Of all of the various forms of cheap transportation, bicycles are generally the most popular and most efficient ways of travel. They provide exercise, speed, storage, and style. They are also free to ride, considering they don't use any type of fuel, and they don't need to be insured. Of course, it's highly impractical to ride them long distances, unless you are an athlete or a traveling enthusiast. However, on campuses or through small towns, bicycles are an unbeatable means of getting from one location to another.
Bicycles can be owned and used solely for transportation purposes, however, many people take pride in their two-wheeled marvels of engineering. Some people collect bicycles because they have a passion for them. Other people restore, repair, and customize their bikes. Personally, I do all of the above. For me, bicycles can be works of art. They can be simplistic, complicated, or function-based. And unlike a car, working on a bike is somewhat affordable. I love all bicycles of every style and era. However, the category that I specialize in is vintage road bikes and cruisers, generally from the 1950's-1970's. I love a good classic. Vintage cruisers often had a heavy emphasis on chrome and fender work. They were also often made of heavy steel, which is easy to restore and work with.
In this article, I will focus on the restoration process, and provide tips for restoring a bicycle of any era. I am no professional, but I am certainly patient, and I know how to make a rusty old clunker shiny and youthful again. It is quite a rewarding experience to see your progress from start to finish. Mind you, this article will not cover every detailed step in restoring a bike, although I may write an article such as this in the future. This article will briefly describe each step, and provide tips for the process as you progress.
The first thing that I usually do before restoring a bike, is look over it carefully, and take note of the damage, or lack thereof, in every area. The less areas that need repairing, the less time and money the project will take. Perhaps writing a to-do list would not be a bad idea. After this brief run-down, I proceed to disassemble the bike, until each individual part is separate. If you are not confident with taking your bicycle fully apart, you are not required to. It just makes accessing each area much easier. This also makes the painting and re lubrication processes much easier. Depending on the age and style of the bike, disassembly varies in its complexity and time consumption.
After removing all of the the necessary parts, it is important to refer back to all of the damages that you have taken note of. Damages such as dents, paint chips, scratches, and rust are all very common. If a part is damaged to a large extent, it may be better off to just replace the part with a new one. However, if you have a rare bike where it would be hard to find replacement parts, repairing these parts may be your best bet.
There are certain things that are vital when restoring a bicycle, that many people don't even take note of. Such instances may include foggy chrome that has been oxygenated over the years, corrosion inside the wheel hubs, and frame misalignment. If you want the bicycle to look perfect when you're done, (which you should), then these are major factors that you need to consider.
Alright, referring back to the different types of damage, and how to repair them. For light rust and fogginess on metallic chrome surfaces, using steel wool can work wonders. Rubbing rough chrome surfaces with steel wool eliminates light coats of rust and weathering, and reveals the original reflective mirror finish. After using steel wool on chrome, it isn't a bad idea to proceed to polish the chromed surface, to add a layers of protection, and make the chrome pop out. If any part of the bike has noticeable paint chips or scratches, or if the paint is just worn out, it is best to re-paint the bike. To strip the bike's old paint, there are certain chemicals that you can buy that "eat up" the old paint. After these chemicals settle in, you are able to brush away the old paint, exposing the bare metallic surface. If you don't have any paint-removing chemicals, sanding down the old paint is also a common method. After removing the paint, take note of what material the surface is made out of, and then apply the new paint in a way that will ensure a strong bond. Depending on the material, you may need to add a coat of primer before applying the new paint.
