Thursday, February 26, 2009

Primed

I spent a lot of time this weekend sanding, washing, drying then priming a batch of parts. Prior to this stage I had stripped the paint from them by a combination of methods: chemical stripper, wire wheel on the grinder, steel wool and/or sand paper.

After getting the old paint, grime and rust from the parts I wet-sanded them with 150 then 220 grit paper. After sanding, I washed them all thoroughly to remove any grit and oil.

After the parts were dry I sprayed them with three coats of self-etching primer. I followed the instructions on the can and let them flash for 5 minutes between coats. That was about how long it took me to spray everything so it was sort of a round and round spray session.

I am pleased with the results. Most of the parts are small and don't have a lot of smooth surfaces so I wasn't too worried. The Oil Tank was the part I was most careful with as it will be very visible once the bike is back together.

Since I'm trying to get a rolling chassis done most of the parts are chassis-related. I paid special attention to the hubs as they will be the first parts to be rebuilt into 'like new' wheels. I'm still tracking down spokes but hope to have replacements in hand in a week or two. I'll use the time to get the front rim finished. It's got a couple of bends in it so I'm either going to have to find a way to straighten it or locate a new one.

A few days after the self-etching primer went on I coated everything again with some hi-build primer. I don't have any pictures after that stage but the change was very subtle and probably not something a web-quality picture is going to show.

The final picture here is the oil tank. I was very pleased at the results. There are two small dents in the tank that I'm leaving as they are. I may change my mind later and fill them smooth but I do think the bike needs some 'character'. It's 45 years old. It can't be perfect.

I'm getting the parts back from the media-blaster today so I'll make another update soon with before and after blasting pictures.

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