Raleigh Phoenix. What to do?

[Drago]

They actually ride really nice, but they do look very wrong, almost an abomination.

 

[Illaveago]

I would put some lemon or lime juice on the scratches to remove the rust and then apply some primer with a small brush .

To me the colour looks a bit like the purple Ford use on the Fiesta / Focus.

I would just touch the scratches in with an approximate match

 

[Pedal pusher]

I would put some lemon or lime juice on the scratches to remove the rust and then apply some primer with a small brush .

To me the colour looks a bit like the purple Ford use on the Fiesta / Focus.

I would just touch the scratches in with an approximate match

The gouges on the forks are quite deep. What filler would you use?

 

[carpenter]

Depends on the time and effort you put into preparing the surface. Also there are chrome sprays and chrome sprays, which can go up to silly prices, £100+. But don’t forget, platers wouldn’t go to all the effort of polishing, copper plating,, nickel and polish again, before the chrome flash, (it’s the nickel that does the protecting) if they could just spray it on.

totally agree (I had the forks on my Dancelli rechromed - lovely job, but over £100).

I only mentioned the Halfords spray because I think it costs about £8 or so, which seems fair enough on a £25 purchase - also I would love to see how good a job can be done with a "chrome" spray

 

[Tebb1t]

Worth getting it running. In the mid 90's Raleigh were knocking out some top drawer 4130 road and MTB frames that punched seripusly well above their price point. It will likely give a lively, but buttery smooth ride.

I belive the cromo frames of that era had some kind of powder coat finish, so a paint match is not terribly likely. Get Mrs Pusher to look at the nail varnishes in Boots for a match. To be fair though, its a great frame and very useable, and would be worth the investment to get it blasted and powder coated.

I got a 90s Raleigh with a cromo frame cheap from an auction, a very good bike.

 

[T4tomo]

Because Phoenix! Jeesh.

Then chuck it in a canal to put it out.

don't worry, most of us got the joke mickle!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

For £25, I can live with less than perfect cosmetics. Aim firstly to protect the exposed bare metal, and secondly to obtain a reasonable match to the original paint. Reasonable means just close enough that it doesn't shout out to you at ten yards.
It's a decent quality frame, nothing exotic but not cheap rubbish either. Just prevent it getting rusty and enjoy riding it, it's not worth going silly spending more on tarting up the frame that the whole bike cost in the first place.

 

[Peugeotrider]

Id say that bike is mid 90s because of the lugless frame,thats when the whole lugless frame thing kicked off.
Its frame is not unlike my 06 airlite although my top tube aint horizontal like yours.
Rub the forks,prime them and go with the chrome finish spray or gloss black.
Not wanting to piss on your bonfire but ive never seen a chrome spray yet that worked...always more a very fine metallic silver

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

To the best of my knowledge, the last year that Raleigh were mass producing lugged steel frames was 1995, and after that all the mainstream stuff became welded and the 500/501 models were substituted by 4130 generic cro-moly.
It's debatable whether lugged or welded construction makes for a better frame, but there's no question that welded frames are cheaper because they lend themselves to a higher dgree of automation.

 

[Drago]

It was double butted 4130.

It's not to be sniffed at. 4130 has very similar mechanical properties to 531, so makes a nice frame for a lot less money that it might otherwise have cost.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

It was double butted 4130.

It's not to be sniffed at. 4130 has very similar mechanical properties to 531, so makes a nice frame for a lot less money that it might otherwise have cost.

Are you referring to that specific model frame being butted 4130, or Raleigh's 4130 bikes in general?
I've got one of the very final Nottingham-built 4130 MTB frames, but I can't recall anything about it being butted on the sticker.
I tend to regard those late frames as the welded equivalent of a Reynolds 500 regarding where they sit in the quality hierachy.

 

[Pedal pusher]

totally agree (I had the forks on my Dancelli rechromed - lovely job, but over £100).

I only mentioned the Halfords spray because I think it costs about £8 or so, which seems fair enough on a £25 purchase - also I would love to see how good a job can be done with a "chrome" spray

 

[Pedal pusher]

Sprayed up the forks today. Found a tin of Parkside Wheel rim paint for a couple of pounds in Lidl. Quite pleased with the results. Two coats, whent on really well. What it does show is my lack of prep. Things learnt for the next build

 

[Pedal pusher]

I'm almost at the stage of wrapping the bars and was wondering if the brake cables should be inside the wrap or out side. Not sure what is right for the age of the bike. No s/n to speak off but guessing late 80s mid 90s.TIA

 

[T4tomo]

I'm almost at the stage of wrapping the bars and was wondering if the brake cables should be inside the wrap or out side. Not sure what is right for the age of the bike. No s/n to speak off but guessing late 80s mid 90s.TIA

That depends on the brakes, from the look of the pics in the OP, they come out of the back of the hoods to come inside/ under the bar tape. External brake cables are only where the cable exit is top of the hoods like...