Nameless Red Monstrosity

[SaintSeptum]

Comiung in a bit late I know.... but, I managed to come across a bike that was perfect for the build-off, how could I say no?

I'd spotted this thing a week or so back, but could never manage to catch the old lady selling it at home.... on monday, I finally did. $30 bucks later I'm bashing my knuckles dismantling a nice prewar (?) Hiawatha.

"Nice" is an objective term of course....

Here she be..... before the initial cleanup that is. I swear this thing must weigh 60 pounds.

And during..... tuns out a good 1/4 of that weight was accumulated barn dust and spiders....

I'm a little confused by the paintjob..... there's obviously a black with white pinstripes paintjob under there, but it's definitely not housepainted, and it's under the headbadge too.....

Check out those painted rims.... must've been gorgeous in their day. Sadly both wheels are a total loss.... I didn't so much remove the tires as tear off the rotted rubber and rusty wire around the rims...

That could be a problem..... off to the welders' this weekend....

Certain vagaries of the disassembly process nearly led me to cristen this bike "You .......". Rust, so much rust, so many bolts....

So I'm conflicted..... do I finish de-rusting (already hit it with a brass rotary brush) and just polish/clearcoat the original finish.... or do I strip and repaint? I'm not HUGELY fond of fire engine red, but the patina's interesting.... OTOH this'd make a great canvas to work from

Or, third option..... if anyone knows how to remove JUST the red and get to that original black paint, I'm all ears.

So, thoughts anyone? I have a basic idea of what I'm doing, but need to do the paint side while I can still count on decent weather on weekends....

Glad to be able to participate in any event!

-Elias[/img]

 

[user 135]

Nice old bike. Welcome to the buildoff and goodluck.

You could try keeping a little bit of all the paints. Light sand the red with a very fine sand paper until the black comes back out.

The hole in the frame definately needs some attention.

 

[kingplinker]

cool find! forks are great! I'm not sure, but the black paint under red might be black primer? Good Luck - cool bike!

 

[raised by robots]

man, that is an amazing bike. and for 30 bucks!? You could just resale the tank and probably double your money, but thats not the point.

I've used this stuff called "Citri-Striper" on a bike before and it did a very good job at melting away house and spray paint. But I personally think you should repaint it man. This bike would be top notch if it had a good paint scheme.

 

[CCR]

Great bike to start with !!! Its got everything, straight bar, tank, truss rods w/springers, skiptooth..... can only get better from here !!!

 

[Korporal]

Best $30 I've seen.

 

[xddorox]

Good luck on your build, you have a great subject there.

 

[361Fury]

Good luck, you have a great bike to start with.

 

[dos cruiser]

This looks like a really cool old bike. Go down to your auto paint shop and ask them if there is anything that will take off the red and not the black. Good Luck

 

[SaintSeptum]

I've used this stuff called "Citri-Striper" on a bike before and it did a very good job at melting away house and spray paint.

Thanks, this reminded me I actually have some..... seems to be eating the red but not the original paint. Which is fantastic, since I wasn't feeling great about hours of careful wetsanding

But I personally think you should repaint it man. This bike would be top notch if it had a good paint scheme.

Still possible..... but you can't fake natural Rattiness

-E

 

[Hugo]

..... but you can't fake natural Rattiness

That's what I'm going to try on my BO bike... Now I can't say I didn't know it was impossible... :wink:

Your ride is sweeeeeet!

Hugo

 

[SaintSeptum]

UPDATE!

So, I finally got some real work done on the frame....

My original plan to try to reclaim the original paint didn't pan out.... it held on great on the head tube but seemed eager to come off everywhere else.....

good hygiene is so important for aging bikes....

this is what I wound up with. Yes, I did have the passing temptation to clearcoat it, but it really looked a bit beyond ratty....

so, plan B, strip it. This is easier said than done. It was so eager to let more paint go than I wanted, now it's all hanging on for dear life..... after trying 3 stripping agents, I finally finished off with Goof-Off and steel wool. Didn't wanna try sanding, who knows if there's lead under there. I really wanna know what they painted this thing with....

success!

Random quote from today:
Me, coming inside to wash hands: "I hate my life..."
Friend: Did you break it?
Reya: No, his stripper probably isn't working.
Friend: Well...pay her more!

Yes, comments like this had been lying in wait all day.... special thanks to Reya and her roomies for the use of their fabulous back yard and porch.

So, my revised plan is: matte black and polished-up bare metal, clearcoated. I found out today I have a lot of putty work to do on the rear triangle, but I really like the picture this is forming in my head... very deco

-St.Septum

 

[VicXsaN]

Sounds like a great plan for a paintjob!

 

[raised by robots]

man, I cant wait to see this finished. Im really digging that frame. How did the tank turn out?

and the commentary is awesome. Ha, i've got a cheap stripper and an old garden hoe in my shed.

 

[SaintSeptum]

man, I cant wait to see this finished. Im really digging that frame. How did the tank turn out?

Probably stripping the tank tonight after work. We'll see. Have quite a few dents to gently dispose of there

-St.Septum

 

[ReyaOfTheBells]

But then again wasn't I the one that commented that the "Hardcore Stripper" would most likely work best... down and dirty, cheap as anything, but gets what needs to be done quick...

*blinks and then rewrites her initial statement to be a little more ah, PG*

I'm glad to see that you posted and can't wait like everyone else to see what happens next. Hey, here's a problem tho - The Nameless Red Monstrosity is no longer red... Kicked around a name yet?

 

[emanon]

How about "Missouri Monstrosity" or "Hardcore Hiawatha"?