# 60's Chrome Quality



## Tim the Skid (Dec 16, 2019)

I'm amazed at the quality of the chrome on the mid  60's bikes. At first glance these fenders and S-7's looked pretty sad. They cleaned up real nice, with some Simichrome polish and a little elbow grease.


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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Dec 16, 2019)

Yep ,   It Just Ain't the same any more . Cheap, Weak, Lame.    Ahh The Good Old Days.............


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## Sevenhills1952 (Dec 16, 2019)

Man! Beautiful job! 
That's good plating to last that long as you say.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk


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## SKIDKINGSVBC (Dec 16, 2019)

Schwinn always had good plating ..


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## Schwinn lover (Dec 16, 2019)

What brand of polish did you use? Is simichrome a brand name?


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## Oilit (Dec 16, 2019)

I don't give Ed Schwinn much credit, but he did at least maintain a decent standard of quality at Schwinn, unlike some other manufacturers. AMF anyone?


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## vincev (Dec 16, 2019)

Schwinn always had quality plating.I think the best.


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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Dec 16, 2019)

Schwinn lover said:


> Is simichrome a brand name?




       YES < >   it is ........https://www.ebay.com/itm/SIMICHROME-POLISH-1-76-ounce-Polishing-paste-BEST-POLISH-390050-TOOL/352696737677?hash=item521e5d1f8d:g:vx8AAOSwnZFdC32q   

    Sorry my comp. is not linking properly. May have to copy and paste .


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## Tim the Skid (Dec 16, 2019)

Schwinn lover said:


> What brand of polish did you use? Is simichrome a brand name?



Yes,  Simichrome is a brand name. I started using it in the 70's to remove bluing from my chrome motorcycle exhaust pipes.


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## Tim the Skid (Dec 16, 2019)




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## rollfaster (Dec 17, 2019)

I concur, Schwinn chrome and paint was top quality, this is why I prefer them over most others.


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## davek (Dec 17, 2019)

Where do you buy this polish?


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Dec 17, 2019)

Tim the Skid said:


> View attachment 1111394





Please don't confuse with Preparation H!


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## frampton (Dec 17, 2019)

You can buy it on Ebay, motorcycle shops and auto parts stores.


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## Arnold Ziffel (Dec 17, 2019)

I have also found and sourced USED 7881 Schwinn handlebars from ebay and elsewhere to replace the  handlebars on old beachcruisers and  to replace the handlebars on New bikes.  They work great and look great too and these are perfect for conversion of many old seventies and early eighties ten speeds from racing bars to tourist-upright riding style.     You can't go wrong,  if they are  in good shape without significant scars and rust blistering.   I then buy the old style el-cheapo  Handlebar grips from cyclesource in Los angeles via ebay.      The USED old Schwinn handlebars are better than anything available today and better than most others when Chrome quality was good for most everyone.     I do recommend the 7881 and most everything from the Collegiate, Suburban, Speedster, Breeze, Racer,  etc.    The Chrome SCHWINN fenders that Schwinn used on the COLLEGIATE and the other models from about 1965 on was great.   Sadly in around 1974 they hung that ugly large rectangular reflector on the rear fender,  but the chrome was still just as good.   My opinion is that the fenders from about 1965 through 1973 with the round reflector on its metal raised base is the most stylish even if you are missing the reflector but still have the chrome metal raised base.   I have adapted the old Collegiate chrome fenders to other non Schwinn 26 x 1 3/8 bicycles  and have done so with the Varsity Tourist fenders with 27 non Schwinn bikes,  but the 27 Schwinn fenders can have clearance issues with certain current 27" tire choices.  For example the current MICHELIN PROTEK 27 x 1 1/4  (32-630mm) tire is taller than many other currently available 27 x 1 1/4  (32-630mm) tires.     You have to check clearance with certain 27" tires.
I have not found that to be the case with chrome Schwinn fenders on 26" lighweight Schwinn bikes or the same 26" Schwinn chrome fenders being adapted to other brand- model  of 26 inch lightweight bike (26 x 1 3/8  non Schwinn bikes 37-590mm).     You can also source USED Schwinn front crank wheels and the ashtabula chrome one piece crank  to replace the one your not so perfect weathered  and rusted Schwinn or you can modify another brand/make with use of the Schwinn 46T clover or Mag Style or heart crank wheel, or the entire one piece assembly from the Schwinn on to your other brand with an ashtabula one piece hanger set.      Those old Schwinn 7881 handlebars which can be acquired in excellent shape typically for about $25 shipped from some ebay seller  and a set of $16 reproduction Krate-bow style pedals like the Suburban had will really make one of those brand new $95 special Wal-Mart store coaster brake beach cruisers look much nicer.
There is an outfit called cyclesource out of Los Angeles on ebay that sells the  retro old style handlebar grips for less than $5 per pair.


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## Tim the Skid (Dec 18, 2019)

Arnold Ziffel said:


>


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## morton (Dec 19, 2019)

I believe that one of the  reasons why older Schwinns are so heavy is due to the thickness of the chrome plating!  

Seriously, I think it's safe to say that most Schwinns in the 1950's thru 1970's were "overbuilt," making them prime candidates for what I call Original Part Restorations.  More than once I've used Barkeepers Friend on a scratched, pitted, road rash infected Schwinn handle bar or wheel and the thing comes up shinning like new.  You can still see the defects but the unblemished sections shine.  And with a shot of clearcoat and  some love every now and them, they will probably outlast any china made replacement.  And for a lot less than the exorbitant cost of replating.

And the same goes for their paint.  Often times a bit of elbow grease mixed with  polishing compound can produce amazing results.

If ever nuclear war, a massive comet strike or global warming cause mass causalties and discruption thoughout the earth, I predict that many of the survivors will be making their way thru the ruins on a Varsity.


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Dec 19, 2019)

I've always said," two things that will survive a nuclear holocaust: cockroaches and Schwinn Varsity's!"


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## morton (Dec 20, 2019)

Mr. Monkeyarms said:


> I've always said," two things that will survive a nuclear holocaust: cockroaches and Schwinn Varsity's!"




I should have added that they will be riding on the rims without tires as so much "rubber" these days is crap from china.....and those double wall rims are definitely up to the task.  Unless of course the rider comes across a stash of non-gumwall Carlisles.


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## SirMike1983 (Dec 20, 2019)

The prep work is very important when doing plating, and Schwinn generally did pretty good prep work, followed by the traditional heavy-metal plating process. So when you get rust, at least when the rust is getting start, you get spot rust. The rust that is lethal is the type that gets under the plating and then runs along the base metal, forming "bubbles" in the chrome. The chrome then flakes off. This can eventually happen even with good chrome if the part is neglected long enough, but it certainly takes longer and take more neglect than with cheap prep and plating. If you want good chrome, you need to have good, clean prep and then a willingness to go through the plating (triple plating) steps rather than cut corners. 

I tell people that when you're looking at a plated part, you're not so much looking at just the brown on the surface to assess condition (you are to a degree, I guess, but it's not everything), what you're looking for is lines or bubbles under sections of plating, that would indicate the rust is running under the plating and is on the base metal. You see that kind of insidious (and often very destructive) rust on cheaper parts many times, but you can get it even on good stuff that is neglected enough.


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## Ernbar (Dec 20, 2019)

It’s amazing to see how an ugly rusted Schwinn chromed  part can be transformed into blinding bling!

I did not take a before picture cause I seriously doubted this rusty crappy looking kickstand on my Continental was gonna look like this after soaking in Evapo-Rust for 48 hours and then polished with Flitz.


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## Wanted33 (Dec 21, 2019)

I agree. I was quite surprised at how the chrome on my '80 Schwinn Collegiate cleaned up.


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## Jeff54 (Dec 21, 2019)

It changed in early 70's,  Got cheaper, not as bad as the others, Murray and the rest but it was the timeline it got crappy. I was convinced it was made in Mexico right along side of the VW's.  Yet, even so, I was surprised in all the time past, whenever I cleaned a 78 and 81 at, how well the 'cheaper' job by Schwinn holds up. .  Maybe Some English could compare IDK, yet 'cheap' Schwinn post 1970 too' before about 1982 will out last most any. Perhaps It stood up for their preparation, , a coating before chrome similar to that which was applied to bare metal frame  before painting.


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