Falcon Professional Frame .

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It seems the most likely outcome . The frame had Rotrax transfers on it and that is what I assumed it was , but after posting on another thread the conclusion now seems to be a Falcon Professional.
Whilst trying to Identify the frame I set about trying to remove some of the paint using cellulose thinners on a rag . I started in the places where I was likely to come across any existing transfers, head tube ,seat tube and eventually down tube . I discovered that underneath the bright blue colour was a metallic black. It now turns out that there was also a layer of grey primer in between . Using a thinners soaked rag tended to make everything blend into a dark purple colour .
I discovered that in the places where I tested that underneath the black was white , or at the time I thought was pink . It turns out that the metallic black contains a lot of red and has tinted the white over time . Further removal of the paint revealed the main colour of the frame to be a light greenish blue metallic.
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I continued to remove paint in the areas selected to find out the extent of the white areas. A trial section of the crossbar just revealed the original light greenish blue metallic paint . I say this was the original paint as it wasn't affected by the thinners in the same way . I washed some paint off the front forks and it revealed the same metallic colour , so it showed that they were the original forks .
I have continued to wash the paintwork back to the original but have now changed the method to using a toothbrush and thinners . It has taken on a method a bit like an archaeological dig by slowly removing layers of paint . I have found this method to be a lot better and the paint can be wiped away with a rag once softened. I have discovered that the paint was originally a light blue metallic, there is a coating of clear lacquer which has yellowed with age and is making the paint look green. I have also discovered that the lugs and little windows cut out of them were finely lined with gold paint .
One strange thing that I noticed when trying to fit the wheels was the narrowness of the front forks . My wheels wouldn't fit ! The gap was 3.25 inches, my wheels are 3.75. I have managed to ease them out to just over 3.5 now by using a car jack . The forks are very springy.
I have now removed most of the later paintwork and the frame is looking a bit like how it would have left the factory, apart from where someone has rubbed the paintwork down .
I will post some more pictures soon .
 
OP
OP
Illaveago

Illaveago

Guru
This
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is as far as I have got to in cleaning up the frame. There are still a few areas which need further cleaning, mainly the dropouts.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Can you use the lengths of the decorative bands on the seat tube and down tube to positively identify the frame?
If you measure them and someone else on here has a known unmolested example of what you believe it to be, and measures theirs, it might provide a higher degree of certainty.
 
OP
OP
Illaveago

Illaveago

Guru
Can you use the lengths of the decorative bands on the seat tube and down tube to positively identify the frame?
If you measure them and someone else on here has a known unmolested example of what you believe it to be, and measures theirs, it might provide a higher degree of certainty.
The length of the down tube band is 11.25 inches and the seat tube band is 9 inches.
 
OP
OP
Illaveago

Illaveago

Guru
What's the plan after cleaning?
That is a good question ! At one point I thought about spraying over it again with a colour which was similar to the original colour . BMW Mini light blue metallic looks close. I'm not sure now as I have removed a lot more of the later resprayed paint and there is a lot of the original paint remaining which is still shiny. There are several places where the paint has been removed, the front mech mounting point, bottom bracket, top of seat stay. I could do spot repairs. The pink or white sections are badly scratched and will need sorting . As they are pink they could bleed through and will either have to be flatted back to white or sprayed over with black before painting white again.
My initial idea was to respay it in the original colours but leaving the original paint underneath as I found it . I'm not sure at the moment . It will need some thought .
 
OP
OP
Illaveago

Illaveago

Guru
I have left the frame for a while , I had exhausted my research for a while and finding a cycle dumped in some brambles sort of took my mind off of it . I have had it at the back of my mind to get back to it when the weather gets better . In the meantime I have bought some bits off the bay which I am hoping to fit on it in the future . I had wondered about the brake calipers which came with the frame . They are Weinmann type 500 gold anodised . I had assumed that they had originally come from a Raleigh Record Sprint, the black and gold one . It would seem that these were made in the 80s, today I fished out one of the calipers out and noticed a date stamp for 1977 , so this would date the frame to 77/78. Looking at some old catalogues one of the Falcon models came with Weinmann 500 brakes but not with the long spear point dropouts . The gold brakes would suit the gold lining of the lugs. One step forward one step back !
 
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