Hill Special , Wilsons Bike shop Rawtenstall .

[ren531]

Its taken 14 months but I have at last made a start on stripping the paint back to reveal the chrome underneath on my Hill Special ,its a very slow job getting every last bit of paint off is not easy . When I removed the bottom bracket axle it had a small sticker on it with what appears to be the address of a bike shop ,does anyone remember Wilsons 66 Bank street Rawtenstall ,maybe this is the shop that sold it originally if they built it up from a frame for the customer ,or perhaps this axle was just replaced by Wilsons at some time .Rawtenstall is only a short distance from Padiham so maybe Wilsons where a dealer for Hill Specials ,be great if anyone remembers them and to have an idea where it was originally from .

 

[classic33]

http://hill-special.co.uk/johnny-kay/

 

[midlife]

Nice . If its chrome underneath then I guess you are using chemical paint stripper

 

[ren531]

Yes I am using paint stripper and very carefully with a old dental instrument painstakingly taking the paint off flake by flake .

 

[midlife]

Dental instruments are hardened steel, some have a tungsten carbide insert , maybe a nylon pan scrub?

 

[ren531]

I shall have a go with the nylon pan scrub ,I did set off with a plastic scraper and ideas of not damaging anything but under that paint there is plenty of damage already due to it being scrubbed with emery paper to key in for the paint job ,it will never stand up to very close scrutiny but should be passable at a distance ,the paint is very difficult to remove the head tube had 6-7 coats of paint stripper and still resisting ,the dental instrument is to get the paint out of the lug detail ,its going to be a long job ,but its still very satisfying cleaning it up .Why anyone would want to paint it I cannot imagine .

 

[midlife]

I'd be tempted to send it off for chemical cleaning and buffing....

 

[ozboz]

I have got a Hills Special frame, I got it from a cycle charity org in Exeter, the old boy that donated had tried to remove the paint but gave it up, I got an envelope with photos of the frame as he had been working on a pic of what the colour scheme was before he began to strip it it, and as it is now , the frame number C587 which makes it a Massed Start of 1950 and built in Padium, if you go on the Hills Special www, there is a bloke called Robin who lives in Lancs somewhere and is an authority on Hills Specials , I’ve no idea when I’ll get on with my frame I’ve had over a year now , they were deffo a bike to be had in the day !
Hope it is the dogs BX when you get it finished the last pics are sales drawings of your frame, which shows the lug work is a Road Path frame , the full frame and 50’s price list !!
(I’d thought I’d pop that on here if you didn’t already know that )
The

 

[ren531]

I have got a Hills Special frame, I got it from a cycle charity org in Exeter, the old boy that donated had tried to remove the paint but gave it up, I got an envelope with photos of the frame as he had been working on a pic of what the colour scheme was before he began to strip it it, and as it is now , the frame number C587 which makes it a Massed Start of 1950 and built in Padium, if you go on the Hills Special www, there is a bloke called Robin who lives in Lancs somewhere and is an authority on Hills Specials , I’ve no idea when I’ll get on with my frame I’ve had over a year now , they were deffo a bike to be had in the day !
Hope it is the dogs BX when you get it finished the last pics are sales drawings of your frame, which shows the lug work is a Road Path frame , the full frame and 50’s price list !!
(I’d thought I’d pop that on here if you didn’t already know that )
The View attachment 499275

View attachment 499276

View attachment 499277 View attachment 499278 View attachment 499280

Excellent info ozboz ,nice to see the difference between the Massed Start and the Road Path ,not seen the sales brochure before thanks .Talking to a work mate today who grow up in Rossendale he used to go to Wilsons bike shop in Rawtenstall as a child to ogle at the expensive bikes ,so a nice connection there and confirming the existence of the shop my bike probably came from .

 

[nonowt]

Not in the same league as a Hill Special but there's a Wilson's decal on Mrs nonowt's Falcon Westminster:

 

[ozboz]

Have you got an idea of how you are goi g to re-finish the frame? , paint,chrome or perhaps a combination of the two, seeing your thread has wetted my appetite to get on with this frame, there is a specialised paint removal company in Preston called Ribble , I had a lot of Land River panels restored there, excellent . They use chemicals and heat to remove paint , no blasting
http://www.paint-strip.co.uk/

 

[ren531]

I am not sure yet how I will finish it off I am going to see once I have striped it back to the chrome ,I would like to use the chrome if I can clean it up sufficiently.

 

[ren531]

An up date on my Hill Special , had more time recently due to lock down to get on with my Road Path ,so using oxalic acid I have dipped as much of the frame as possible in it and cleaned it up as best as I can then plenty of elbow grease and autosol got it looking reasonable ,nothing like it would once have looked but ok ,transfers on and a moment of pure joy as I peeled of the protective top sheet on the head badge transfer and it had all worked ,really pleased with the result .

 

[rogerzilla]

Lots of vintage frames were fully chromed. When rust started to make them scabby, a lot were sprayed over. If the chrome is abraded and etch-primed, paint sticks just fine.

Re-chroming is usually a bad idea. The existing stuff has to be ground off, the steel polished and then the chroming process redone. Hydrogen embrittlement of the steel occurs (it happened the first time it was done too) and you could be looking at a cracked chainstay shortly after paying £500 for a resto!

 

[carpenter]

Excellent work, lots of effort there.
Will you be just clear coating?