# Need advice for this 1948 Schwinn



## Gimletbikes (May 19, 2022)

A friend asked me for advice on restoring his childhood 1948 Schwinn. His father bought it for him new when he was 12 years old. He rode it into adulthood and then as his kids grew up they rode it hard, too. It's saturated with good memories and stories for him and his daughter. It seems like they really have a desire to see it shine like when it was new. I'd love to help them out, but I'm not sure how to best go about it. I'm not sure that resale value is the #1 motivator in this case. 

I asked a friend and local bicycle collector for his advice and he thought that we should maybe try to keep it original to retain its value. He said that repainting it could render it less valuable. Polishing, re-chroming some parts and careful touching up may be as far as we should go. The rust and corrosion in the painted areas has us thinking that repainting could be appropriate in this case.

I'd love to hear how you think we should preserve it so that it can become a nice heirloom for future generations of his family. 
Thanks!


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## Freqman1 (May 19, 2022)

I would not repaint the bike. There are plenty of posts here that describe how to go about cleaning and detailing a bike such as this and you would be amazed at the before and afters. You may need to have that front fender rolled and will need a horn unit. To properly restore this bike will cost at least $2500 and it might be worth about $1800 tops when finished. V/r Shawn


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## 49autocycledeluxe (May 19, 2022)

oooh! my favorite bike.  I have 3 or 4 of those depending on how you look at it. that bike definitely should not be repainted. 

you would be surprised how much better that bike could be made to look.


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## falconer (May 19, 2022)

Agree on above posts! Do not paint or plate anything. Maybe replace the seat. Grease all bearings, display, and ride!


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## 49autocycledeluxe (May 19, 2022)

here are some before and after pics of the chrome on one of my bikes. I bought a jug of Evaporust, disassembled everything and let the parts soak overnight, then used a brass brush the next day.


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## 49autocycledeluxe (May 19, 2022)

here's a bike I did about a year ago. just disassembled, cleaned and polished. I did change the rims, tires and seat.


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## kostnerave (May 19, 2022)

If this bike was purchased at an estate sale or a bike swap, I'd say restore it. The fact is the bike is already wearing the family history, complete with the recovered seat, mismatched screws holding the tank together and even the wire securing the brake arm. I'd be hard pressed to touch a thing on this bike. It's an heirloom as it sits! Of course, this is just my opinion.


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## 1817cent (May 19, 2022)

Clean it up, service it and enjoy it.  It is not a candidate for restoration.


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## tacochris (May 19, 2022)

My Lord what a beautiful survivor patina!!  Not my bike, but it would be a sad day to lose such a gorgeous patina to a “restoration”.  
The real gem of what that bike is, is the fact that its managed to stay whole and original for SO long.  Once thats gone, it looks like every other black/white Schwinn.
My two cents.


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## PatsBikes (May 19, 2022)

1817cent said:


> Clean it up, service it and enjoy it.  It is not a candidate for restoration.


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## PatsBikes (May 19, 2022)

Has anybody noticed the 52 tooth sweet heart sprocket!  I don't think I've ever seen one?   Interesting ?


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## GTs58 (May 19, 2022)

The family could start out with a comprehensive Refurbishment verses a full-blown Restoration. But if their wishes are for it to look like it did when purchased and are willing to finance that wish, I see nothing wrong with that as long as the job is done right.


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## rustjunkie (May 19, 2022)

1 vote here for leave it be
it's a very cool bike and it'll never be more interesting than it is now.
clean it up or "restore" it, either way it'll be sanitized, the history and character wiped clean, lost forever.


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## PlasticNerd (May 19, 2022)

Also a vote for clean it up- don’t restore it! It’s just time and patience! I did this one in a couple weeks!


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## Gimletbikes (May 19, 2022)

49autocycledeluxe said:


> here are some before and after pics of the chrome on one of my bikes. I bought a jug of Evaporust, disassembled everything and let the parts soak overnight, then used a brass brush the next day.
> 
> View attachment 1629969
> 
> ...



This is very helpful. Thank you!


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## Gimletbikes (May 19, 2022)

kostnerave said:


> If this bike was purchased at an estate sale or a bike swap, I'd say restore it. The fact is the bike is already wearing the family history, complete with the recovered seat, mismatched screws holding the tank together and even the wire securing the brake arm. I'd be hard pressed to touch a thing on this bike. It's an heirloom as it sits! Of course, this is just my opinion.



Man. Well said. I take your point. I was taken by the homemade seat replacement with the plywood bottom. In my opinion, that is kind of the focal point. It's not great, but it speaks volumes.


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## Gimletbikes (May 19, 2022)

PatsBikes said:


> Has anybody noticed the 52 tooth sweet heart sprocket!  I don't think I've ever seen one?   Interesting ?






PlasticNerd said:


> Also a vote for clean it up- don’t restore it! It’s just time and patience! I did this one in a couple weeks! View attachment 1630045
> View attachment 1630051



Wow! Whats your process? That's a beautiful result.


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## Gimletbikes (May 19, 2022)

PatsBikes said:


> Has anybody noticed the 52 tooth sweet heart sprocket!  I don't think I've ever seen one?   Interesting ?



Wow, very interesting. Can you explain more? Did those sprockets more often have the skip-tooth design? Thanks for the input


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## PlasticNerd (May 19, 2022)

Gimletbikes said:


> Wow! Whats your process? That's a beautiful result.



Completely disassemble, wash all painted parts.  Soak chrome in evaporust for 2-12 hours, use polishing compound on painted parts very carefully staying away from pinstripes. Also I used some 0000 steel wool and wd40 on some of the paint, keeping away from stripes still. Then washed again and waxed w carnuba 😎


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## Gimletbikes (May 20, 2022)

All the input so far is greatly appreciated!

That said, I don't have much hope for the original rims. They are deeply blistered with rust. I am thinking I would like to build new wheels around the original hubs. Any tips on finding similar age-appropriate hoops in better condition? Also would like to replace the tires, which obviously are not original. Owner says he remembers them being white walls.


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## BF2485 (May 21, 2022)

They are only original paint once! All the patina adds character, I would not even buy a "restored" bike because it's not realistic! Kids did not take care of bikes!


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## Gimletbikes (May 21, 2022)

You all have convinced me. I am 100% team preserve patina. I think I may have been too heavy handed had you all spoken up. Thanks! I'm convinced the scratches & dents should continue to tell their story. Tomorrow is my chance to make my proposal. I intend to suggest a gentle approach - the first of a few phases. First phase, I want to remove as much grit and grime as I can without getting too invasive. I want to install some new tires and tubes. I'd like to fix the two broken spokes. We'll see where it goes from there. Any chain-specific tips would be appreciated - that suckers pretty stiff. I'm pretty excited to begin


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## gkeep (May 22, 2022)

Gimletbikes said:


> You all have convinced me. I am 100% team preserve patina. I think I may have been too heavy handed had you all spoken up. Thanks! I'm convinced the scratches & dents should continue to tell their story. Tomorrow is my chance to make my proposal. I intend to suggest a gentle approach - the first of a few phases. First phase, I want to remove as much grit and grime as I can without getting too invasive. I want to install some new tires and tubes. I'd like to fix the two broken spokes. We'll see where it goes from there. Any chain-specific tips would be appreciated - that suckers pretty stiff. I'm pretty excited to begin



There are some good threads on chain cleaning. Soaking in paint thinner or other solvent of choice, using an ultrasonic cleaner works well. I'v used just Simple Green and a brass brush on a chain that was stiff with rust. After a couple hours of soaking I was able to free up the links one at a time, brushed off the crud and then soaked in heavy weight gear oil for a couple days. Gear oil has a pretty strong smell so wear gloves. Use the 75-90 wt stuff that comes in a quart. You'd be amazed how it will clean out all the gunk in the rollers and links. Look in the restoration threads and you'll find lots of chain cleaning ideas. That rusty stiff chain has gone many hundreds of miles since I cleaned it and put it on my 1916 Pierce. It's my main rider.

That bike will clean up beautifully with gently cleaning and elbow grease. Have a great time with it and keep us updated! Great family story!


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## Gimletbikes (May 24, 2022)

I've started a build journal in Project Rides titled 1948 Schwinn Project Journal. Spoiler alert: we've discovered that it is actually a '46 model 🧐 Thanks for your interest and input!


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