1996 Explosif

[konacarl]

I saw this on ebay and thought that it was time for another project. Its going to be a slow burner I think.
Its in decent shape except the cable guide bolt on the bottom bracket has rusted in(and the glaringly obvious ). I put some plus gas on it and then the bloody bolt snapped.

Theres still remnants of the original colour where the guide was so assume the previous owner couldnt remove it either.
There is an image on line of it in gravel bike guise somewhere.
Not sure on whether to go with suspension forks or p2’s yet.
Also, there doesn’t seem to be a frame number on the BB but i’ll find out more when the paints off it.

 

[konacarl]

I had to drill out the BB bolt and ran a tap through the threads and they’re all still good. There’s definitely a lack of frame number present unless I’m looking in the wrong place.
I then got some Nitromors (original full strength stuff) on the paint and it barely touched it. The paint was very thick but was also Spray-bike and just seemed to go hard again straight away.
Plan B was the blow lamp. That seemed to work better but trial and error made me realise that again, it went off as soon as it started cooling. Ive had to start to remove the paint in small patches and it’s painstakingly slow as the paint thats scraped off sets hard on the scraper.
Its going to take some perseverance.

 

[moonlite]

Shouldn't the number be on the BB shell where that freshly-ground bit is? Maybe someone's removed it . . .

 

[konacarl]

As If by magic its appeared!

 

[jonnymcenroe]

Nice one lovely (and fragile!) things.
IMHO Dollop your nitromors thickly over any painted areas and then put the frame in a big bin bag for a while...
Wire brush there on out before degreaser and sanding.

 

[novocaine]

sandblast the bastard.

 

[konacarl]

I’ve stripped most of the paint off using heat now (just the 3 layers of spray.bike in most places) but its mostly down the the primer so might try again with the Nitromors. I did think about sandblasting but last one I had done was quite harsh and I know these tubes are quite delicate so thought better of it.

 

[Splatter Paint]

The Explosif main tubes are <1mm thick in the centre. When I had mine done the media blasting company used a less abrasive media after I told them how fragile it was.

 

[konacarl]

A bit if an update on this.
I’d sort have not bothered with it for a while due to time
Constraints and losing a bit of interest due to the ridiculously thick paint. In places there were 4 layers of spraybike and then the original paint plus original primer. It’s s little wonder i couldn’t get it shifted with nitromors.
I bit the bullet and got some wet and dry and have spent 4 or 5 hours rubbing the paint down and its nearly ready for primer which is on its way. I have a bit of tidying around the bottom bracket and the dropouts to finish the flatting.
I have a chris king headset and a pair of SIDs and a control centre headset and a set of P2s but can’t decide which way to go with it yet. I’ll get it painted and see which I prefer.

 

[konacarl]

Some progress at last. 6 months on from me getting the frame its had a coat of primer eventually.
Spent another 2 hours stripping and rubbing down the paint beforehand. To say it was a ballache is an understatement.