# Auction Finds...1936 Mens Roadmaster and pre war Ladies Hawthorne



## Steve K (Dec 11, 2011)

Drove 3 hours last night to attend an auction in Asheville, NC and came home with some new friends and unloaded them this morning.
The bikes were sold together as one lot and both were described as Roadmaster bikess. Unfortunately both have had a poor paint over probably using a spray can. Tried a little oven cleaner on the Hawthorne badge and I do get some red transferring to my rag but it looks like this will be a very slow process. Will be heading out to the store get some Goof-off later to see if it works a little better
Any other ideas on how to get paint off the head badges???

Regarding the ladies Hawthorne bicycle...Read fender has holes for skirt strings. Has neat chain guard with cut outs that match chain ring.

Regarding the mans Roadmaster bicycle...I think it's pretty cool and have a lot more pictures of it. I guess that you don't see too many of these early Roadmasters. It does have it's nicks and chips. It is missing the  approximately 8 inch long by 1 inch wide cover from the bottom of the tank where the battery would be housed, but the switch is still there. All in all a fairly complete basic "first year of production" Roadmaster. In addition it has Davis Deluxe tires that do look like they can be used. The big Wald basket is kind of funky, and I will probably pull it off at some point. 
My first project will be to get that &$@#paint off the cable to the light, the truss rods and the head badge.

The serial number on the bottom of the crank hanger is tough to read but looks like: 1 8 76  
Steve K.
Greensboro, NC


----------



## JOEL (Dec 11, 2011)

The Roadmaster is a great score! Rare one. Maybe there's original paint under there.


----------



## robertc (Dec 11, 2011)

*Nice find*

Hey Steve,

Looks like a good day at the auction. Good luck on stripping the can paint job from these new finds.

 I was at Tony's last week and saw one of your bikes hanging to dry from the paint job. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful bike when he is finished. 

Robert


----------



## Steve K (Dec 11, 2011)

*Thanks Robert*

Thanks Robert.
Tony really has done a great job on the B6. I saw about 2 weeks ago.
I still need to find a seat.
It was pretty rough when he started but as you know, he does very nice work.
I need more space now to display my bikes. This gets kind of addictive.:o
Spent some time today working on the Roadmaster...the paint appears to have been on the bike for a long time.
Looks to be a winter project, but I will bring it to Reidsville in the spring.
Steve


----------



## jpromo (Dec 11, 2011)

While goof-off does annihilate the spray bomb job better than oven cleaner, it's also more potent on the original paint if it's under there--In my experience at least. I tried cleaning some electrical tape residue off a Schwinn and had the original blue start showing up on my scotch-brite.

Good luck! Sweet bikes.


----------



## militarymonark (Dec 11, 2011)

NICE!! looks like some fun rides in the future


----------



## Steve K (Dec 12, 2011)

*Joel, ipromol and Patrick*

Thanks for the feedback. My plans are to keep working at the paint,,,slowly but surly to see if I can get it back to the original finish.
Need to get some new tubes, clean it up and make it a rider.
Steve K


----------



## z-bikes (Dec 12, 2011)

I second what jpromo said about using the Goof-Off. Great product but does dissolve a lot of old style enamel paints including the original paint underneath the spray bomb job. It will also dissove some plastics. Found out the hard way on this.


----------



## militarymonark (Dec 12, 2011)

synthetic reducer will do the trick to get the spray bomb paint off, be careful when you see the pinstriping under the paint it will take that off but should be good to keep the original paint.


----------



## spoker (Dec 13, 2011)

*paint removal*

ther are 3 strenghts of finger nail polish remover,start light and go up fromthere,did a 64 stigray with this ,didnt bother orig paint at all


----------



## tobytyler (Dec 13, 2011)

i used nail polish remover to take the spray paint off my 41 roadmaster i was amazed to see the factory paint come thru .good luck great bike i've been looking for one good find if you ever want to sell or trade keep me in mind . toby tyler


----------



## Steve K (Dec 13, 2011)

*Spray Paint removal*

Guys...
Thanks for all the great advice. I will take it slow and start with the mild solvents.
I'll make sure to post pictures once I get to a stopping point.
The more I look at this bicycle, the more I appreciate the unique look to it.
Steve K
Greensboro, NC


----------



## Larmo63 (Dec 13, 2011)

*I wonder........?*

I wonder sometimes, what was going through the person's mind that took the time to paint over what was most likely a pretty good condition original bicycle paint job? Did he think this would really be an improvement? Good luck on your adventure, it is a really cool and rare bike!


----------



## cyclonecoaster.com (Dec 14, 2011)

*House paint was a cover up*



Larmo63 said:


> I wonder sometimes, what was going through the person's mind that took the time to paint over what was most likely a pretty good condition original bicycle paint job? Did he think this would really be an improvement? Good luck on your adventure, it is a really cool and rare bike!




I wondered too -- my guess is that kids and/or adults thought it would look better than the scratches or rust that were on them -- OR -- My other belief is that people were trying to cover up a stolen bicycle - I know - I know - now who would do that - right !!! - but realistically we all know it happens - hell most of us were victims of this sometime over our lives with bicycles - 

I have uncovered some treasures over the years under house paint & that's the only thing that makes any sense to me - Paint is scratched - just paint over it - Chrome is bad - lets use some chrome in a can ( silver ) & who among us hasn't picked up a bicycle where this has been the case - lucky for us many times we can find original paint & chrome under the house paint & rattle can jobs --

Well it even today we have ( 1 ) theft yes ( 2 ) repainting & restoring yes & many people just want to make a bicycle their own - Years back people would do it to a 7-8 condition bicycle - but as we always say - it's your bicycle to do what you want with it - but if it has good original paint call me first & maybe I'll buy it & save it for the next generation - after all it's only original once - right !! Ride Vintage


----------



## scrubbinrims (Dec 14, 2011)

In my experience, bicycles were houspainted for a reason...yeah, customization is a part of it, but usually there is disappointment underneath.
If you go into it with a restoration mindset, you can only be pleasantly surprised if my speculation is wrong.
I would commit to restoration anyway to fix the tank underbelly.
The great news is you have a rare shroud tank early CWC that I would love to have in my collection as would many of us.
I look forward to seeing it in Reidsville in the Spring.
Chris


----------

