A few tweaks needed (headset, cables, wonky brakes) but nice smooth ride. Using as a commuter at the moment. The paint is pretty great given the age, I haven’t touched it
A few tweaks needed (headset, cables, wonky brakes) but nice smooth ride. Using as a commuter at the moment. The paint is pretty great given the age, I haven’t touched it
I know the ship has sailed on the touch up work, and it looks pretty good i think.
But one thing i noticed is that it seems a lot of the problem spots were clear coat issues, and a coat of poly or acrylic clear coat, brushed on, would have fixed it. This stuff has crazy self repairing properties, or it just flows really well, and tends to smooth itself out, erasing brush strokes and texture underneath.
With this in mind, i have had success with touching up using a thin color coat (sometimes you need to thin the paint so it flows) with clear over it. With the color coat protected like this, it is possible to get away with easier to use but less durable paints like water based acrylic. If it binds to the surface ok (use a primer if necessary), then the clear coat provides the durability. A plus is that acrylic is way easier to mix colors on your own, and clean up and smell are much more reasonable.
Another thought--try to limit the sanding to the smallest possible area. Resist expanding the problem spot. Or, you could try a rust converter that leaves a primer layer. This stuff neutralizes the rust, and you just need to brush off the loose stuff first, eg with aluminum foil. Then apply the converter, wait, and paint.
This is the clear coat I use, a synthetic resin varnish, or basically a polyurethane. It is an impact resistant type, so I guess that means it retains a bit of flexibility so it doesn't crack, and is marketed for coating toys, which get thrown around. Requires solvents to clean, but not much (see background). I apply it with either a very soft artist's brush or a sponge brush. With this stuff you have to work hard to get brush stroke marks.
But I would really think about dealing with that rear cable routing. It is for cantis, and I am surprised you get enough braking power as set up. There are some work arounds, including using a clamp on cable stopper in front of the seat post, so you have a proper place to put the 5mm housing. You could also drill out the first stop and run housing the entire way to the noodle. Or use cantis. There is a thread on this somewhere here.
You could also used something like this, which is meant for the chain stay rear derailleur cable housing stop. The small end might fit in the brazed on tubing, and the other end can be had in 5mm. Then use brake housing to the noodle.
Bowden cable systems as on a bike (where you have a cable in a flexibile housing actuating something at the end) only work properly because the housing exerts a force equal and opposite to the actuation force--the cable "pulls" and the housing "pushes" back. The strength of the housing is the limit to the strength of the pull.
And on a brake, this means that weak housing limits brake power. This is why classic brake housing is coiled and not linear as with index shifting housing. The coil can resist the cable force in all directions, but linear fibers can separate, and the housing collapses. There is linear brake housing, but that's a different thing.
Theoretically your rear brake is only as powerful as that little nylon liner tube...
Thanks for your comment. They way I view it, is that the rear brake cable has a stop at the front of the top tube (not the rear which is normal) and this front stop is what the brake pulls against. The noodle and tube all just direct the cable.
I disagree that the protective white tube will crunch up because I have left it short of the noodle, so it won't crunch as there is no shortening compressive force. BUT it will wear with friction against/through the cut 'S' shape braze on.
Hence why I fitted a much longer than needed protective white tube long, so when it wears/splits, it can be slide along in situ and all be good.
The white tube is taken from a brake cable that I dissected.
I forgot to reply but have just seen the latest post... You need a full outer cable from the noodle to a stop on the frame, or all the way back to the brake lever. Or you will not have good braking. It might seem to work ok, but when you really need your brakes and pull hard on the lever, will be when it fails. The way you have it is wrong and dangerous.
