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What to do with this Apple Krate chain guard?

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schwinnlax

Finally riding a big boys bike
I picked up this '69 (I think) Apple Krate a couple of days ago.

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Here is a closeup of the chain guard. As you can see there is no paint left on the guard. What do people advise to do in this situation? Can the guard be properly painted and re-silk screened or decaled? Is there someone or a business that does this? Better to leave it as-is? For context, the paint on the bike has many chips. Chrome is cleaning up nice. Obviously missing the original seat/pogo sissy. I've purchased reproductions of both to make the bike "complete." Just wondering what to do with the chain guard.

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Yes, I had seen the Koolest Stuff site, but the chain guard needs to be painted before silk screening. So, the question is more about painting the guard. Do people just DIY? I also saw Koolest Stuff has Famboyant Red paint, so that would be an option. Not sure how good I would be at masking off the chain guard to paint it correctely. The curve would be the biggest challenge.
 
I haven't re-painted one of these specifically, but I have repainted many bikes, motorcycles and cars.
With these Schwinn flamboyant colors, the correct paint(s) is the main thing as I understand. Also, when having the correct paints, the application of the top color coat is important. Too much and the color is darker, too little and its too light. I've seen a couple Kool Color repaints of Campus Green that turned out too dark because the top color coat was too heavy over the silver base.
As for the tape-off around an outside curve, vinyl tape can make that work, or, regular types of paint masking tape laid over first, then trimmed to the curve with a razor blade. All available at auto paint stores. Also, its chrome being taped off, so if there is a little bleed, it can be trimmed with a razor blade.
 
The bike is actually a 1970, DF serial number, but has the late 1969 shifter. Everything cleaned up pretty nice. The chrome cleaned up nicely. Bought a 1998/99 Schwinn repro seat/hardware and repro pogo sissy bar. Front brake cable is too short. Must have been replaced at some point. I assume the cable housings originally were gray, but these are white, so either I need to replace with white, or replace all of them with gray. Front tire looks original, but rear one is a replacement or an a dealer substitute? Next step is to paint and letter the chain guard...

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Used Dupli-Color metalcast red with Dupli-Color adhesion promoter to pain the chain guard. I think it turned out decent. The match looks better in the shade than bright sunlight. One week for full cure of the paint according to the can, so will put the decal from bicycle bones on next weekend. If the paint on the frame were shinier, I think it would be closer to the chainguard. Is there a good wax or other product for shining up the paint a bit?

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You shot the Metalcast directly over the chrome without a silver base coat and that will create a whole different look. Schwinn used the silver base on the chrome guards. If you want it to match the frame better, I'd reshoot it using a silver base coat.
 
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You shot the Metalcast directly over the chrome without a silver base coat and that will create a whole different look. Schwinn used the silver base on the chrome guards. If you want it match the frame better, I'd reshoot it using a silver base coat.
Thanks, GT. I did not clue in that the base coat over chrome needs to be silver. Makes sense because it would match the bike frame base coat. If I do strip the chain guard, what solvent would work best?
 
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