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

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Wow, almost four months since the last update. We've moved to a new house since April, and all of my tools'n stuff are out of the boxes I moved 'em down here in from Michigan, for the first time in three years.

Mixed bag on the bike. On the positive side, I just ordered the last parts -- tires and baskets -- from Amazon, and I can assemble this bike and get it riding. Yeah!

On the bad side, in the better light in the new garage, I can see what a piss-poor job I did painting the frame. The white parts are okay, but the pink looks like it was done by a drunk chimp -- uneven, blotchy, runny. I have to sand it smooth and respray it. Just the frame, though. And I'm not taking it to metal, just smoothed out to reprime and repaint...indoors...or when it's not windy.

And maybe I'll get a gold paint pen for my striping, so it looks less...bad.
 
I got to spend several hours working on my wife's bike today. First -- I have a complete bike. All of my parts arrived this week from Amazon. Yay! I mounted the tires, put 'em on the bike and paddle-footed around on it, just because I wanted it to roll for the first time in over a year and a half.

Then, I tore it all down again, and sanded the frame to smooth out all the runs and drips and nasty half-... striping I did. I took it out in the back yard and primed it, painted it and cleared it. In the Florida sun it only takes like 6 minutes for spraypaint to be dry enough for another coat.


IMG_0034 by sunliner500, on Flickr


IMG_0035 by sunliner500, on Flickr

And just to prove it has tires...


IMG_0037 by sunliner500, on Flickr

Sadly, in the interest of just getting it done and rideable, I probably won't try the lace painting I wanted to do, or do any frame darts of a different color. I need to clear the white parts, assemble and mount the baskets. Then that's it. Done. And about goddarn time.
 
It's done! IT'S DONE!


IMG_0051 by sunliner500, on Flickr

On a Florida summer night, I braved sweat, ferocious mosquitoes and a domestic disturbance three houses down that brought the Sheriff out...and I assembled my wife's bike and took it for a shakedown, then presented it to my wife. I've been working on this since I bought it from panelman in January 2013, and I can finally close the book and move on.

Well, I might get a gold Sharpie and try some pinstriping...
 

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