# Robin Before and After



## Freqman1 (Jan 19, 2013)

Some of you may remember this bike. First pic is how it came out of the barn--found in Michigan I believe and second pic is how it looks now. V/r Shawn


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## fordmike65 (Jan 19, 2013)

DAMN!!! Absolutely beautiful Shawn! Looks like a lot of elbow grease & patience went into her. Great job!


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## dfa242 (Jan 19, 2013)

Nice!  C'mon, let's see a few closeups when you get a chance.


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## poolboy1 (Jan 19, 2013)

Nice job!!!


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## slick (Jan 19, 2013)

WOW!!! Great job! Now what the heck were they thinking repinting over tht killer original paint? Glad the bike went to a great home. All that time and patience paid off. Some people might have just sent it to the blasters to be stripped and restored. Good thing that didn't happen. Oh ya, more close ups please!!


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## cyclingday (Jan 19, 2013)

Phenominal!

 I bet everybody that missed that early bird special is wishing that they had got out of bed a little earlier now.

 It looks absolutely stunning Shawn. If there was an award for caretaker of the year, you would be this years recipient.


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## Ozark Flyer (Jan 19, 2013)

That is really sweet.  Great job.


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## silvertonguedevil (Jan 19, 2013)

Wow! That's phenomenal!! Great job!!


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 19, 2013)

Holy poop ....WOOOW what did you use to remove the old paint that was on it and uncover the original paint with???? Great job!!!


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## Freqman1 (Jan 19, 2013)

Thanks,
      I gotta come clean on this one I had to do some touch up on the graphics and tank and then distressed it back. The pic looks a lot better than in person because I lost a lot of paint on the fenders and guard but because the metal is dark it doesn't show until you get up on it. This took a lot of time using Goof Off, Acetone, and lacquer thinner with 0000 steel wool. It appears they used primer on the frame but the rest of the sheet metal it seems they painted stright on the metal? The cream had to be retouched because it was much softer than the brown and no matter how slow I went I couldn't save it. I am extremely pleased out how it came out and I'll get some closeups to show the distressing on the tank and graphics. A major PITA but I think well worth it. V/r Shawn


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## Nickinator (Jan 20, 2013)

My mom and I are impressed Shawn! What did you use to get the barn paint off? We run
into a lot of bikes we could use this on and it would really help.

Nick.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 20, 2013)

Nick, Thanks see my previous post--mostly a product called Goof Off and a whole lot of time! V/r Shawn


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## Freqman1 (Jan 20, 2013)

*Close-ups*

For you that wanted to see the close ups here ya go. Us car guys would call this a 20 footer but us bike guys take a different view! Yea it has a few warts eh hem I mean character but I rode it today and got a lot of thumbs up! V/r Shawn


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## Gary Mc (Jan 20, 2013)

Looks amazing considering where you started.  Great job on removing that blue paint & the touchups!!!!!!!  I like it better than all the over-restored ones you see.


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## Nickinator (Jan 20, 2013)

It looks like a 20/20  20 feet away at 20 miles an hour 

But really it looks great Shawn glad you didn't strip it down


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## Freqman1 (Jan 20, 2013)

Remember Nick--"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it--until you remove the house paint!" V/r Shawn


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## poolboy1 (Jan 20, 2013)

You put some time in on that Shawn.... I dig on the tires.


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## scrubbinrims (Jan 20, 2013)

I am in disbelief.
Usually repaints are for a reason...because what is underneath is bad.
That has been my experience anyway and I have never been successful in selectively removing the undesireable top paint only.
Really nice work Shawn...you have given me some hope the next time (and I'll send it your way ).
Chris


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## slick (Jan 20, 2013)

Wow Shawn.......all those long sleepless nights and sore fingers from stripping and polishing paid off in a very big way! It turned out gorgeous and i'm glad it was brought back from the ugly colors back to reality. Great bike. Bummed i missed it.....


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## dfa242 (Jan 21, 2013)

Pretty much everything I own is a 20 footer - that's beautiful - nice job.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 21, 2013)

scrubbinrims said:


> I am in disbelief.
> Usually repaints are for a reason...because what is underneath is bad.
> That has been my experience anyway and I have never been successful in selectively removing the undesireable top paint only.
> Really nice work Shawn...you have given me some hope the next time (and I'll send it your way ).
> Chris




I just don't think they liked brown! Luckily for me whatever type of paint they used was pretty 'soft'. That said this took a long time because they had painted everything (pedals, underneath fenders, etc...) and I'm in no hurry to do this again. V/r Shawn


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## Balloontyre (Jan 21, 2013)

2 or 20 ft, fantastic either way. Nice to see how much original paint was saved.
Way to go!!! 

Brown is my favoured color on a bike.


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## chitown (Jan 21, 2013)

*Great Job!*



Freqman1 said:


> I gotta come clean on this one I had to do some touch up on the graphics and tank and then distressed it back.




I think you made the right call. The strip everything, re-plate, resto route is one to try if you have a budget and the resources to get it done right. But if you have some time, talent and a small budget, you end up preserving some of the original finish and have one bad ass cool bike to show off. Don't be worried about how good it looks close up unless you are entering a 100 point judged show. But if you do show it you can put a velvet rope around it about 8 feet from the bike so the crowd can't see the minor flaws... 


Chris


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## cyclonecoaster.com (Jan 21, 2013)

*Way better than a 20 footer  --*



Freqman1 said:


> For you that wanted to see the close ups here ya go. Us car guys would call this a 20 footer but us bike guys take a different view! Yea it has a few warts eh hem I mean character but I rode it today and got a lot of thumbs up! V/r Shawn




*For those who would call this a 20 footer -- they should stay back at least 30 feet -- 

As found was in "drive by condition" to many who didn't see the potential -- Great job bringing her back Shawn -- RIDE VINTAGE -- Frank 

*


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## Flat Tire (Jan 21, 2013)

Great job Shawn! I sure didnt think it would end up that nice lookiin under all that nasty blue paint......I think its beautiful even at 10 feet away, like some of mine.....lol   Don


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