Hello,
Thought I would do a build thread on my (my wifes i.e.: I ride it and she barely rides it) 1983 Rossin Super Record. I originally found the frame and fork tucked away in a bicycle co-op covered in dust and surface rust. At the time I was engaged and thought a cool gesture for the chick-to-be, would be the restoration of this Rossin. Boy, was I wrong! "I lean forward too much." "My ass hurts." "The shifting is hard and in the wrong spot." Even though the frame is too small for me, I still enjoy riding it and I am still in love with the paint job (biased emphasis).
The original paint was very tattered, the drive-side chain stay and around the bottom bracket had a lot of surface rust and the Columbus fork looked more rust orange than polished steel. Decals were in bad shape. One of the top tube cable guides had rusted off leaving its base. Else the frame and fork were straight and dent free.
I tried to go as year specific as possible with the components and everything on the bike is date stamped 82' and 83'. I was also super poor and in college at the time, so sourcing parts was not only trading a week of groceries (buying the large Rossin chain ring or Cinelli stem for example), but between research and writing my thesis, there were at times little mental capacity for searching for parts for any serious length of time. I actually started prepping the frame for paint leading into midterms so I could have spring break to get the color and metal flake down.
While researching the frame, I came across old catalog scans from Rossin. I am sure some of you know of the gold-flake Super Record with the topless model? Certainly cannot post that here, but...you can always search online to reference the advertisement. Anyhow, the paint was shot, and I had limited tools and access to paint the bike original, so I went with the advertisement gold flake instead.
The frame was stripped down to the factory primer for the most part where I could keep it, and down to bare metal to deal with the surface rust. Fixed the cable guide on the top tube. Primer consisted of 2k automotive, 3-layers and wet sanded between coats. Once the primer was done, I then masked the drive-side chain stay, dropouts, inner BB, seat tube and head tube. I then laid down 3 coats of 2k automotive gold metallic paint. After this second coat of gold, the frame was cured for three days. I then wet sanded the frame using 1000 grit, completely washed the frame, let dry for 48 hours in direct sunlight. The third coat of gold was applied rather wet.
During this third coat, I then applied automotive
'24-kt gold' flake, while rotating the frame clamped to a bike stand like a rotisserie chicken and the gold flake sprinkled on like a pepper shaker. The gold flake came from a company in Arizona who specializes in metal flake for custom street rods. While this final gold paint layer/ gold flake layer was still tacky, I applied the first of five coats of clear.
Second coat of clear was put on wet, then the frame was sprinkled with gold flake again, followed up by the third and fourth layers of clear. The frame was then cured for about four days. After, the rough texture due to the coarse metal flake was then knocked down using series of wet sanding up to 1500 grit. However, the goal was applying really thick mid-layers of clear to really capture some of the depth created by the metal flake landing on the frame at random angles. The frame was then cleaned and left to dry for 48 hours. By the way, like I said - I was super poor in college, but the fact that I read a lot of books and besides that I found this source that talks about
can money buy happiness essay I understood that actually everything is not so bad and actually we should be happier, because life is one and it is short.
For doing this paint outside on a balcony, sometimes in the wind...I think it came out ok. Though this was done about ten years ago, so in the mean time there has been a few bumps and bruises, but such as life. It's not a wall hanger!
Regarding the build, you purists can totally chime in. I built this bike so long ago. The catalog bike (not the nude advertisement bike) came with regular height flange hubs.
Frame: Rossin Super Record - 1983, Columbus SL Tubing 48"
Fork: Rossin Super Record, Columbus
Headset: Super Record Pista - 4141 polished
Stem: Cinelli mod for Rossin
Stem Cap: N/A
Handlebar: Cinelli Giro d'Italia - NOS
Grips: GARB Ribbon Nastritalia - NOS
Barends: Rossin - repro's
Brakes: Super Record
Brake Pads: Super Record - NOS
Brake Cables: NPN - NOS
Cantilever cable hangers: N/A
Brake Levers: Nuovo Record
Shifters: Record - 1014
Front Derailleur: Super Record - 1052/SR
Rear Derailleur: Super Record - 4001
Derailleur Cables: NPN - NOS
Cassette: Regina CX
Chain: Regina CX Gold - NOS
Cranks: Super Record (Strada) - 1049/A, 167.5 mm
Crank Bolts: Super Record (Strada) - NOS
Chainrings: Super Record (Strada) mod for Rossin
Chainring bolts: Super Record (Strada)
Bottom Bracket: Super Record Pista v2 - 4131 - solid Ti axle
Pedals: Super Record (Strada) - 4021
Hub Skewers: Super Record
Rims: Van Schothorst, 36h, aluminum 700c
Hubs: Super Record High Flange - Ti 4011
Nipples: aluminum
Spokes: A.C.I. - Sacchetti
Tyres: Continental Grand Prix 3000 - grey/gumwall - NOS
Tubes: Vittoria
Saddle: Saddle Italia mod Turbo - white leather
Seatpost: Super Record - Fluted, 2-bolt, 4051/1
Seatpost Binder: Super Record Bolt - NOS
Extras:
-- Cobra Profil bottle & cage - NOS
-- Galli Oro toe clips - NOS
-- Alfredo Binda Prestige toe straps - white leather - NOS
-- Campagnolo brake hoods - repro's, NIB
-- Dupli-Color 2k primer
-- Dupli-Color 2k Metallic Gold paint
-- Dupli-Color 2k gloss clear
-- DID Automotive metal gold flake 0.015"
-- Rossin / Columbus sticker set, NIB - eBay
-- Aluminum valve stem caps, gold
-- Aluminum cable end crimps, gold
-- Columbus top tube cable guide - NOS
-- Super Record Crank Bolts - NOS
-- Super Record Crank Bolt Caps - NOS
-- Aluminum rear derailleur pulleys, red - NIB
-- Rear dropout hub alignment bolts/springs - NOS
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. I probably thought at one time long ago 'if she doesn't ride this, guess I have a Rossin'. Time revealed too she is more of a city/hybrid liker. Her loss 
