4 Gill Speed King

[mrg]

 

[Scribble]

Wow I understand it's not my bike but damn, why on gods green earth would you blast a OG paint bike. Especially since with a little TCL it would have been a beautiful 100% original bike, boiled linseed oil and steel wool, or an OA bath would have been 100% better then a full repaint

Hell rubbing the thing down in WD-40 would have been better.

 

[mfhemi1969]

I'm just about finished with the restoration of a 1939 Monark, Rocket, but am waiting on one part and will post pictures as soon as complete.
In the mean time, I put the 1941 4 Gill up on the bench. I bought this bike at Jeff Rapp's mid winter Butler, Pa. bike show. It is an honest bike with all original parts, with the exception of the dropstand being replaced by a side stand.
The first step in the restoration is to photograph all the paint graphics, and make patterns of the secondary paint areas to be replicated later. Next I begin working on the chrome parts, preparing them for replating. Usually by the time the chrome is ready, I have the bike painted, and ready for reassembly. I blast the frame, fenders and sheet metal in my blast cabinet, then hand sand each piece with 180 G. paper as well as hammering or rolling out any dings. Once the metal is satisfactory, I shoot everything with a couple coats of primer. I'll let the primer dry out a week or so, then sand again and take care of any minor bodywork. This 4 Gill is built like a tank, with heavy gauge metal and very few imperfections. The bike must of had little use judging from the condition of the Morrow brake. The brake shoe shows very little wear, and this bike has been a pleasure to work on from the start!
I will post more pictures, and finish my restoration process when the job is complete.
Still havin fun, Howard
View attachment 756947 View attachment 756948 View attachment 756949 View attachment 756950 View attachment 756951 View attachment 756953 View attachment 756955 View attachment 756956

Like GTs58 said, I can't wait to see it finished!

 

[fordmike65]

Wow I understand it's not my bike but damn, why on gods green earth would you blast a OG paint bike. Especially since with a little TCL it would have been a beautiful 100% original bike, boiled linseed oil and steel wool, or an OA bath would have been 100% better then a full repaint

Post deleted. Thread ignored.

 

[PCHiggin]

LOL!

I've seen some of your work and I can't wait to see it all fresh and shiny Howard! View attachment 757034

Looking great so far. I'm not crazy for dead, turd red (or whatever it was) paint either

 

[PCHiggin]

Should’ve kept the before picture to yourself.

lol!

 

[jimbo53]

You do very nice work, Howard!! Can't wait to see the finished bike.

 

[Howard Gordon]

The chrome on this 4 Gill was pretty much gone. The seat chassis had no paint left, just rust. The painted surfaces had a texture akin to 80 grit sandpaper, caused by rust peppering up thru the paint. The pictures looked better than the bike did in person.
I own plenty of original finish bikes. I love them because it takes a fraction of the time to clean, wax & service, compared to a full restoration. It also takes no money!
I made a living for 35 years restoring everything from cars to furniture. I trust my own judgement over most others in deciding what course of action to take when beginning a project. If a bike isn't a 6++, I'm going to restore it.
This 4 Gill will be a fine example when finished, and I'll bet that given a chance to choose between a rusted, "oiled" bike, or my restored example, even a blind man would pick the restored.

 

[Autocycleplane]

If you’re gonna restore, I think that the condition you started out with on this project is the best case scenario. Not so nice it’s an outright shame to practically everyone to redo, but nice enough and complete not to be a nightmare resto job while only outraging half the hobby - that’s how you know you picked the right candidate imo.

I vote for a color change.

 

[frankster41]

Hey Howard thanks for the pictorial and description of your project. I always enjoy those. I do have one question. What is the purpose to reassemble the bike after it is sandblasted?
Best Regards
Frank