Originally Posted by
bark_eater
Todays candidate.
This was a "saved from the dump" bike, rattle canned with some functional bits of Suntour XCE.
I was a bit disappointed to find the rear axle busted and the cones trashed. I'm hoping the cups are OK. I figure a 7 speed Freewheel Hybrid wheel set like this would make for a nice 120mm 5 speed "Touring" wheelset.
I tried a little more acetone on the spray paint, and it looks like all the original decals are still there under 2 more layers of paint. the acetone ate the gloves off my hands, so I'll give another try with lacquer thinner later on.
The frame feels pretty light, is lugged has an ovalized down tube, and its pink. I'll put this in the someday pile for now.
Well I know like many of us, you have plenty of experience.
That being said and the level of ecosuppresion I would encourage you to consider Rustoleum aircraft stripper, while not as effective as it used to be, it will do the job if you combine it with heat, sunlight, good wire brushes including a welding one and the round tubing assortment from Harbor Freight so you can get into all the nooks and crannies.
Last one I did, the paint melted off once I got it softened and started by scuffing it with 100 grit.
Also used a heat gun to speed up the process a couple of times when the sun went down or wasn't keeping it warm.