1993 Kona Explosif New Project

[Kult Friction]

Re: Re:

Thanks for the link to the catalogue, however really not required seeing as I own one in original paint :roll:

Sure it might look black and silver in that image, but in reality it's actually metallic dark blue and somewhat darker than the Lava Dome.......... Just look at the contrast between the paint and the seat collar & brake guide in that image..........

Interesting, i have seen European models with single colours but not a blue and silver version. Would you post a pic of the bike for us please.

Sure, no worries.......

Mine and all others I've seen are met dark blue, it was the standard UK colourway.....never black & silver as far as I'm aware, hence the curiousity :?

The finish should be almost exactly the same blue as the Tange Ultimate Ultrastrong decal that is attached to the seat tube....... The catalogue you linked also confirms this without actually stating the colour as you'll notice (maybe not if colourblind) the model names are written in the corresponding colour to the back end finish, Explosif being written in a dark / dingy blue

 

[mk one]

Re: Re:

.

Mine and all others I've seen are met dark blue, it was the standard UK colourway.....never black & silver as far as I'm aware, hence the curiousity :?

The finish should be almost exactly the same blue as the Tange Ultimate Ultrastrong decal that is attached to the seat tube....... The catalogue you linked also confirms this without actually stating the colour as you'll notice (maybe not if colourblind) the model names are written in the corresponding colour to the back end finish, Explosif being written in a dark / dingy blue

Strange, i have now actually found another Explosif in the dark blue same as yours, and clearly blue. All the ones i have seen previous have been black, not even with a dark blue hue to suggest it could be anything other. Maybe i need 'my' eyes testing :shock:


And yes, your right about the name colours in the catalogue too.

 

[enc]

Re:

Great project ... what did you do about the small ding in the top tube?

 

[Kult Friction]

Re: Re:

.

Mine and all others I've seen are met dark blue, it was the standard UK colourway.....never black & silver as far as I'm aware, hence the curiousity :?

The finish should be almost exactly the same blue as the Tange Ultimate Ultrastrong decal that is attached to the seat tube....... The catalogue you linked also confirms this without actually stating the colour as you'll notice (maybe not if colourblind) the model names are written in the corresponding colour to the back end finish, Explosif being written in a dark / dingy blue

Strange, i have now actually found another Explosif in the dark blue same as yours, and clearly blue. All the ones i have seen previous have been black, not even with a dark blue hue to suggest it could be anything other. Maybe i need 'my' eyes testing :shock:


And yes, your right about the name colours in the catalogue too.

Hey not to worry, no issue (unless of course you think you've been wearing brown, but actually been rocking a pink ensemble )

To be fair, I think the catalogue is quite inaccurate and as such a bit of a curveball with regards to it being a reference source..... :?

The spec sheet reads correct, however the image looks to be a pre-production mock up possibly because (for whatever reason) the frame wasn't available at time of print.

The '93 Explosif frame was new for that year, new tube mix with ribbed/fluted downtube accompanied by the Ultimate Ultrastrong decal..... Whereas the image has a Prestige Concept decal, no ribbed downtube nor the corresponding slatted Kona downtube decal to integrate with the ribs. The bike in the pic could well be a '93 Kilauea frame (with an Explosif toptube decal) wearing '93 Explosif parts. The back end could have been refinished in what they believed to be close to actual finish without having seen one at that point, or what I think more plausable, digitally altered the image from red to dark blue with early '90's software resulting in the non descript greyish colour the bike appears to be. This could also offer explanation as to why, unlike the other models it doesn't really match the colour of the name title......... As a guess

 

[konacarl]

Re: Re:

Great project ... what did you do about the small ding in the top tube?

Its still there along with a few other small ones but I've hidden some of it with extra primer and paint I hope! I'm not going to put filler in it as I have a notion that it'll fall out somewhere and look worse and I wouldn't have a clue about metal filling so that's a no no too.

 

[konacarl]

Re:

It’s coming along now. I’m just waiting for some cable ends for the brakes and a chain and it’ll be ready to roll. I’ve gone with an XT chainset but have the Sugino one that I’ve stuck on another project (that’ll go on another thread), I may or may not swap them.
I’ll be ordering the decals soon. I’m not sure whether to lacquer them or not. I’ve not on any of my other builds but I’ll decide nearer the time.

 

[enc]

Re:

Never clear coated any of my decals .. and never would. Seems to be a lot of confusion over which clear coat is suitable for what decals. I guess if you have some spare decals you could always do a test spray.
Personally, I wouldn’t take the chance.

 

[Kult Friction]

Re: Re:

It’s coming along now. I’m just waiting for some cable ends for the brakes and a chain and it’ll be ready to roll. I’ve gone with an XT chainset but have the Sugino one that I’ve stuck on another project (that’ll go on another thread), I may or may not swap them.
I’ll be ordering the decals soon. I’m not sure whether to lacquer them or not. I’ve not on any of my other builds but I’ll decide nearer the time.

Looking good Kona never lacquered the original decals either...........

 

[konacarl]

Re:

It’s cabled up now. Just needs decals and pedals and it’s done.

 

[konacarl]

Re:

A couple more pictures