1939 Claud Butler Ultra Shortbase Tandem
- Thread starter sherlylock
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Re:
Fibrax still make a number of pads, Might be worth a look though - https://fibrax.org/phone/shop.html#!/Ri ... /offset=12
Fibrax still make a number of pads, Might be worth a look though - https://fibrax.org/phone/shop.html#!/Ri ... /offset=12
sherlylock
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So the donor tandem is stripped and has offered up the all important brakes/levers and frame clips......a saddle, Bluemels Lightweight mudguards and a set of pedals (3 of which at least match).
3x Phillips Apollo? and a Brampton racing pedal.
Tried cleaning up a cantilever brake.....stripped down and left to soak in Oxalic Acid to strip the rust. Then a quick polish using a light wire wheel. Bit of an improvement......can read the text now!
Looking forward to having a go at Nickel plating these bits to protect them......
3x Phillips Apollo? and a Brampton racing pedal.
Tried cleaning up a cantilever brake.....stripped down and left to soak in Oxalic Acid to strip the rust. Then a quick polish using a light wire wheel. Bit of an improvement......can read the text now!
Looking forward to having a go at Nickel plating these bits to protect them......
sherlylock
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Re: Re:
I was a little worried that the corrosion was severe enough to compromise the function/strength of the parts.....and also wanted the engraved lettering to have survived too. They've been painted silver at some point in the past which I think has helped to preserve them. Super happy with that result as a first pass clean. 3 more to go.....and then the cables! Lots to learn where they're involved.....
No probs, thanks for looking. I should be able to get a matching pedal for the 3 that I have - I think they were quite common Phillips pedals. The odd one I have is a pre-war Brampton pedal.....will be lucky to find a match for that I'm guessing.
Jamiedyer":1awp23cj said:
I was a little worried that the corrosion was severe enough to compromise the function/strength of the parts.....and also wanted the engraved lettering to have survived too. They've been painted silver at some point in the past which I think has helped to preserve them. Super happy with that result as a first pass clean. 3 more to go.....and then the cables! Lots to learn where they're involved.....
Jonny69":1awp23cj said:
No probs, thanks for looking. I should be able to get a matching pedal for the 3 that I have - I think they were quite common Phillips pedals. The odd one I have is a pre-war Brampton pedal.....will be lucky to find a match for that I'm guessing.
sherlylock
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Been playing with Nickel plating recently.....seen a few vids online suggesting that home-brew plating is actually a viable process that can yield some good results. The most annoying thing for me when doing a resto is all those little fixings or brackets or plates that once cleaned up are then prone to corrosion without expensive plating processes. The idea that a plating process that can be done at home on the table top was one that I had to investigate.
Vinegar and salt as a base for the electolyte - Nickel blocks and a 5v 1A phone charger for the power supply. Hydrochloric acid as a cleanser to fully remove any corrosion prior to plating. Oh......and a sandwich tub from Wilko.
Had a play over the weekend......starting with creating the electrolyte. Dissolved a couple of tablespoons of salt into the vinegar and then dangled 2x blocks of Nickel into the solution - connecting one to negative and one to positive. The negative block "fizzes" as it releases hydrogen as it attracts Nickel ions from the positive block. After 5hrs I had a Nickel electrolyte......green in colour.
I found the key to getting good results is super cleanliness - no corrosion or oil or fingerprints are allowed.....a dip in hydrochloric acid removing the last bit of corrosion after a buzz on the wire wheel worked a treat.
20 mins attached to the negative connection floating in the electrolyte is enough for a first plate. I found that taking out, polish, clean and then re-plate for another 20 mins resulted in a good finish.
Time consuming and a bit fiddly but ultimately very satisfying.
Before/after:
Attacked one of the levers too.....
Most of the parts on these brakes are suffering with corrosion pitting so unless i go to the effort of polishing out those pits (and risk losing etching detail) these parts will always have a patinated look......but clean and shiny.
Which I quite like. The ultimate test will be to see how protected they are from further corrosion.
Vinegar and salt as a base for the electolyte - Nickel blocks and a 5v 1A phone charger for the power supply. Hydrochloric acid as a cleanser to fully remove any corrosion prior to plating. Oh......and a sandwich tub from Wilko.
Had a play over the weekend......starting with creating the electrolyte. Dissolved a couple of tablespoons of salt into the vinegar and then dangled 2x blocks of Nickel into the solution - connecting one to negative and one to positive. The negative block "fizzes" as it releases hydrogen as it attracts Nickel ions from the positive block. After 5hrs I had a Nickel electrolyte......green in colour.
I found the key to getting good results is super cleanliness - no corrosion or oil or fingerprints are allowed.....a dip in hydrochloric acid removing the last bit of corrosion after a buzz on the wire wheel worked a treat.
20 mins attached to the negative connection floating in the electrolyte is enough for a first plate. I found that taking out, polish, clean and then re-plate for another 20 mins resulted in a good finish.
Time consuming and a bit fiddly but ultimately very satisfying.
Before/after:
Attacked one of the levers too.....
Most of the parts on these brakes are suffering with corrosion pitting so unless i go to the effort of polishing out those pits (and risk losing etching detail) these parts will always have a patinated look......but clean and shiny.
Which I quite like. The ultimate test will be to see how protected they are from further corrosion.
Jonny69
Senior Retro Guru
Your brake levers are interesting. I have a single one of those and I’m sure it’s got a curve in it, so it points a really long way forwards on drop bars. Yours look like they’ve been straightened out to bring them back a bit. Just be careful with them because they’re not the best quality alloy and yours look like they’ve got some fractures in the front face.
Need to check now. I can feel another trip to the shed coming on...
Need to check now. I can feel another trip to the shed coming on...
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