Mag Ray, 27Mar12 in storage, OCC for now (pics)

[Skipton]

Yep looks good from here!

[jackdaw]

That is pretty freakin' cool!

[pick]

Steve, seat looks great (not too big!) I see what you mean about our 20" builds following the same lines! I wanted to find a set of those wheels also, but no luck. Wish you were closer & when both bikes are done, we could have had the boys race them!

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Looking great so far!
I like that the only black on the bike is the tires, it has has an industrial-bulletproof vibe, to me anyway.

The recipient is gonna be one lucky kid!

Cheers,
Dr. T

[iven]

gotta love those alum mags

[MplsCoaster]

Hey Guys,
Not too much news, found a nice stem last weekend,

need to dig in and get a lot more work done this weekend

Yoothgeye, glad your still watching
Thanks for the all other input and compliments
Guess you guys are right, the seat (19") doesn't look too big, I'll have to go with a 21" for Winter Chopper though
Industrial sounds cool and Bullet proof is exactly what I'm going for
I remember how I beat the snot out of my Murray Eliminator when I was a kid
Found an ad for my exact bike



I broke the crank on it and it was done

Pick, its so funny you were looking for the same wheels, great minds...
I think if we could get the kids together for a race, we'd push those kids aside and race them ourselves

Hope the kid likes it, he may be too young to realize what it is(I've been warned), oh well, we'll see
Just want him to have a smile on his face like I did when I took the HRLiner into the sunshine for the first time

Still lots of work to do...

Thanks for looking

[CycleTruck]

This is going to be a classy ride!

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Hey Schwinnray,
Trying some different ideas for polishing. I'll post what works
Looking forward to seeing what you have in mind
Thanks for "managing my expectations" about the Duro tire
Glad I got a 1.5 for the front
What kind of slick did you buy at your LBS?
Saw some NOS matched sets on local CL for $100 (ouch)

I bought a "Duro 2.125". They're only $10 and makes great skids but it's skinny My LBS has NOS Goodyear tires and other brands for $5 a piece too! No slicks though



The bikes looking AWESOME! I wish it was mine!

[MplsCoaster]

Hey Everybody,
Thanks for the input on this project so far, it’s helped a lot.

Been a few weeks since last update. Fighting a bad cold for at least that long so progress has been slow. Schwinnray asked me to post how I did the bare metal frame. So here goes my method:
1) Rule #1: “Manage your expectations” lol.
It may never turn out to shine like a chrome bike. Watching this video thinking I could do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4xC_GzYAKM
Maybe others want a more raw look (which is really cool) but I was trying to get a brilliant shine. I have to say that I’m not a super patient or talented person, so I’m sure that was a big factor.

It will still look cool but I couldn’t get a mirror finish. I refer a bit to BigTexasJohn’s bike and how it looks really shiny at a distance but has the same nonmirror finish as you look close up.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49027&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=bare+metal
If I can make this sting ray look as cool as the bikes in that thread, I’ll be super happy.

2) A soft wire wheel is your best friend.
It will get you 80% to 100% there (100% in my case) and be efficient about it. Tried at least so many different ways of doing it. Spent well over ~$100 on equipment. Tried power and hand tool sanders, hard wire wheel, brass wire wheel, many 3M sanding products, 1500 grit sand paper (dry and wet with oil) and 4 polishing wheels for different type finishing compound (mostly for my own curiousity and for future builds). After I used a soft wire wheel, everything else made the metal look more dull. I was even able to get the pits cleaned out really well with it. See now there is such a thing as a “baby soft” wire wheel that might work even better (smaller scratches). The soft wire wheel will leave scratches but if all in a similar direction, the result will be pretty good.


Note: please use a mask. I know they are kinda expensive but having a bunch of rust in your lungs and/or blowing the crap out of your nose for 10 minute sucks. I used to be an auto mech (didn’t use a mask) and now have a low tolerance to getting sick from spray solvents, stripper, and exhaust.

3) Start with a minimally rusty (pitted) part.
Even after I got all the pits perfectly clean of rust, the clear coat makes the pits look black again (Argggg!) So back to Rule #1. This tube was perfectly clean and shiny before the clear coat:



Overall I think it will look okay. I showed the mockup pictures to his mom last night and she thought it looked cool and unique and that he would like it (whew).
Next issue is his height. He’s 5 years old and about 44” tall. Had him stand next to me last night to see what his maximum stand over height might be. He’s at about 19-20 but will need to be about 22” to clear it. It’s almost cruel to give a kid a bike for Christmas in MN because you can’t ride for another 3 months. In this case, it will help if he grows like a weed in 3 months so he can have more fun with it sooner.

So tried something different and slammed the seat. Don’t want the extra height of a seat post at this time. So going to try to bolt it directly to the seat clamp. If I put a small dummy seatpost plug in the tube (maybe a piece of aluminum stock, “should” be able to crank it tight without collapsing). This should work until he is taller and needs a real seat post. I’m sure someone else has done it but its new to me, lol.

Here’s what the seat/clamp mockup looks like:




Found out that even though the mags were silver, only some (small percentage) was bare aluminum (oops). Had my buddy strip them with his commercial-strength chemical stripper but I guess a fair amount is left. I’m going to pick them up tonight. Think the mags may end up with a “brushed aluminum” finish. If all else fails, I’ll have to paint them silver again. Rule #1 applies again. The mechanicals of the hubs looked good as I took them out to be stripped so that’s a big relief.

Hopefully I’ll have most done this weekend and will post some assembled shots. Not much time left, so hopefully no more surprises.

Thanks for looking.

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Man that looks good! Thanks for posting a little "How To" for me! I would've done it another way, but the soft wheel seems to work great

[iven]

i hope you dont clap the seat right on the frame without a post in place..
'keep the clamp from crushing the frame'

[DesignIt]

This is lookin' really nice. I hope the kid likes it as much as I do.

[MplsCoaster]

Hey Everybody,
Thanks for the comments guys!
Right you are Iven, buried deep in the massive text

So going to try to bolt it directly to the seat clamp. If I put a small dummy seatpost plug in the tube (maybe a piece of aluminum stock, “should” be able to crank it tight without collapsing). lol.

Got the stripped rims back from my friend, thanks Terry
The finish on them was impressively stubborn



No way to get it all off so plan B, paint them
Cleaned them a bit more, 2 coats primer, 2 coats silver metallic (2 coats of clear yet tonight...)
I kept up my mantra: Light Coats! Light Coats! (I hate painting)



Seems to look pretty good and hopefully they will hold up well
Wish the surface was a smoother but Rule #1: Manage your expectations

More mechanicals tomorrow...
Thanks for looking

[iven]

love them mags, looking forward to seeing more of this build

[MplsCoaster]

Hey Everybody,
Thanks Iven!

Painting took much longer than expected. I got the hardware I needed yesterday.
Finally got it together as a rider!


Put hardened bolts on it so I wouldn't break it. It looks better without me on it.
Got some sunshine and 40F. No White Christmas for us.







Think it looks pretty good. I'm relieved that the hubs are okay.
Have to get the chaingaurd finished and maybe some extras...

Thanks for looking