Marin Pine Mountain

[Leesy69]

Hi everyone. New here and first post. I picked up a barn find Pine Mountain about 10 years ago with the intention to one day refurb it. That days is getting closer so I had a quick look over it today. I’m not sure what to do about the paint job on the frame. I’d like to keep it original but accept it might be too rough for that. Has anyone experienced refurbing a battered Marin frame? Could do with some opinions really…Thanks!

 

[marc two tone]

It'll come down to your end goal with it.
If you are sourcing new parts that are mint, then the frame/fork/stem may seem rough. If not then just strip it down bare and give it a scrub with a little washing up liquid in the water/ sponge scourer. It's often surprising how zolatone comes up, even some rust disappears. It takes a while to dry, almost like a plaster skim in progression to lighter shades.

Give it a go but don't be harsh on fork/stem. Just a damp rag.

 

[brocklanders023]

Agree with Marc, strip it down and give it a good scrub with soapy water and a scourer. I’ve had great results that way.

 

[Tootyred]

As above.....just addingvthat you may want to take a close look at those rims. The rear especially looks quite worn!

I would give them a good squeeze with the tyres off and see if the sizewalls flex or have cracks round them.

Great project and a fab bike, so well worth a bit if work.

If the finish is toast, the frames worth saving with new powdercoat. They normally come up great after a bit of a media blast.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

If the finish is toast, the frames worth saving with new powdercoat. They normally come up great after a bit of a media blast.

This is a bit misleading. Media blasting or shot blasting will make history of any paint or coating on the frame. If you are of the opinion the paint could be saved or renovated, blasting it off is a permanent way of never being able to renovate it. Arguably it will 'come up great' but it will be in a state of bare metal meaning you will need to have it re painted. The following question is usually How do I recreate the original matt/Zolatone Grey paint finish? You can't.

A common phrase around here is; It's only original once.

Looking at the photos, a few replacement parts, some new tyres, decals & a refresh of the Orange fr end parts could have that looking really good.

 

[Leesy69]

Thanks for all the replies. I made a start on stripping it down yesterday. Just need to remove the stem and then examine the state of the headset next. There is a fair bit of surface rust on the frame. I had a go at it with the green side of a washing up pad and some WD40 but it didnt really remove much. I might try a bit of kitchen foil on it next. I do like the original Zolatone and would be good to keep it that way. But once I sort the rust there might be some bare metal patches....hmmm. Decals are knackered so will prob get some new ones. Forks, bars and stem could do with a respray - any advice on original orange paint? Deffo need a new saddle and cables. Mechs and chainset are all salvageable. Did a lookup on the serial number M21RE0278 seems its a 1991.
Thanks for all the comments.

 

[Tootyred]

If the finish is toast, the frames worth saving with new powdercoat. They normally come up great after a bit of a media blast.

All I was saying is that blasting is the first part of the powdercoat process. "It comes up great" in that it also removes pretty much all the surface rust, old paint etc....unlike wet sanding.... especially if you have pitted areas of corrosion.

I did start by saying "if the finish is toast"...ie can't be saved, knackered, unsalvageable.....and I was talking about adding new powdercoat to save the frame. Plus a good guy will be able to build up the coat where needed to hide imperfections.

Sorry if it was unclear in any way that i was talking about powdercoating in that sentence.

Btw, tin foil will remove the zolotone....its only paint....

 

[Stanflashm4n]

I touched up the worst rusty spots on a 91 zolatone palisades with some air fix paint. I can dig out the colours I used if you’d like but I think i actually ended up mixing a few together . It’s by no means perfect but it doesn’t look too bad (from a distance) and that dark textured grey frame kind of hides it to a certain extent. Depends what you want though, I was just happy to cover the bare metal. I rattle can sprayed the fork stem and bars with some Halfords paint. They looked great for a while but didn’t last, chipped quite easily. Probably down to bad workmanship though - it was my first try at painting. I’m going to have a go at re doing them soon with some different paint.