toosahn

So this popped on craigslist today and I was at the seller's doorstep in 2-hours.

I don't know much about it, but I'll post regarding that in the Appraisals forums (not opposed to learning from here either).

The frame is Cellini, probably a early 80s frame as the Campy bits are stamped with "82".

What I want to know is how to restore the old campy bits without damaging the black and gold anondizing. There seems to be some rust or corrosion on various bits (like mounting hardware), so is the anondizing/paint just gonna have to go? Would it be worth it to restore those bits or just pull 'em off and either store 'em as-is or sell them as a group. The bike is mighty sexy as is it is, but it doesn't fit me or my girlfriend. I bought it as a restore and pass-on project.

Sorry if I'm confusing my terms here. I know anondizing is specifically for the aluminum bits and I'm sure that the only bits that are rusting are the steel bits (so they are probably chromed or painted gold). I would like to clean and get everything shining so I want to make sure to do this without harming any of the finishes as they all seem rather fragile.

Some links I could dig up on Campy Golden-black stuff:

https://cinellionly.blogspot.com/2010...k-cinelli.html

(yes the weird coincidence of "Cinelli" and Cellini is not lost on me)

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-love-Gooooold

Scroll down til you see the Cellini ad.

Pictures from the seller's album:













I have a inkling I should just leave this one alone and not risk ruining it.

NukeouT

So 80's its come full circle to being trendy again, eh?

hamanu23

Holy crap that is like a Black Lightning only 1 million times more awesome! Amazing bike!

toosahn

I'll have up my own pictures soon of various areas of concern. But it's in overall pretty good shape.

One weird thing is that the decals are actually stickers (not under any clear coat). And there seems to be chrome under the matte finish. So I'm not sure if the bike was repainted matte black or not and then stickered.

omgar

Wow, that actually looks gorgeous.

jet sanchEz

Hole moley, now THAT is a rare bike. I really think you should keep it but I would also be REALLY interested to see how high a 7 day ebay auction might go....with worldwide shipping, of course.

MetinUz

I have also noticed that bike on SF CL. I think it was donated to be sold at some benefit sale at Woodside, presumably flipped the same day by the buyer. I also did some research on the bike. There are some old discussion threads in the CR list, which you can search at https://search.bikelist.org/. It suggests that the Campy components are painted rather than anodized, and tend to flake off.

toosahn

So I'm pretty sure it wasn't a repaint reading this:

>>Beech does seem to be the wood of choice for rim making. However, the
>>Cellini (not Cinelli) from the early/mid '80s, did come with proprietary
>>mahogany rims. Cellini's were fully built show bikes, out of Columbus KL
>>tubing. One model was an entirely gold plated frame, sporting a panto'd SR
>>gruppo, and a specially laced VIP set. The other model was a flat black
>>painted frame with gold lugs, sporting a PAINTED flat black SR panto'd
gruppo
>>w/gold plated hardware, and the same VIP set. The black one was more
>>expensive, but the black paint on the components was a bad idea (almost all
>>have flaking paint). Personally, I think the all gold model was much more
>>striking anyway. Both models came with the mahogany built wheels.
>>
>>Marc Boral


As for the mahogany wheels, that's the one bummer in all of this. The seller said the mahogany wheels were there but then when he went the next day they were gone!

I'll try to track 'em down.

realestvin7

Subscribing...

mazdaspeed

Mahogany rims? That link says it weighed 17lbs with wooden rims. My mind has been blown.

TheOtherGuy

They ride like a dream, BTW. Lucky find. That gold, is real gold plating, BTW; not paint. I know where there's still a new Cellini in my size on a bike shop's floor. Supposedly that shop had imported them in the '80's, and I seem to remember them saying something like "they were display bikes at the LA Olympic games". They are quite rare, and yes, very light. Mine's looking a little scruffy these days, but it's still a pretty bike.

Forgot to mention, some of them have internal top-tube cable routing.

Bianchigirll 

UH WOW! that is just beautiful!

I would not worry about replacing everything until I lovingly took each component apart and cleaned it with Holy Water straight from the Vatican and them rubbed each part with EEVOO. OK OK I am kidding about the Holy Water and EVOO.

lots of older parts get rusty on the steel hardware because the tools chip the chrome. unless it looks really gross after a good cleaning I would not fret too much about it.

jr59

Great find.

Clean it very well.
Then leave it be.

Ride it only on bright sunny sundays.


Oh yea, BG's idea of holly water is not a bad one!

toosahn

So to clean or not to clean? And to clean with what?

look171

What shop is that? The last time I saw something like that was at Ernie's back in the 80's. I am not sure if it was a Cellini?

look171

No, we didn't have too many of that stuff in the 80s. Not like that, and this thing was not a trend. It was for the rich and famous. I remember something hanging on the wall in a shop called Ernie's in Brentwood. That's right next to Bel Air or Beverly Hills. A gold plated Ferrari if you will.

RobbieTunes

1-Go to Walmart, get the Rustoleum Rust Remover.
2-Get a toothbrush and some q-tips
3-Ajax dishwashing liquid
4-A bucket
5-A hose attached to a spigot.

You do not want to attack this full-on. Isolate the parts piece by piece and treat them, piece by piece.
The rust remover generally does not harm paint or anodize, but that's no reason to leave it sitting on painted parts.
The rust remover should not be used on aluminum parts, in general, because it can turn them black, and you'd have to re-polish them.

Try to isolate the parts that have rust. Since those will generally not be aluminum, you can try the rust remover on them, apply with a toothbrush, and rinse within a minute. Sure, it works better if left on a few minutes, but why chance it? Several applications in localized areas, thoroughly rinsed, will do the trick. Be sure to dry very thoroughly and use q-tips to not only apply to small areas, but to get the water off after you rinse. Drying the bits is just as important as cleaning the rust off. If you don't, it will just rust again.

TheOtherGuy

Beverly hills is where I bough mine, but it wasn't at Ernie's. The shop that supposedly imported them, is further North, up the coast. I won't say where; I may go back and buy that one remaining Cellini, someday. I doubt they'll budge on the price though... It's been the same every time I've stopped in, for the past 15 years.

look171

I have been out of this game for a long time and have no interest in restoring bike. My old Casati and the one I ride, a Ridley, is enough for me to have around the house. I will not fight you for it, trust me on this. I was interested in some of the old pro shop I use to frequent, and it would be interested to see if they are still there? I road for Erinie/LaGrange for one season. I hated it and went back to Montrose. What shop did you get this thing from? Is it an old shop from way back or was it one of the newer ones like Helen's

toosahn

For the gold plated parts, however, I was thinking of using water and Tarn-x or similar.

marley mission

dang that thing is bad@$$
i'd mess that thing up real good
good thing its not in my stable
take care of it

divineAndbright

thats one of the nicest looking classics ive seen in a long time. Very pleasing/refreshing to see something without plain jane polished components for a change!

toosahn

I'm going to put this on ebay next week. 7-day with $2k reserve as per recommendation. I'll post the link when I do!

Thanks.

prettyshady

in 2 weeks? I would like to enjoy having this sit around for 6 to 12 months before selling.

(it will be kinder to the original seller also)