89 Cinder Cone rescue (hopefully)

[andym999]

So the fam are out of town for a day and a half and a new bike is steathily smuggled into the garage... I have another day and a bit to reduce down to small enough bits so it can hide (for now) in amongst the other bits.

It's a well disguised 1989 Cinder Cone with a few period upgrades (XT 735 rear der, thumbies, wheels with XT 735 hubs, even a nice Vetta saddle) the other key bits present and correct if very 'weathered'.

First / main problem is the godawful black rattle can job it's all been covered in. Pic below shows what's lurking underneath - I peeled away the remnants of a chainstay protector. The old girl has clearly had a bit of a life but once stripped the first job is to see if the original paint can be saved / is worth saving.

I've seen posts talking about acetone being used to remove spay jobs; could other strippers - possibly diluted? - help shift it? Any info on how hardy the original paint jobs from this era of Konas also appreciated...

Would like to keep this reasonably original but the paint will be key...

 

[andym999]

More pics...

 

[TreaderSteve]

Plus one for acetone. A quite big canister from my local hardware shop was maybe £6-7 and has been used for all sorts of de-greasing duties and did remove some rattle-can spray fairly easily. Do it slow and start somewhere less visible - the OE finish shouldn't evaporate before your eyes - hopefully! Splatter Kona = cool!

 

[andym999]

So first bash at removing the top coat and pleased to report positive - if slow - progress... Careful use of acetone through a spray bottle results in it disrupting the surface enough for steady removal with a scraper and then some scrubbing. Although there are a decent amount of chips as you'd expect for something this age, mostly the original paint is still looking mighty fine...

 

[TreaderSteve]

Nice - keep it up! Any bad bits will be easy to touch-in and not be that noticeable as it's such a fussy OE paintjob

 

[jonthefish]

Great if you can save the original paint. Good job so far!

 

[slimjoe]

one of my favourite paint jobs form back in the day. Be very easy to touch that up

 

[Spanky22b]

The paint should be fine the old Kona paint from then is tough as old boots. As a bonus the yellow splatter may not have turned to the usual mustard colour which tends to happen to it.

 

[Dr Dremel]

Easy does it! Reminds me of when I first moved into my apartement, under the glued down rug and screed- parquet flooring!

The paint should be fine the old Kona paint from then is tough as old boots. As a bonus the yellow splatter may not have turned to the usual mustard colour which tends to happen to it.

They must have used real mustard. Same colour degradation, only lasting a bit longer than the consumer stuff. Industrial grade mustard?