kcypher42

I have a Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed that I bought used in the mid-80s at a garage sale that had what I presume to be grey spray-paint over the original finish. I recently dug it out of storage to clean it up and do some refurbishing. I'm not necessarily going for a full restoration, I'd just like to bring it closer to its former glory. I've determined from the serial number that it was made in Dec of 1971, and from pictures I found online, I've discovered that it probably used to have fenders that I might try to replace at some point, but my more immediate concern is the paint job.

After seeing some of the original paint show through where the spray paint has worn off, I could see that the bike was originally a red color, which was confirmed after I took the front fork off and found a pristine example of the original paint job. I'd like to remove the spray paint without removing the original paint, especially without damaging the factory lettering. From some testing I've done, removing the gray without damaging the original paint job seems possible, but my tests of removing the spray paint around the lettering shows that I need to be REALLY careful to not damage the white lettering.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I'm trying to do?

Thanks,
Kurt

wahoonc

Hi Kurt,
I have used Goof Off before with good results. Try it on an inconspicuous area first to make sure it won't harm the original finish. I used mine on my Raleigh Superbe to remove over spray that looked like house paint and silver enamel. It did not harm the original paint at all.

Aaron

EraserGirl

that white lettering is gonna come off whether you like it or not.
some Schwinn white lettering is on with decals and some are painted
it seems the painted ones flake off over time the decals last longer, but they may not survive the unpainting process. If i am not mistaken the are folks who do retro decals you can reapply when the project is finished.

gerv 

I just donated my son's too-small 1974 Schwinn Collegiate to the local bike co-op. It looks like a neat bike -- as long as you don't have to lift it -- and has an immaculate set of chrome fenders. I wouldn't want to spend a whole bunch of money on it though, so if the unpainting worked, I would call it good.

kcypher42

Three responses within 32 minutes. I like this site.

Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling that the decals were probably not saveable, though I may still try to find a way to remove the spray paint as gently as possible to see if I can keep them from disappearing. If nothing else, I'll just have to work on cleaning the bike up, and keep an eye out for replacement decals that I can put on at a later date.

Thanks again,
Kurt