I have been able to get a little more work done to the bike over the last few days, most of the cleaning has been done and I was able to start the assembly process (my favorite part).
I was the most concerned with getting the reflective striping off and it proved to be a problem. I am not sure what this stuff is but it does not want to come off.
I used this remover after trying the usual stuff like Goo Gone (light duty remover), and Goof Off (the usual fail proof remover). Neither of the old standby's worked and this stuff only worked on the white stripes on the forks, it would not touch the red stripes on the rear fender.
I ended up slowly chipping the stripes off with a utility knife. Not the safest route if the paint is good but in this case I was not too concerned with the paint. A few extra chips in the paint are not going to be a big deal. Overall it worked out well. The bigger issue is the shine were the stickers were as opposed to the oxidized paint on the rest of the fender. I would normally polish the paint out but the pin striping and lettering are very fragile and easily removed with polishing compound.
I straightened out the dents and dings in the fenders so now there is just paint chips. Front fender went from this :
I straightened out the dents and dings in the fenders so now there is just paint chips. Front fender went from this :
To this:
And the rear fender went from this:
To this:
I also started to polish the shiny parts to see how they would turn out. This is what the stem and bars looked like when I started.
The stem turned out well, the pitting left on the bottom will be hidden once assembled.
Unfortunately the bars are just to far gone, they will be saved for another project that can use painted bars.
After digging around for a while at my secret parts source I found another set of Schwinn bars that will work well. They are a bit bigger, most likely off of a 26" wheeled bike but otherwise they are the same.
The crank and chain ring polished out very nicely and show little signs of wear. You can see the bottom bracket in the lower corner of the picture, nothing like "new" bearings from 1962.
I need to change gears for a bit so I started putting some of the parts together. I really like the way this is looking at this point.
I need to change gears for a bit so I started putting some of the parts together. I really like the way this is looking at this point.
That is about where things are at for now, wheels and rear rack will be next.
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