Renovating an old bike

Green&Red

So a couple of years ago my sister landed home with a rusty old bike, not quiet a high nelly but definitely related. Its sat in the shed since and I'd like to do something with it.
Where do I start with the frame? Is it a "simple" matter of scrubbing off the rust and repainting.
He-who-shall-not-be-names has these tips
https://www.livestrong.com/article/397166-what-to-use-to-get-rust-off-a-bike/

And this looks like a good resource
http://bicycletutor.com/rust-removal/

Any experience here?

Plastik

Strip the whole bike of all its parts first and assess what can be salvaged and what needs replacing. Everything from headset bearings, bottom bracket bearings, do the derailleurs work, the jockey wheels, chainrings, wheel bearings, bearing races etc. That will inform how much money the renovation will cost you and whether it's worth your while.

If it is consider what sort of finish you want on the frame. I did the following resto on a Carlton this year and had the frame powdercoated in Tallaght Powdercoating for about €80 - frame only, didn't include fork. I think the overall resto stands me about €400.

Needed new front hub, 32 spokes, one wheel rebuild, one wheel service, new tyres, new tubes, new hoods, new brake cables, new gear cables, new bar tape, new seatpost, new saddle, new fork, and new chain.

Rojo

Plastik wrote: »

Strip the whole bike of all its parts first and assess what can be salvaged and what needs replacing. Everything from headset bearings, bottom bracket bearings, do the derailleurs work, the jockey wheels, chainrings, wheel bearings, bearing races etc. That will inform how much money the renovation will cost you and whether it's worth your while.

If it is consider what sort of finish you want on the frame. I did the following resto on a Carlton this year and had the frame powdercoated in Tallaght Powdercoating for about €80 - frame only, didn't include fork. I think the overall resto stands me about €400.

Needed new front hub, 32 spokes, one wheel rebuild, one wheel service, new tyres, new tubes, new hoods, new brake cables, new gear cables, new bar tape, new seatpost, new saddle, new fork, and new chain.

Lovely job!

lescol

Lots of tips on this Youtube channel:-

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_gVGHWkAmy2gPuImt3lWLg

rob w

Did a restoration of an old bike myself a few years back. Stripped everything down off it completely as it was mostly useless. Had to cut the forks off and replace them with new.

Sanded it right back down too. Started with an electric sander, but I then found it was better/easier to get all the paint off to do it by hand (although it was torture, but kept me busy!!)

Skimped on the paint job, did it with rustoleum surface primer spray, then a couple of layers of colour I wanted, and used a clear sealer after that. This is probably my biggest regret as the rust is starting to show through the paintwork in a few small spots....I should of had it done properly (powdercoating), but I wanted to keep costs down. Its a shame, because I put a lot of effort into the painting. But I'm happy with the finished product anyway, though I don't get out on it as much as I'd like! So, if you've got any sign of rust right now, make sure you get rid of it properly at the beginning would be my advice.......not sure exactly how to go about that though

It was my first build, and making sure parts are compatible with one another can be a bit of a headache, for me anyway (drivetrain, headset/forks etc)! If you want any more advice as it goes on let me know!

Some pics....

rob w

Oh....and cover all orifices such as bottom bracket threads, seatpost, steerer tube when spraying if doing yourself! You dont wanna be picking paint out of the later!

Plastik

Regarding spraying vs powdercoating, I went with the latter having firstly gone down the route of trying to strip the paint by hand with Nirtomors - which was utterly crap. Given the amount of time it would have taken, the cost of decent primer, paint, lacquer, and the high likelihood that I'd have made a balls of it I decided the costs were too similar for me to bother spraying. The powder coat job is not perfect, I've found plenty minor blemishes and flaws in the finish but to a casual glance it looks great. I would probably have brought it back to be redone had it been an expensive frame. I don't know if intricate designs can be done with a powdercoat, so that might be something else to consider.

I had a candy red put on. It looks anything from dark maroon on a dark day to a really deep bright red with a candy fleck through it in bright sunlight. The camera doesn't capture it very well.

mamax

Sorry to butt in and go off topic but I met a guy a while back who had an old steel frame and had fitted a 105 groupset to it, I would like to do similar but the question is are all the old frames compatible for such a change ?

magicbastarder

Plastik wrote: »

Regarding spraying vs powdercoating, I went with the latter having firstly gone down the route of trying to strip the paint by hand with Nirtomors - which was utterly crap.

they - quite literally - don't make nitromors like they used to. the chemical composition has changed.

Canis Lupus

rob w wrote: »

Restored bike

Ermagherd that's a purdy bike.

Esroh

If the rust is really bad I would recommend sand-blasting.
It saves a lot of time and elbow grease.
Your nearest headstone man is your best bet.
The pics are of my 2 nd restoration .