I don't know that this is a build so much as me picking away at what was once a beautiful bike in an effort to make it less tragic.
I posted this in Fresh Finds not long ago:
After a couple of hours removing half of Wal-Mart's bike accessories aisle and wiping down with a dry rag, it looked a little less ridiculous:
Partly because I learned that the X-53 is a sought-after collectible, but mostly because it's just so darn cool, I wanted to try to remove the horrible pool-liner-blue paint and uncover whatever was left of the original paint, which should have been black and red for 1953. But after several fruitless sessions with Goof-Off and oven cleaner, it became clear that I would need a Plan B. It was then that I stumbled upon a picture of a 1953 Western Flyer X-53 GIRLS model:
(not mine, borrowed without permission from the CABE)
I decided that maybe the colors weren't bad after all, just the previous owner's Earl Scheib approach to painting. Maybe I could get this thing to look ok (weathered, but ok) without resorting to spray bomb paint crimes. So I set to work:
I kinda like where this is going. And the horn even works!
After enlisting the help of a friend who has grinding tools and chemical strippers and other implements of destruction, this is where I'm at:
It may be time for some of my special homebrew decal templates.
I posted this in Fresh Finds not long ago:
After a couple of hours removing half of Wal-Mart's bike accessories aisle and wiping down with a dry rag, it looked a little less ridiculous:
Partly because I learned that the X-53 is a sought-after collectible, but mostly because it's just so darn cool, I wanted to try to remove the horrible pool-liner-blue paint and uncover whatever was left of the original paint, which should have been black and red for 1953. But after several fruitless sessions with Goof-Off and oven cleaner, it became clear that I would need a Plan B. It was then that I stumbled upon a picture of a 1953 Western Flyer X-53 GIRLS model:
(not mine, borrowed without permission from the CABE)
I decided that maybe the colors weren't bad after all, just the previous owner's Earl Scheib approach to painting. Maybe I could get this thing to look ok (weathered, but ok) without resorting to spray bomb paint crimes. So I set to work:
I kinda like where this is going. And the horn even works!
After enlisting the help of a friend who has grinding tools and chemical strippers and other implements of destruction, this is where I'm at:
It may be time for some of my special homebrew decal templates.
