestring is done!
Nice work all around dude!
The tire aging looks great to me
The headlight ‘upholstery’
But I REALLY like the use of a spoon for the bracket, that is a bit of ‘rat rodding genius’ right there!
Looking forward to to the final product.
Build on!
The tire aging looks great to me
The headlight ‘upholstery’
But I REALLY like the use of a spoon for the bracket, that is a bit of ‘rat rodding genius’ right there!
Looking forward to to the final product.
Build on!
Thanks! Yeah, the headlight's probably my favorite part of the whole build, especially since it's made of 3 parts that don't sound like they should go together. I mean, who would think a spoon, a fence post topper, and a VW emblem would fit together like this?!
I'm excited to see the end result too! Thanks!
“who would think a spoon, a fence post topper, and a VW emblem would fit together like this?!”
I can think of a couple of folks….you know who you are….
I can think of a couple of folks….you know who you are….
That is the beauty of RRB. Everything, and I mean Everything can be a bike part!
Your light is perfect proof of that!
Thanks for the tire painting experiment!
This will prompt me to make sure that mine has been cleaned (Somehow, with something,) Before I try to put the Plasti-dip on.
Rubber is porous, and things do soak into it and get into the pores, so imagine this could be a critical step if I want the stuff to work.
This will prompt me to make sure that mine has been cleaned (Somehow, with something,) Before I try to put the Plasti-dip on.
Rubber is porous, and things do soak into it and get into the pores, so imagine this could be a critical step if I want the stuff to work.
That tire treatment came out sweet! I'll remember to refer back to this when I need to age some whitewalls in the future. Great job!
Glad to do it!
I just used a Scotch Brite-type sponge normally used for cleaning the shower to scuff the surface of my tire. Plus, I used some cheap acrylic paint from Walmart and some water to paint mine. Not sure if that's how you plan to do yours, but that's how I fauxtina'd my tire.
It's definitely worth trying. I'm not sure how many folks add fauxtina to tires for a certain look, but it's definitely an idea that's worth exploring.
Thanks! For reference, I used some cheap matte brown and satin (because I couldn't find matte) black acrylic paint from Walmart. I just used some paint brushes I had left over from art classes and occasionally a paper towel or my fingers to paint the tire. The key I've found is to apply very thin layers, but give them at least 15 minutes to dry before the next layer. Also, you won't need a ton of paint for this, so a small bottle of each color will be more than enough to get the job done.
My best advice if you want to give it a shot is to find a tire with natural patina, and try to match that tire's patina on whatever tire you want to age. There's no better reference for fauxtina than real patina!
