nlerner

Just before Christmas I picked up a ‘71 Fuji Finest from CL for a decent price. The paint was rough, but I’ve had a Finest and a Newest from this era and know that they are all chrome under the paint. So the plan is to strip the paint, reapply decals from VeloCals, and spray a coat or two of clear.

I unfortunately didn’t take great pics of the frame as it came to me, but here are a couple as I was measuring decal placement:




Stripping paint has gotten more challenging with the elimination of the truly nasty stuff, and I hadn’t been crazy about the last product I used, so after some Internet sleuthing, I bought something new:



I’m doing this work in my basement, so non toxic and no fumes were key. This stuff goes on as a thick goop, and the instructions say to not let it dry out. A complicating factor is that I was headed out of town from Dec. 26 to Jan 1, so the morning of the 26th, I applied the goop and wrapped all the tubes in plastic wrap. Here’s what it looked like when I got home earlier today:





Very promising! And here’s what it looked like after about 5 minutes of wrap removal, scraping, and some wire brushing:



Very pleased! The exposed chrome looks pretty shiny, and I’ve given it another round of goop and wrap to take off the remaining paint. Updates tomorrow!

sd5782 

I will be following this thread as I contemplated doing the same with a recently purchased 72 Newest. That route would certainly be the cleanest look. I am attempting to save my silver paint with plenty of aggravation. Mine interestingly came with no decals as I think it was a well used commuter bike that someone didn’t want to advertise about.

BTinNYC 

Oooo. Wrapping the goop in plastic film looks like The Way.

Roger M

We had cottage cheese like that on the ceiling of the house I grew up in. I'm pretty sure need an abatement company to remove that, Neal...

on the clear coat topic, do you recommend that when replacing decals? We just put a couple of decals on Thomas's Zeus. I don't really want to spray anything on it, but if they're not too durable, I might be inclined.
Looks like a great project for the new year. 👍

Chuck M 

Interesting. I wonder how well it would have worked just applying and removing before drying or if your wrap method made it come off better.

nlerner

I’ve never been a fan of cottage cheese, Roger!

In previous refurbs, I’ve never sprayed clear after applying decals, and they seem to have held up fine. On this one, I’m more concerned about metal corrosion, and perhaps the clear will prevent that?

nlerner

I actually did the fork that way and it took lots and lots of coats of remover. Wrapping seems to accelerate the chemistry.

thumpism 

Timely post! I was just about to buy some stripper for a Trek 620 project.

RustyJames 

Swell, now I’m going to be scouring ads looking for 70s Fujis.

nlerner

Okay, here the results after a couple more rounds of goop and wrap, a fair amount of polishing, installation of headset, fork, and headbadge:







Obviously not perfect, particularly around the BB and left chain stay, but I’m pleased with the result. Interestingly, the chrome is better in some spots that were painted and better in some spots that were not. Now I await replacement decals before reassembly. I’m leaning toward a 1x5 build with bar-end shifter and sew-up tires.

squirtdad

I vote (not like I get a choice ) for down tube shifter.....keep the lines clean

gugie 

Damn, Neal got a breakdown travel bike, so I had to get a breakdown travel bike.

Now I need a chrome bike.

It's hard keeping up with the Lerners.

And I'm still miffed that @Andy Antipas actually believed me when I posted that I didn't need any more bikes when he came in posession of a chrome Paramount in my size...

nlerner

Hey, I did offer you another Gran(d) Sport(s), and you declined! There is something about a shiny chrome bike. Anything in the Atelier to strip down?

jdawginsc 

Anyone want a chrome early KHS MTB that looks like a BMX, and probably rides like a Schwinn gas pipe I will likely never use? Haha. No paint to strip...

gthomson

So, could that goop be used on a normal painted bike without a chrome frame? the job looks amazing and I am totally down with the non toxic, apply and remove method of stripping paint. Worth a try at least on a test bike and then consider it other bikes if it works well.

Are the instructions good on the product?

jdawginsc 

The reviews on Amazon were mixed for the product, but slightly higher than most of the other similar citrus based strippers, so I would imagine that if all of us stripped a bike with the stuff, 72% of us would be pleased, or mostly pleased! 28% meh or displeased!

https://www.amazon.com/Confined-Spac...9BNZYK86&psc=1

Andy Antipas 

And I'm still miffed that @Andy Antipas actually believed me when I posted that I didn't need any more bikes when he came in posession of a chrome Paramount in my size...[/QUOTE]

That happened two years ago and gugie is still upset with me? geez..... Mrs. Gugie is probably happy with me?

nlerner

Good, I don’t know. Minimal, yes, but other than apply, watch, scrape, there’s not much more involved.

Dylansbob 

I did the same thing to a World Voyageur a couple decades ago, it was a pain because the paint remover kept evaporating. I think wrapping it is totally the way to go.

thinktubes 

gugie 

That happened two years ago and gugie is still upset with me? geez..... Mrs. Gugie is probably happy with me?[/QUOTE]

It's like the drug addict who has his friend lock him in a room and tell you under no circumstances, no matter how much he begs and pleads not to let him out until he detoxes.

Jeff Neese

Old Fujis used to be notorious for having fragile decals. They were applied on top of the clear coat but with no clear coat over the top. That's why they are almost always scraped and scratched and peeling. You can usually remove all the decals from an old Fuji using nothing more than a heat gun and credit card - they just scrape right off.

Charles Wahl

Isn't that stripper just a "caustic", like Peel-A-Way (which has been around since forever)? I've used that with great success on household stuff (like metal door frames originally painted with "I don't know what, and don't want to" in 1928), but never tried it on a bike frame. I'm an Amazon boycotter myself, but if a generic caustic is that effective on bike paint, then I've learned something useful (again, from Neal Lerner)! Thanks!

nlerner

Paint doesn’t adhere well to shiny chrome, so likely this one was easier to strip than other frames might be. About a year ago I stripped the paint of an Austro Daimler, and it took many, many coats of some orange enzyme stripper, plus lots of sanding, plus some power tools. Made me yearn for the toxic chemicals of my youth.

bwilli88 

I have that Centurion Pro-Tour I am looking to sell

All stripped and ready to pack and send.