Re: British Month
Always carried out full restorations in the past and still own 2 Ti Team Raleighs, 1 84 531c ex sponsored rider training frame and a 79 Team Europa both are as new, however my favourite is shown below. A e-bay Purchase in a very sorry state. The lugs had been painted dark blue and the yellow stripes over painted in dark red. The forks where peppered with rust and all the alloy was tarnished and pitted. The decals however on the frame where O.K. But the Kermese decals on the chain stays had lost most of their colour. Nobody has these decals in stock so armed with some very fine brushes could I restore the faded chain stay decals and touch up the frame decals. I was happy enough with the results to then tackle some serious deep cleaning.Everything is back to factory spec except I replaced the Simplex F&R mechs for Campag Gran Sport.
All the plastics underwent acetone washes,the overpainting was very carefully removed Cola and tin foil sorted the forks and then everything was polished and then polished again. I know it's not a winner and I take rubbish pictures but to me it it epitomises the British cycle industry at its zenith and it's great to ride!