lgrinnings
I live for the CABE
When I picked up this 1936 Rollfast Sport Motobike Model V-24 last year, I said to myself, "Hey, just clean it up the best you can." I found a catalog page online and saw that it originally came in 6 colors: Indian Red, Cobalt Blue, Black, Burgundy Red, Empire Blue, and Suntone Ivory. This Rollfast was mocha brown. On the underside of the bottom bracket I saw signs of red and it looked like it might be metallic. All of the chrome had also been painted black and looked rusty with the exception of the girls bars that had been swapped in at some point in its history.
I just recently sold the WD forebrake front wheel that came on the bike when I bought it and decided to finally clean it up. I stripped the black paint and soaked all the metal in oxalic acid. The bike's color didn't change. I was really bummed. I had the forks and was rubbing them down with some polish when I noticed more color coming through. I grabbed an old, spent red 3M sanding pad and started to wet sand the frame. Boom. The color that came through (Burgundy Red, which is almost metallic purple) surprised the crap out of me. It was enough to make me think I was working a Schwinn Stingray with that burst of color. Needless to say, my spirits brightened considerably and I continued to clean and scrub and polish. Now together, I can't believe it's the same bike.
I see a lot of these immaculate original or beautifully restored bicycles and say, "wow, I wish I had that." But in all honesty, I really love bringing these bikes back from the brink. Giving them new life. And while the finished product is certainly a source of joy, the process was equally as fun.
Before and after shots...
I just recently sold the WD forebrake front wheel that came on the bike when I bought it and decided to finally clean it up. I stripped the black paint and soaked all the metal in oxalic acid. The bike's color didn't change. I was really bummed. I had the forks and was rubbing them down with some polish when I noticed more color coming through. I grabbed an old, spent red 3M sanding pad and started to wet sand the frame. Boom. The color that came through (Burgundy Red, which is almost metallic purple) surprised the crap out of me. It was enough to make me think I was working a Schwinn Stingray with that burst of color. Needless to say, my spirits brightened considerably and I continued to clean and scrub and polish. Now together, I can't believe it's the same bike.
I see a lot of these immaculate original or beautifully restored bicycles and say, "wow, I wish I had that." But in all honesty, I really love bringing these bikes back from the brink. Giving them new life. And while the finished product is certainly a source of joy, the process was equally as fun.
Before and after shots...
