Sometimes projects drag on a bit longer than desired. This one started in July and the whole assembly and final parts selection is still in process. Impatient, I threw on some parts so that I could get it out during the Thanksgiving weekend for a bit of a ride. Glad I did because the weather has now turned to full winter, 0 degrees right now and a good amount of snow on the ground.
I had Eric Noren at Peacock Groove add a kickstand plate and mid-fork braze-ons in early July. I also had him face the dropouts and all of the braze-ons with stainless washers. Realizing that I had precious little time to get a paint job on it in time for a late July tour, I gave it a REALLY ugly rattle can paint job at the time so that I could go on RAGBRAI. Over the period of August and up until Thanksgiving I took my time and attempted to do a better job with the paint. I have a much greater appreciation for just how difficult it is to paint a bicycle! I had high aspirations for fancy paint work and contrasting headtube. Reality sunk in quickly and I justified the single-color decision. I figured that by the time I get racks, fenders, and all the parts mounted there will be enough going on that one color might be best anyhow. :) 2 coats of primer, 3 base coat, and several clear. Enough clear over the decals to make them almost smooth with the surface of the paint. I ran out of paint and then out of clear... My outdoor paint booth was subject to occasional moisture issues and had very limited hours of operation as the days grew shorter this fall. Then cooler temperatures complicated the difficulty of getting the clear to flow out smoothly. I ordered my paint through AutomotiveTouchup based on the color of an automobile. The color didn't turn out 100% the way I had envisioned. I was hoping for more of a black-cherry color, but the red-color only shows up in the sunlight. Other times and lighting it almost looks like a green or blue. Lots of sanding, wet sanding, then polish to get me to the point where I am quite pleased with the results. Pics or it doesn't exist, right...? http://www.flickr.com/photos/31359238@N06/sets/72157638215050844/ <http://www.flickr.com/photos/31359238@N06/sets/72157638215050844/> -- Ken Yokanovich Roseville, MN -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
