1940s Raleigh rescue - Should I or shouldn't I?

[robsa]

Thanks for the tips guys, any ideas on cleaning rust off the rims? They're rusty but not knackered. Ive tried autosol, 0000 wire wool, tin foil not really making much difference even though its not nasty pitting.

 

[Tony Raynor]

Well you've tried most tricks. It depends on how thick the rust is. If its thick then you may need to use a brass wire brush to get the majority off. After that tin foil should work a treat

 

[robsa]

Thanks guys,
Oh btw sorry for hijacking the post chris

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks guys,
Oh btw sorry for hijacking the post chris

No problem! Good luck with the wheels

I've just cleaned out and repacked the hubs on all four wheels. The cups were so crammed full of solid set grease it felt a bit like a mining expedition... but they looked to be in pretty good condition underneath all the gunk.

I needed a lot of this to keep me going

Took me a while, this was the first time repacking a hub for me, and predictably I had extra fun and games with stuck cones and mangled threads on the axles. All four wheels spinning nicely now though.

I was going to start truing the wheels next, but found that the spokes have frozen into the nipples. I am more than a little anxious that after an afternoon spent on the wheels, the spokes are all going to start pinging and the job will suddenly get a lot bigger!

I only have one of these

so can only get half a turn before the tool interferes with the other spokes... guess I need to buy a new spoke key so I can give a couple of full turns to torque the spokes out of the nipples.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Love the mug cosy. Just hope you didn't drop any BBs into your tea.

 

[mjr]

To me, a true racing green is definitely darker - this looks more like garden fence green to me! But maybe it will darken a little as it cures... or maybe it will grow on me

Did it darken? I've been surprised by just how bright the cardinal red I'm using is when applied.

And thanks for going first in discovering that the 10°c limit is real - I suspect I would have found that if you hadn't

 

[ChrisEyles]

It has only really darkened a touch, but is looking pretty good after a third coat - applied indoors in the warm! The finish is not quite perfect, but I think it would have been near-as-damnit if I'd spent more time sanding the frame down beforehand.

Pics to come soon - I've been busy with the bikes (with mixed results!) recently

 

[raleighnut]

It has only really darkened a touch, but is looking pretty good after a third coat - applied indoors in the warm! The finish is not quite perfect, but I think it would have been near-as-damnit if I'd spent more time sanding the frame down beforehand.

Pics to come soon - I've been busy with the bikes (with mixed results!) recently

You could always 'flat it off' then give it a final coat or use 'compound' to get the sanding marks out.

 

[ChrisEyles]

So, as I said, I've met with mixed success this week...

Still no joy getting the pedals off the cranks, so I decided to give up and service them still on the cranks instead. The older bike retained an impressive amount of field inside the pedal bearings from its "holiday" in the great outdoors. Everything's soaking away in de-greaser at the moment, but should get to polish everything up and rebuild soon. The newer pedals also now run very nicely after cleaning and re-greasing.

It's amazing how much service-ability is built into these parts - there seems to be a real assumption that you will only ever need this one pair of pedals, even if you keep the bike a lifetime or more. Makes you question the ideology behind the modern counterparts...



I also got three out of four wheels back in good (relatively) true working order... but unfortunately the back wheel of the older bike was not so lucky! The spokes were totally frozen into the nipples, and despite lots of patient soaking/tapping/gripping the spoke with a plier, a lot of them snapped I still need a tool (or trip to the LBS) to get the freewheel off to remove the drive side spokes.

The rim was in a terrible pringle-shaped state, so at least it was easier to roughly straighten (by stomping on it - good job it's solid steel!) without the hub attached.

The plan is to clean up the rim, sanding off all the rust, and see if it is still structurally sound. If so, do people think a rebuild is something I should hand over to the LBS, or is it worth having a go myself? I must confess to being a bit confused by how to calculate spoke lengths, correct dish etc, and have never even trued a wheel before, let alone built one!



Here's some sneak preview pics of the newer frame after the final coat of paint. I was quite please with the success of the masking tape over the headset and badge, and the general finish - would definitely recommend Rustoleum to anyone considering a brush paint job.

Then the fun bit - detailing the lugs in gold

I think this broken wheel is going to keep me busy for a little while - if anyone has any thoughts about the best way forward, I'd welcome any advice. The other wheels I was going to sand down and paint. I was going to use Carinal Red a la mjray above, but if it is a very bright "in your face" red I might be better off looking elsewhere.

 

[AndyRM]

There is/was a chap on here who was handy with wheels and generously would do the work for the cost of parts, can't remember his handle just now though. Might be an option if you've not got the inclination to build your own?

That frame is looking lovely by the way, and this is easily my favourite build thread on here. Chapeau for your dedication!

 

[mjr]

I was going to use Carinal Red a la mjray above, but if it is a very bright "in your face" red I might be better off looking elsewhere.

I'm hoping it's not that bright (there's a "Traffic Red" too which really is rather bright) but I suspect it's going to be brighter than the original paint job as seen in http://bicyclerecycling.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/universal-riviera-sport-mens-bicycle.html which means either going ugly two-tone or a whole decal-removing/replacing job that I wasn't planning on!

Comparing the two pictures makes me think the green darkened enough to give me hope

 

[ChrisEyles]

Love the original red colour - much classier IMO than a louder post-box red. Good luck with the paint job!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Right, finally back to work on the bikes after a hectic xmas! I was hoping to achieve a little more over the holidays, but parents and in-laws saw to this plan between them (should have known better!).

The newer bike (1950s) is coming along slowly but surely - the BB and headset are now reassembled. However, when I tried putting the wheels back on they looked rather scruffy against the freshly painted frame, so I'm planning on painting the rims and spokes in red to sharpen them up a little.

In the meantime, I've tidied up the handlebars and all the various bits and bobs for the rod brakes. Still got a few spots to touch up, but mostly ready to be rebuilt



On the older bike, I finally got the seat stays off the frame. The hammer and socket set didn't do the job in the end, so I had to dig out a file and reduce the size of the nut.... twice since it rounded off again on the first attempt! For such a structural bolt, the metal was amazingly soft (easy to file - and round off unfortunately!).



So, once the wheels are painted up, the 1950s bike is almost good to go..... I say almost - it is currently missing a seat (easy enough job) and the front (rod) brake caliper. Let me know if anyone knows where I can get hold of the latter, or even better if anyone has one they could be persuaded to part with!

 

[mjr]

Love the original red colour - much classier IMO than a louder post-box red. Good luck with the paint job!

Well, I had a bit of a delay while I used a hacksaw to get the guards off (hacksawing the bolt not the bike!) but the paint is all over the frame now. It's not postbox red but I wonder how dark it'll get and it's definitely brighter. Did you find that Rustoleum really needed a week to harden fully, or is the tin conservative? I'm wondering how long to leave it before applying replacement decals and bolting the brakes, guards, bands and rack back on.

What did you use to line the lugs? I've got a gold unipaint pen that I'm going to try after reading the idea on Lovely Bicycle.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I waited a full week after painting before any heavy contact on the frame - but then again I am making quite slow progress due to lack of free time, so it hasn't held me back.

I've just painted the newer set of wheels in Cardinal Red, and they look pretty good (piccies to come after a second coat). Hope you're happy with the finish on your frame, would love to see a pic when you're done

I used a gold sharpie paint pen, from staples IIRC. I've also done the lugs on my dark red 60s ten speed this way, and it looks pretty good. Its dead easy to do the lug outlining - I've found it doesn't last fantastically well, but touching up is so easy its not a big issue. One tip - the pens work best held vertically (tip down), the tip can go dry if you outline with the pen held horizontal.