RRBBO13 Cheep Teena- Completed! Tons O Photos

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Here’s two prime examples of Electras that I buy to steal the drop center wheels off of. They’re both original minus the wheels and all polished up and ready for the next owner. I’ve probably done a dozen of these over the years. This way I get my wheels, make a few bucks, and make someone happy that needs a good cheap bike.
 
I like your paint 'booth' . Looks like things are coming together on your build. RaT oN~!
 
I like your paint 'booth' . Looks like things are coming together on your build. RaT oN~!
It’s a weird little triangle area on the side of my house. Only been here a year, but eventually a shed and gravel will be here specifically for wood cutting/sanding/ part painting, etc. with no cleanup.
 
View attachment 77685 Here’s two prime examples of Electras that I buy to steal the drop center wheels off of. They’re both original minus the wheels and all polished up and ready for the next owner. I’ve probably done a dozen of these over the years. This way I get my wheels, make a few bucks, and make someone happy that needs a good cheap bike.
Both of these sold already. Both to friends in Long Beach who had their bikes stolen. It’s an epidemic here.
 
who had their bikes stolen. It’s an epidemic here.

I had two bikes stolen over the years and I feel that it was great when horse thieves got hung by the neck until dead. A bike thief should at least have his wrists smashed so he can never hold a tool again.
Kind of like Philip Marlowe breaking killer's wrists so he could never hold a gun again.
Here in Germany it is also epidemic. Police doesn't care. When I have to leave my bike outside I get really paranoid. If I can I lock it at such a place that I could still see it from inside the store. Best is when my wife is riding ith me, then we lock both our bikes together with both of the locks.
 
So my event was this past Saturday and after a few long days of nothing but bike building, I finished the bike at 6am and got three hours sleep before riding the bike 10 miles without even so much as a test ride. I’m not sure how I want to roll out the rest of the build process. For now here are the Electra wheels being torn down , sanded and put into primer.
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So I’ve never been in the position where I was done early in a build off. In fact, I built a ‘55 Schwinn Racer my first time out, maybe BO 8 or 9, and my computer crashed while I was uploading my final photos and I missed the deadline by about 20 minutes. Now I’m not sure how to roll out the rest of the progress photos. Once I show the patina process there’s not much else to show! I guess I can show everything except the completed bike? It feels weird to just be done a month early. Let me know what you guys think.
 
Keep posting up the pics. In depth patina process would be cool. Also, multiple finished pics in different locales from different angles will illicit comments and 'votes' on which ones we like; even before the actual voting occurs. :nerd:
 
Here’s the tools of the trade. As with the theme of lower priced, easy obtainable parts, all of my paint is off the shelf. Home Depot’s shelf to be exact. The body color parts are red oxide primer, industrial flat black, heritage white matte, and matte clear. The parts are flat black, autumn brown “texture” random sprays of black and red while wet, and more matte clear.
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So here’s some of the parts after three coats of different paint. As you can see, I masked off a couple areas to give the finished product some detail.
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And some of the parts that are getting the “rust” treatment were sprayed in black first. Those are brand new stingray style pedals that I took apart for paint. That was a first for me.
 
I got sort of sidetracked with the holiday being in the middle of two weekends. We definitely found some activities to fill our time. The wife and I did or normal Cuclone Coasters monthly ride. But this month’s theme was the Shelby invasion. Some of these guys have unrestored bikes approaching five figures they’re so rare. I’ve got two, but the only thing Shelby on them are the frames. One is my 5th place entry from BO11. We finally determined that it’s a Lindy, 27-28. The other is a Flyer from a few years later most likely.
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Oh, and anyone who says they don’t like the slammed seat and bars because their unrideable? We rode these 10 miles on this day. I’m 6’1”. ‍♂️
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Since we were in town on the 4th, I had to put the boat in the water and do some cruising. It’s a ‘60 Glasspar Citation, one of the first ones, and built a few miles away in Santa Ana, CA. Has the original Evinrude 75, too. It gets a lot of looks putting around Long Beach.
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So here we go! I haven’t done a full fauxtina bike before although I’ve studied it a lot. But I’m pretty much winging it a this point. I wish I had a top secret formula, but really the only secret is patience. I did wait a full day in between the red oxide, flat black and matte white layers. Then I used red scotch brite and a light hand and started rubbing through. I sprayed the bottom sides of all the parts heavier than the tops. And I sanded more on the tops with the intention of rubbing through the top, and in some cases middle layer of the paint to mimic the effects of the sun and other elements. Remember, the goal was to make a new-ish bike look much older, but also look like it came this way, like a barn find hot rod. This tank half was the first part I did. And this was where I stopped.
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Soon I was catching all the parts up using the same method. It’s hard because you want to be consistent with your method, yet if it’s too uniform it will kill the whole look of the thing.
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I was happy with the two-tone effect on the tank and chain guard.
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I also did the fender duck tails, and also caught the bars I’m using up in the process. Notice almost no sanding where the frame brace will cross over. I tried to be conscious of little details like that. More stuff soon!
 
The autumn brown textured rustoluem makes a pretty convincing fake rust, but I recommend spraying it over red primer or some sort of flat brown. It doesn't seem to get much coverage out of a single can otherwise.
 

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