1955 Huffy 20" * Saved from the garbage & restored*

[krateman]

You did a bang-up job on that bike. I am glad you saved it. It should never have been put out with the garbage. I watch Antiques Roadshow where people say they found very valuable items in or next to a garbage can! I'm sorry you didn't go back with the original colors, but it looks wonderful just the same. Keep saving those bikes. Lord knows we don't need another Chinese made piece of doo doo here in America. Our old bikes are better, wayyy better.

 

[Momo]

Impressive work... and maybe it's the fact that it's a 20" but that's one of the best looking, most well-proportioned girl's bikes I've ever seen.

 

[37fleetwood]

Hey Wayne,
great job on the bike! hope you have someone to ride it, start the next generation of collectors early.
this is from the 1955 Huffy Customliner catalog, but should be about the same. Huffy had gone almost entirely to middleweights by '55, including the smaller bikes.

 

[Momo]

Wayne, can you share some of your knowledge on restoration?

1. Where do you get your rivets?
2. Do you use a skim coat of filler for rust pits or just multiple coats of a high build primer and wet sand in between?
3. Did you color sand, and how many coats?
4. What are your air system/gun particulars (working psi, distance from workpiece, airline inner diameter, desiccant dryer etc.)

Thanks... and once again, very impressive work.

 

[Wayne Adam]

Thanks guys...Resto info

I have been custom painting, bikes, motorcycles, cars and guitars on & off for 40 years.
I don't use filler unless absolutely necessary.
I use Nason 2K high build epoxy primer ( Nason is a 2 part primer)
I wet sand the primer with 600 the next day.
I then spray with single stage Dupont Centari, or PPG, what ever I have here
I spray with a very vintage DeVilbis siphon feed gun ( No HVLP for me)
I get my rivits from a company in Florida, I believe they are called Florida Fasteners,
They are actually threaded rivets with nuts. It gives you the exact appearance of the original rivits
without damaging the fenders.
* Also on this Huffy, I could not get the decals for the chainguard, so I hand lettered it.
I am a professional artist as an occupation ( My wife has what she calls a "real job" )
Here are a couple other of my bikes I restored, a '55 Columbia, and a '51 Higgins Color Flow
I also restore my seats & badges.
Thanks again for all of the nice comments....................Wayne

 

[bike]

I have a little bike like that

that needs to be saved by someone who can do it.

$100 bring to copake or ml.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?54480-FS-1950s-Huffy-Mainliner-Girls-20-quot
Wish mine looked like that.

 

[Momo]

Thanks for the info... I haven't been able to locate the exact size of tubular rivet and honestly, I do not want to buck rivets on a fresh paint job anyway. I have not found a suitable rivnut as an alternative either but will keep looking. Maybe Memory Lane has them. The real challenge is going to be locating the right fastener to reassemble the torpedo light. The original tubular rivets are very shallow as you know.

I'll check out Florida Fasteners.

Do you also wet sand the top coat? Your paint looks like glass.

 

[Wayne Adam]

Momo,

Yes, I wet sand the finish coat with three different grits.
First, 800 grit, then 1200, and finally 2000.
I then polish it with two different grades of polish.
I am fanatiacl about my paint work to the point of obsession.
Thanks again for asking.....................Wayne

 

[Hoosier Biker]

Great looking bikes!
You are very talented. If we need to appoint someone to save them all you get my vote!
Tim

 

[Jennifer Parker]

That bike is adorable!