1940s Raleigh rescue - Should I or shouldn't I?

[biggs682]

@ChrisEyles touching up the crank will look wrong imho , only choices i can think of is either have re chromed very very expensive or try sand blasting it and see what finish you get as it should lift loose chromed areas or try acid dipping it .

only other option is to replace and there are enough cottered cranks on the market to choose from

Try using Plusgas for helping release seized or stuck nuts ,bolts etc etc

and like @AndyRM says Patina is good

 

[Tony Raynor]

@ChrisEyles im afraid that will be the best you will get from the current crank.

As for rechroming it's a challenging job and expensive due to the nature of the chemicals that are needed, the cost of getting rid of the chemicals and the prep work required (being an ex chemist Ive been researching DIY electroplating and have decided it's a specialised job)

Getting it sand blasted will clean it up and you could even get a good polished finish(but not as good as chrome). The problem is that there will be no protection for the steel and it will rust very quickly.

You can get zinc spray coating that is supposed to help prevent/reduce corrosion but you still won't get that chrome look.

Hope this helps

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, both

Since it's very much budget resto, re-chroming is out. Zinc spray coating for the damaged bits sounds interesting, might have to look into this.

Patina is indeed a good thing, but I'm not sure about pairing the rusty crankset with a freshly re-painted frame? I'm going to have the same fun and games with the rod brake components too...

I need to get hold of some of this Plusgas stuff, sounds magic

 

[AndyRM]

On the patina thing, you'll have put time, effort and love into restoring things as best you can. It might not look quite right, but you'll always have the satisfaction of knowing a good job done.

 

[ChrisEyles]

^^^
double like

 

[tribanjules]

@ChrisEyles this is currently my fave thread - cant wait to see the result - and its tempting me to stretch n+1 rule to get a project .....

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks!

As for the n+1, if you see a suitable bike, go for it - if you've got the time to spend doing it up I don't think you'll regret it I can see this is going to get addictive... already thinking about what the next project might be!

 

[ChrisEyles]

No exciting pictures to post this week - got itchy feet sitting around in the garage and had to go out riding at the weekend instead

The only thing I did manage to get around to didn't go so well... I sanded down the painted frame and gave it a second coat, but I guess it must have been too cold (it was definitely well under the 10C minimum written on the paint can), because this time the finish came out horrible, all brush marks and drips. Going to have to sand it back again and retry, preferably indoors this time.

Hm, I hadn't considered that there would be an issue mixing the paint. Best to follow the manufacturer's guidance I suppose.

Should have paid more attention to this line!

 

[robsa]

Come on Chris, hows it going? Ive just bought a 1950 dated rudge rod braked bike and your inspiring me to do a job on it. Cant decide whether to resto it or mechanical refurb and ride it in its shabby glory. So finding this thread is v interesting

 

[ChrisEyles]

It's going slowler than I'd like, mainly due to lack of lighting/heating in the garage, and busy weekends!

I have been struggling some more with the pedals, and really can't get them to budge. I haven't tried heating them up yet, because it occurred to me that on a Raleigh "All Steel" bicycle, the cranks are made of steel as well as the spindle, so you might not get the differential expansion you expect with an Aluminium crank vs steel spindle.

Next free daylight hour I get, I'm going to try stripping down the pedal while it's still attached to the crank, and see if I can get it running smoothly that way.

Robsa, if the original paint on your Rudge is mostly intact, it's definitely worth a shot at cleaning and shining it up - the remains of the original paint job on mine came up quite nicely when I gave this a test.

 

[robsa]

It's going slowler than I'd like, mainly due to lack of lighting/heating in the garage, and busy weekends!

I have been struggling some more with the pedals, and really can't get them to budge. I haven't tried heating them up yet, because it occurred to me that on a Raleigh "All Steel" bicycle, the cranks are made of steel as well as the spindle, so you might not get the differential expansion you expect with an Aluminium crank vs steel spindle.

Next free daylight hour I get, I'm going to try stripping down the pedal while it's still attached to the crank, and see if I can get it running smoothly that way.

Robsa, if the original paint on your Rudge is mostly intact, it's definitely worth a shot at cleaning and shining it up - the remains of the original paint job on mine came up quite nicely when I gave this a test.

Unfortunately at sometime in its life its been slathered over very badly with some black mucus masquerading as paint, which is a shame cause in the places it hasn't been ( chain guard and rear frame stays) it polishes up in that deep gloss that only a quality enamel can.

 

[raleighnut]

Unfortunately at sometime in its life its been slathered over very badly with some black mucus masquerading as paint, which is a shame cause in the places it hasn't been ( chain guard and rear frame stays) it polishes up in that deep gloss that only a quality enamel can.

The black Gunk may well soften up and come off with white spirit. Try using it with a Scotchbrite (or any washing up green scourer) it shouldn't affect the enamel paint but if the black 'mucus' is a bitumous type it may well come off.

 

[robsa]

I'll g

The black Gunk may well soften up and come off with white spirit. Try using it with a Scotchbrite (or any washing up green scourer) it shouldn't affect the enamel paint but if the black 'mucus' is a bitumous type it may well come off.

I'll give it a shot, got a week on the club because the damn dogs bitten me. Mans best friend???? I'll stick with me bike ta very much

 

[ChrisEyles]

Good luck! Agree it's a lovely shine you get on the old enamel

 

[Tony Raynor]

If its bitumen based then surfactant won't shift it quickly. Best way to get bitumen type stuff off is to use cooking oil with a green scourer. Then use surfactant to remove the excess oil.

Did this on a ski jacket and it came up as good as new.

Should work a treat on the frame without doing any damage to the paint especially if it's enamel.