# 1972 Schwinn Continental in Burgundy



## Tom Roussell (Aug 4, 2020)

Hi folks! New member here. I introduced myself a few minutes ago on Birds of a Feather. I'm restoring a 1972 Schwinn Continental and have several questions. I'll start with my most recent issue.

I cleaned the front rim and installed new rim strips, tube and Kenda K35 Gumwall 27x1-1/4" tires. When I inflated it, I noticed the tire wasn't seating correctly. Notice the lettering for Miximum Pressure is partly below the rim's edge. Same is true for the other side. I inspected the tire off the rim, and it appears fine.

Is it the wheel? Any idea what's going on here?

Thanks,
Tom


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 4, 2020)

FWIW, I made some measurements of the rim and tire both inflated and not. Everything appears even all around.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the tube. It's a Kenda 700x28-35C, 27x1-1/8"-1-1/4". I know 700mm equates to 27.55". Any chance the tube is simply too large for the Kenda K35P-009 tires? The tires, tubes, and rim strips were sold as a bundle, so I assumed they were compatible.

Thanks,
Tom


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 4, 2020)

Update

I deflated the tires to try again. This time, as I slowly inflated them I massaged the tire onto the rim, trying to make it even all the way around. It's not perfect, but it seems much better. Is this simply normal?

Thanks,
Tom


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## schwinnbikebobb (Aug 4, 2020)

Yes that is normal.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 4, 2020)

schwinnbikebobb said:


> Yes that is normal.



Got it! Thanks for the speedy reply!

Thanks,
Tom


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## Sven (Aug 4, 2020)

Hey Tom
   No matter what the tire. Schwalbe, Kenda, Pararacer, Continental so on and so on.
you have to massage the tire onto schwinn rims. I blew up 2 innner tubes trying to seat a Duro tire on to a S-6 rim
I'm glad you got yours straight.


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## Goodday (Aug 4, 2020)

You use to buy tires off a rack as they had a good bead, now they are rolled up in a box, what’s this world coming to?


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## Goldenrod (Aug 4, 2020)

A little Windex and it should slide better.


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## GTs58 (Aug 4, 2020)

Did you happen to slightly inflate the tubes before installing them to see just how deformed and worthless these cheap tubes really are? And when they are slightly blown  up, maybe 10 psi, you'll see they're way over sized along with being deformed. When I was installing new tires and tubes on my 61 Continental I blew the tubes up and they would fit on a 36" rim. No joke. Kenda crap. Cheap tubes like this will make the install a real PITA.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 5, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> Did you happen to slightly inflate the tubes before installing them to see just how deformed and worthless these cheap tubes really are? And when they are slightly blown  up, maybe 10 psi, you'll see they're way over sized along with being deformed. When I was installing new tires and tubes on my 61 Continental I blew the tubes up and they would fit on a 36" rim. No joke. Kenda crap. Cheap tubes like this will make the install a real PITA.



Yeah, I did add some air to them before installing, and as you say, they looked over-sized. But after a few times inflating them fully, they now seem to have taken the right shape/size. I know Kenda is a value brand, so I don't expect much. I think I'll be okay, but a few rides will let me know.

Thanks,
Tom


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 10, 2020)

New question ...

I'm preparing the frame for painting. I'm going to try to simply touch it up, as opposed to strip and repaint. I'm told I should use Silver for my basecoat, since the finish is candy. Should the basecoat be matte or glossy? And should it be metallic?

Thanks!
Tom


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## GTs58 (Aug 10, 2020)

The original Aluminum undercoat was more of a satin type finish and I use a "flat" aluminum. When painting over a gloss you have to sand it or chemically dull the paint for adhesion. No metallic undercoat!


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 10, 2020)

Thanks! What color basecoat is recommended under a burgundy color coat?

Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk


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## GTs58 (Aug 10, 2020)

Aluminum.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 11, 2020)

Okay, thanks. I bought a Rustoleum Primer today in flat gray and did the touchup. Two coats then a wet sanding. LOTs of touch-ups!!! In a couple of days I'll add start touching up with top coat. The match isn't exact, but I'm hoping it'll be okay.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 16, 2020)

Well, the color coat touch up is not working well. I tried using the same technique I used for the primer. That is, spray a little paint thinner in a dish and spray the color paint into it until happy with the color. It's easy to get wrong, I think.

So, I'm strongly leaning toward stripping the bike and repainting. I'm having a great deal of trouble finding an exact match for Schwinn Burgundy, of course. One option I found is a Burgundy Red Metallic by Model Master (Rustoleum?). I also checked Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes and can come really close with Chevrolet Marlboro Maroon Metallic. I'm leaning toward the Maroon. Anyone out there know where to find a good match for Schwinn Burgundy?


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## GTs58 (Aug 16, 2020)

The top tube paint looks really beat up and not worth trying to do a touch up, total repaint would be the way to go. Trial and error on buying a matching paint looking at colors online. Hopefully someone here has already been thru the matching process and can give you a close match.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 17, 2020)

Thanks, GTs58! I'm in the middle of stripping the paint. I'm using momo68's thread on painting as a guide.

I have an unrelated question about chains. The chain on this '72 Continental is 112 links. Every description of 112 link chains I see online say they are best for fixed gear bikes. I'm wondering if maybe it's not the priginal chain and perhaps I need a longer one. Does anyone know the correct chain length for a '72 Conti?

Thanks!
Tom


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## GTs58 (Aug 17, 2020)

My Corvette 5 speeds have 1/2 x 3/32" 112 L chains along with my Continentals and Varsitys. Fixed geared bikes use a 1/2 x 1/8" chain, its wider than a geared bike chain.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 18, 2020)

Thanks for the information. That's very helpful!


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 27, 2020)

Tom Roussell said:


> Well, the color coat touch up is not working well. I tried using the same technique I used for the primer. That is, spray a little paint thinner in a dish and spray the color paint into it until happy with the color. It's easy to get wrong, I think.
> 
> So, I'm strongly leaning toward stripping the bike and repainting. I'm having a great deal of trouble finding an exact match for Schwinn Burgundy, of course. One option I found is a Burgundy Red Metallic by Model Master (Rustoleum?). I also checked Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes and can come really close with Chevrolet Marlboro Maroon Metallic. I'm leaning toward the Maroon. Anyone out there know where to find a good match for Schwinn Burgundy?



I decided to strip the paint and start over. I went with the Marlboro Maroon Metallic from Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes. It's not Schwinn Burgundy, but it's not bad. This is three coats of color, one coat of clear. 

I'm considering going with a different color._ Has anyone used House of Kolor Brandywine Metallic?_ It's a bit redder and pinkier than the Maroon I used. Of course, hard to tell from pictures of colors on your browser.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 27, 2020)

Tom Roussell said:


> I decided to strip the paint and start over. I went with the Marlboro Maroon Metallic from Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes. It's not Schwinn Burgundy, but it's not bad. This is three coats of color, one coat of clear.
> 
> I'm considering going with a different color._ Has anyone used House of Kolor Brandywine Metallic?_ It's a bit redder and pinkier than the Maroon I used. Of course, hard to tell from pictures of colors on your browser.
> 
> ...



FWIW, my pics appear quite brown-ish compared to reality. It really is a maroon. I took another picture with the Burgundy bar tape in the pic for comparison.


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## Tom Roussell (Aug 28, 2020)

I have another problem I'd like your help with. The saddle was quite bent to one side when I bought the bike.




I tried bending it back into shape, but it's not there yet.




I searched online for a replacement, but couldn't find this exact saddle, which I seem to recall is the original saddle.


Any advice on how to get it back into shape?

Regards,
Tom


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## Tom Roussell (Sep 4, 2020)

Well, I put the seat back together and installed it on the bike. It's not perfect, but it's serviceable. On to my next question!

I took the bike for a test ride this afternoon. I was surprised to learn the steering pulls to the right. What could cause that? I assume an out-of-alignment fork could, but it looks straight to my eye. Could it be an out-of-balance front wheel? Something else?

Thanks for any advice!

Tom

PS. I know you all like pictures!  Only thing left to add are the down tube decals!


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Sep 4, 2020)

something has to be bent if it is pulling to the right. 

as for your tires.. do you use a pump or a compressor? these tires like to be pumped up slow and adjusted as you go.


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## Tom Roussell (Sep 4, 2020)

Funny you should ask about the tires! Indeed, they were pumped by a compressor. I posted about that earlier. I'll pump them by hand to make them more uniform.

I read that tires that are not centered horizontally can cause pulling. I'll flip it to see if it pulls left.

Thanks for the reply!
Tom

Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk


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## GTs58 (Sep 4, 2020)

I'm betting the fork is bent. One leg further back than the other.


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## Tom Roussell (Sep 5, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> I'm betting the fork is bent. One leg further back than the other.



Yeah, I suspect it is. I've read that steel can be bent fairly easily, but I'm not sure I wanna attempt it myself. Maybe I'll take it to my LBS.

Thanks!
Tom


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## Galco (Sep 5, 2020)

Hi Tom, I too have started to do a restoration on a 1972 Burgundy Continental!  Such a great color and bike.  Its rough but has been in the family since new.  It's very sentimental to me so I am taking my time on the restoration.  Hope you don't mind a few questions.

My preference is to restore the original paint as best as possible.  I am very familiar with paint restoration on cars and have all the supplies and tools.  However, this paint is not responding to typical polishing compounds and before taking any more aggressive steps, wanted to do some research.  The sun damage is so bad that the decals washed off with a gentle automotive soap and boars hair brush. Replacing the decals is not a concern.  However, I wish to move forward carefully on restoring the paint and since you resprayed yours I am interested to know how thick was the top coat?  Did you have to sand it for a good amount of time with heavy sand paper or did it cut down to primer or metal easily?  Specifically, I would like to understand how thick the paint is on these vintage Schwinns?  Can they be wet sanded with say 1000 grit to remove the oxidation?  Followed by 2000, 3000 and a proper high quality polishing by hand or DA?  Like i said, i have used this process many times on automotive paint with fantastic results, just 1st time working on a vintage bike.

If all fails to get it decent, I may consider a respray.  I too searched and was unable to find a color match so curious what you ended up with or if you're still looking. 

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers,
Galco


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## Tom Roussell (Sep 6, 2020)

Galco said:


> Hi Tom, I too have started to do a restoration on a 1972 Burgundy Continental!  Such a great color and bike.  Its rough but has been in the family since new.  It's very sentimental to me so I am taking my time on the restoration.  Hope you don't mind a few questions.
> 
> My preference is to restore the original paint as best as possible.  I am very familiar with paint restoration on cars and have all the supplies and tools.  However, this paint is not responding to typical polishing compounds and before taking any more aggressive steps, wanted to do some research.  The sun damage is so bad that the decals washed off with a gentle automotive soap and boars hair brush. Replacing the decals is not a concern.  However, I wish to move forward carefully on restoring the paint and since you resprayed yours I am interested to know how thick was the top coat?  Did you have to sand it for a good amount of time with heavy sand paper or did it cut down to primer or metal easily?  Specifically, I would like to understand how thick the paint is on these vintage Schwinns?  Can they be wet sanded with say 1000 grit to remove the oxidation?  Followed by 2000, 3000 and a proper high quality polishing by hand or DA?  Like i said, i have used this process many times on automotive paint with fantastic results, just 1st time working on a vintage bike.
> 
> ...



Hi Galco!

First of all, let me say I'm not an expert! This was my first restoration, and I made my share of mistakes. So take what I say with a grain of salt.

My first attempt at restoring the finish was to use a scratch remover. ScrathX by Meguiar's, found at AutoZone. As you found, it was ineffective.

My second attempt was to touchup the scratches and bare areas using primer and color coats with a small paint brush and 1500 grit sandpaper. I was very unhappy with the outcome, so that's when I decided to strip it and repaint.

I removed the original paint using Blue Bear Paint & Urethane Stipper, found in my local True Value hardware stoe. It's a soy-based gel, so it's maybe not as harmful to the environment.

It took several applications to strip all the paint. I used about half of the 32 oz container. I lathered it on as thick as I could without it just sliding off. I found it worked best to leave it on for about two hours, but you can leave it on even longer. I then removed the gel and paint using a brass brush. All in all, it took me a couple of days to get it down to the bare metal. I can't say if that's because the paint was really thick, or the stripper worked poorly. Maybe a combination of both.

I've read here and there that Schwinn paint was applied in several coats. My suspicion is that there is indeed a lot of paint on the bike.

Once stripped. I primed it with a flat gray Rust-Oleum Filler Primer. I thought it came out really well.

For color, I was looking at Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes, specifically, Marlboro Maroon Metallic. I was afraid it would be quite costly, so when I found the exact same color offer by Harpy Motors on Amazon Prime, I ordered it. As you can see in the pics, it's not an exact match by Schwinn Burgundy. It looks great, don't get me wrong, but it's not Schwinn Burgundy. I needed three 12oz cans, one for each color coat. I also ordered the Clear Cost with it, but I only needed one can of that.

I'm considering repainting next spring with one of the many metallics offered by House of Kolor, which I hadn't found when I ordered the Maroon. I like Mayan Magenta, Brandywine, and some others. It's tough to know what the real color is from a picture, though.

I hope this was somewhat helpful! Good luck with your restoration!

Tom


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