In addition to replacing the hydraulic brake system of my Trek Liquid 20 this weekend, I also started working on my Czech Favorit singlespeed project.
First thing I did was rip the frame apart. The bottom bracket came out easily (it’s english style) revealing bearings caked-in dried-out grease, but in mostly OK shape. The fork put up much more of a fight. The knob that helps tighten the stem/handlebars into the fork tube had totally rusted into a terrible, seized lump. One clown at a shop suggested cutting the fork tube off (which wouldn’t have fixed anything anyway… the knob would have still been in there. The other guy had a better idea and utilized his nice heavy workbench and monstrous vise. He locked it down, twisted and turned and pulled, and it pried out. Oh lord the amount of friction from that made the stem burning hot. Anyway, it is out.
So now I have a totally-disassembled frame. Time to start prepping it for a paint job. I first tried some paint remover. This stuff was horrible and toxic. The first thing I did was open the lid, and the can burped at me, spraying my neck with caustic jelly. I seemed to be unable to use the jelly without getting burnt, so I decided to halt. I flushed it down a street drain with a lot of water. I don’t need that around the house with kid and dogs about.
Next I tried a wire wheel on my drill. This work but was slow-going. I did about half the frame. It still looked rough. I wanted to see what the painting shop advised, so I rubbed it with some grease to prevent further corrosion and took it to a very interesting bike shop, The Rebound Centre.
The Rebound Centre is a fantastically interesting place. Located in an industrial estate, it’s anything but a retail bike shop. They specialize in fabricating bespoke bicycles, repairing bicycles (cracked frames and other hardcore problems), and painting bicycles. In addition to welding and painting equipment, they had a computer-controlled milling machine. I saw them mid-job in taking a steel frame, cutting it at the top tube and the down tube, and silver-soldering in special joints from Cane Creek that allow you to break the bicycle into two pieces for transportation. That’s precise work.
So turns out the Rebound Center actually sandblasts the frame anyway, so my wire wheel work was unnecessary. Doh. Anyway, I am glad I did it long enough to remind myself how much that kind of work sucks. It’s already sand-blasted and primed. They tell me they need to fill in some of the rust pits to make it smooth. I thought they powder-coated the frame, but in fact the spray it. I saw many examples of their work, and it’s quite nice.
My lunchtime mission took me to a paint store in another industrial paint to pick out a color for the job. I was told to get Dupont Centari 600 automobile paint. I want the bike to look copper like a brass penny. I managed to find a close fit, and from the Skoda line. Pleasing — the color I want from a line of Czech cars. 500ml cost me 19$.
I want to get a nice bike repair stand. Jim Langley recommended a Park Tool PRS3. Sulaiman agreed that the Home Repair stands were too light and would kick around. But instead of buying the heavy stand, he said to just buy a clamp and then they’d fabricate a very heavy steel stand and base for it locally, to avoid the expensive freight. So I manage to get the top-of-the-line Park repair stand for the same price I’d buy a Home Repair stand from a local bike shop.
My paint job and stand should each be done in about 1.5 weeks. Then I’ll be able to start putting the bike together after that.
Entries (RSS)