‘66 Convertible

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I just got this JC Penny 1966 Foremost Convertible this week. It hit me this morning that my first car was a 1966 Mustang Convertible. Creampuff. Both two years older than I am. I’ll be trying to do as much of a restore as I can but I know I’ll need to replace the wheels and tires which is a drag because those wheels looked cool. And the seat is going to be a challenge. Also I’m really on the fence about paint. I would love to clean it as best as possible and bring back as much of the original red as I can. But just by doing a cursory cleaning I’ve already lost some paint. If it gets bad I may just strip it and repaint it and try to recreate the pin striping. We will see.
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OddJob can tell you how to restore that original paint.
@LAGreg , cool bike! And, it is possible that you can bring some life into that old paint without losing it completely. The stripes are tough, as they were added over the top of the main top coat, and come off very easily. Here is some advice I gave to reallybigtim on bringing back the paint, on the frame and those cool wheels. I can't emphasize enough to 'go easy and light' on the pressure of your hand, take your time, and my main rule for all things custom:
"Always quite before you think you are done."

When I first start to clean, I start on the underside of a chain stay, something that won't be seen that easily anyway if I mess up. I start with #0000 steel wool dipped into a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. LIGHTLY rub the frame , just brushing it really, with the dampened pad. Probably won't take but a few strokes. Then have an old cotton towel handy to wipe off the area. After it fully dries, 5-10 mins later, you can use a clean cotton rag to buff the area to get the 'hazy film' off, and see what kind of result you have. Then you can proceed from there if it is to your liking. Be especially careful over any stripes or the white paint areas near the head tube, as that is usually applied over the top coat, and will come off very easily!

Then after the bike is cleaned, I like to use a car wax, applied with a soft rag and then polished after it dries. My main rule that I use in any form of bike customization applies here,

"Always quit before you think you are done!"

Hope this is helpful. Keep the communication avenues open, there are lots of folks on here with deep experience in 'how to' when it comes to this kind of thing.

As always, "RaT oN~!"
 
@LAGreg , cool bike! And, it is possible that you can bring some life into that old paint without losing it completely. The stripes are tough, as they were added over the top of the main top coat, and come off very easily. Here is some advice I gave to reallybigtim on bringing back the paint, on the frame and those cool wheels. I can't emphasize enough to 'go easy and light' on the pressure of your hand, take your time, and my main rule for all things custom:
"Always quite before you think you are done."

When I first start to clean, I start on the underside of a chain stay, something that won't be seen that easily anyway if I mess up. I start with #0000 steel wool dipped into a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. LIGHTLY rub the frame , just brushing it really, with the dampened pad. Probably won't take but a few strokes. Then have an old cotton towel handy to wipe off the area. After it fully dries, 5-10 mins later, you can use a clean cotton rag to buff the area to get the 'hazy film' off, and see what kind of result you have. Then you can proceed from there if it is to your liking. Be especially careful over any stripes or the white paint areas near the head tube, as that is usually applied over the top coat, and will come off very easily!

Then after the bike is cleaned, I like to use a car wax, applied with a soft rag and then polished after it dries. My main rule that I use in any form of bike customization applies here,

"Always quit before you think you are done!"

Hope this is helpful. Keep the communication avenues open, there are lots of folks on here with deep experience in 'how to' when it comes to this kind of thing.

As always, "RaT oN~!"
Excellent advice. Stand by for results or hysterical fail story.
 
Cool little rat ride.
I dig that tank.
 
Wheels: Rear went on no issue. For the front one I did as suggested above and filed the post and with the help of my assistant/son was able to pull the forks open to get it in place.

Paint: I cleaned everything and got a lot of surface rust off. Then used auto polish and if it holds, it’ll look great. Nothing like it’s original color but worlds better than when I found it.

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Wheels: Rear went on no issue. For the front one I did as suggested above and filed the post and with the help of my assistant/son was able to pull the forks open to get it in place.

Paint: I cleaned everything and got a lot of surface rust off. Then used auto polish and if it holds, it’ll look great. Nothing like it’s original color but worlds better than when I found it.

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Great job with cleaning it out! Looks awesome as it is!
 
I love how those tires really fill out the fenders. Sweet!
 
Here’s a glimpse of its glorious past... I pulled off the coaster break clip and underneath was a small patch of the original color. This thing was a gorgeous cherry red. I cleaned off as much of the grime and rust as I could at that spot and we see what is pretty much the best I’ll be able to do. But man I would have liked to see this right off the JC Penny floor...

Also I’ve been distracted by another project that popped up. But that’ll be done in a week or so and then back to cleaning.
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I've been distracted by other endeavors but got back to some serious cleaning today. Here is another before and after. It's remarkable how much color I've been able to pull out of this guy.

Plus a small issue with the fender struts. They are not held on by screws. Instead they use permanent "plugs" I'm not sure what they're called. So I can't remove them easily and don't think I should try. I can work around them.

I'm going to tackle the handle bars later on and will need advice again at that point. Stand by...

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I need some chrome/handlebar advice. I got rid of nearly all the rust but there was a lot of chrome loss before the bike came to me. And every time I touch it some flakes off. Leaving it as-is will end up getting worse and worse.
Ideas?
Here are some before and after of the lemon bath rust removal.

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