Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/09/08

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
46
Reaction score
0
Location
Texas
Well after reading the forum for a while I decided to do my first build. I have no experience with painting, restoring, or working on cruisers but what the heck you got to start sometime.

I bought this old 1980’s vintage Schwinn from a local guy for $25. Here are some pics right after I bought it. As you can see not in the greatest condition although the frame was in rather good shape besides the paint.

Before1.jpg

Before2.jpg

Before3.jpg


Here is a pic of the handlebars which I still need to cleanup and also the bucket O parts after tearing it down.

Barsbefore.jpg

BucketOparts.jpg


So I started sanding and sanding and sanding.... and did I mention I sanded a little bit. This bike was originally white/off white and then it was yellow and then it was green all over a red oxide primer. It took me quite sometime to sand it down. I then used my dremel with a small whire brush to get the hard to reach spots. Here are the results. These pics are before I washed everything so you can see some dust on the parts.

Sanded1.jpg

Sanded2.jpg


After sanding it down and washing it was time for a few coats of primer. I used Dupli-Color High build.

Primered1.jpg

Primered2.jpg


Now for some paint. I decided on orange as it is my favorite color. Here is where I started to make some mistakes....oh did I mention it was my first time using a rattle can on just about anything as well as my first time painting a bike..... :D So be kind since the results are not that great but I feel I could have done much worse. For starters I probably should of chose something different than Krylon although it was all I could find local that had a nice color orange. Secondly Orange does not seem to be the easiest color to paint. In the end I did wind up getting the color even but it is not very smooth. In some spots it is grainy from overspray in the air and you can see this in the second pic although the picture does make it look worse then it really is. Did I mention Houston HUMIDITY stinks!

Paint1.jpg

Paint2.jpg

Paint3.jpg


Here are a couple of pictures of the saddle I purchased. At this point I am not sure if I am going to keep it or not since it has a bunch of scuff marks on it.

DSC02687.jpg

DSC02686.jpg


Here is a quick pick after a few coats of clear coat. I know it is wrong and not very "Rat Rod" but I put some Schwinn water decals on as well. I had a catastrophe yesterday night. I was clear coating the chainguard and the coat hanger hook I had it hanging on fell. So the paint got chipped up..... :( Today I sanded the bad spots down sprayed a little primer and put a few very light coats of paint. So far it is looking a little better but I need to do some more work on it.

DSC02693.jpg



07/08/08 Update******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Ok so I am getting closer. I kind of liked the look of the bike without any fenders but I already bought some fenders for it so I decided to put the back one on to see how it looked. I am not sure if I like it better or not but I guess I will try and put the front on as well today. I am going to have to bend the front fender pretty far to get it on. I already tried a little bit and I scraped some paint of the inside of the fenders :( Shoudl have used some painters tape! Since I already scraped the paint I might as well try and get it on.

The only things missing from the bike are the ape hanger bars which I need to pick up from my brother and the chain guard. I had to make a bracket for the chain guard to fit and the paint is drying right now. So I will probably put it on in a couple of days. Anyways here are a couple of pics...

DSC02703.jpg


DSC02704.jpg


OK.... I just put the front fender on. Here is a pic with the front fender. I wound up scratching the paint a little more on the inside part of the fork but you cannot see it so I am just going to live with it although it is bugging me! :?

DSC02707.jpg


Yet another update from the same day but later..... Much better now. The Ape hangers really bring out the bike in my opinion.

DSC02710.jpg


07/09/08 Update***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The chainguard is now on.....Not sure if I like it better with or without but I will probably leave it on since I put work into it..

DSC02715.jpg


Later,

Eric
 
Re: Orange Crush

hey, the orange peel fits right in with the name. i'd leave it for that rat feel. ya did a good job. looks great

Outlaw :mrgreen:
 
Re: Orange Crush

For your FIRST build, it's looking GREAT! I like the color you chose.
 
Re: Orange Crush

Thanks guys! I just got my new saddle for it.... I will post pics in a little.
 
Re: Orange Crush - Quick Update 06/26/08

Quick update above.
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

Another update above.
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

Great colour! I did a fixie in the same orange last year.

"Here are a couple of pictures of the saddle I purchased. At this point I am not sure if I am going to keep it or not since it has a bunch of scuff marks on it."

Keep the saddle, scuff marks are good :)
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

Just my opinion.(usually not worth much)...I like the "one" fendered look, on that style frame. Either way, you did a great job! 8)
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

Hey man...the bike is really looking good!
You've done a lot of work!

Person_TX said:
Does this sticker say "Bowling Bicycle" like the sticker that was on my frame?

100_6752.jpg


Are our bikes brothers???? :)
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

Hey Blaster,

Yep our bikes are brothers. You probably got our bikes from the same person.....

Eric
 
Re: Orange Crush - Close but not done Update 07/08/08

It appears that both our bikes were bought and serviced at Bowling Bicycle in Houston...long before we got ahold of them.
Mine had a sticker that read "DO NOT REMOVE #883"...I removed it...don't tell anyone...hahaha :p
A salesman at Bowling was able to use this number to look the bike up in his records and give me a little history.
They didn't retire it.
He says that when Bowling takes a bike out of service, that it is for safety rconcerns and they usually get cut up/destroyed.

Interesting.

Right on brutha!
We have given these bike a second chance.
 
Chainguard is finally on.............
 
I changed my mind......With the guard on, BOTH fenders look great! 8)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top