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1941 Schwinn Admiral Autocycle project

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@John G04 Just maybe you've been hit by the curse that follows smokers... This may have been idle for years, indoors, @ a house/garage that had a cigarette/cigar/pipe smoker hanging out. Alfred E. Newman would say: "I know; I are one". I've found that Irish Spring bath soap gets the tar off my fingers that other bar soaps, dish wash soaps, and laundry soaps, won't touch. Still takes some scrubbing. Perhaps the 'barn' mentioned had a cast iron stove that burnt coal or even creosote blocks of wood. It may even be that this bike belonged to a young man who later in the 1940s went off to war (therefore the appearance of low mileage); and, did not come home... then again he may have come home but had enough money to buy a car and the bike was left behind.....
 
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Will do, the cleaning tips you gave me have been working well so far! Waiting on the bar keepers friend to arrive tomorrow and will really start working on it then.

Advice: use Mothers Metal Polish but avoid the pin stripes. Stainless steel brush on rims and then Mothers. Throne proof tubes to protect the tires from deflating and cracking.
 
Advice: use Mothers Metal Polish but avoid the pin stripes. Stainless steel brush on rims and then Mothers. Throne proof tubes to protect the tires from deflating and cracking.

I tried some wax thats worked well at rubbing off dirt and grime and all that did was shine up what i’m trying to remove. Rims were completely rusted and no chrome left so I bought a girls bike that had a better set
 
In the off chance that it is shellac, Alcohol is the thinner for that. Denatured alcohol is generally safe on many paints. you might try a small spot , say on the under turn of the tank. Dip a Q-tip in denatured and rub it around in a circle on a spot--it will take a little time to "float" the shellac when it does you'll probably feel it, a slick feeling, like the Q-tip is skating. At that point wipe with cotton rag
 
Few people have said it’s creosote, coating that comes from a coal furnance burning. Fortunately it seems to be thicker on the tank than anywhere else so hopefully cleaning the frame and fenders will be easier than this. The chainguard had the same coating but cleaned up super easy
 
If needed you can tape off the pins for heavy polishing or even sanding with 1500 grit to get down to the original paint. Just take your time because you can’t go back if you damage the pins or paint.

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Been super slow getting this one back together but its getting there now. Have gathered all parts I need besides clay blocks for t10’s. Got a very nice and working EA horn from @ABC Services and some super nice repro clay grips with green jewels from @mr.cycleplane . Seat is currently being recovered, will rebuild the hubs wednesday, and get the fenders undented sometime soon hopefully, hate doing fenders haha. Decided to just leave the creosote on the bike, it slightly changes the shade of the paint and I cleaned it off all the light green so its not super noticeable
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Maiden voyage at last! Memory lane being this week really gave me the rush to get it finished so i could ride it around the show, will finish cleaning up the rack tomorrow and mount it. Rides great. Big thanks to @bobcycles on a fantastic job bringing the roached seat back from the dead, @onecatahula for the trainlight, @sm2501 for the clay blocks, @mr.cycleplane for the grips. Wouldn’t of been possible to bring it back without the cabe!
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