Hi guys, I'm new to the forum, hope you enjoy my bike.
I have a huge passion for all things old/mechanical/engines/cars etc and after moving to the big smoke a couple of years ago I've always struggled to maintain my tinkering hobbies due to space and cost of a unit.
I ride a 80's Peugeot SS as my daily commuter and thought it was about time to buy a little project.
onto the Carlton.
Found this on Gumtree from a local guy and immediately fell in love with the frame and the graphics.
I was in 2 minds whether or not to sell up as it was or to try a full refurb. Made the decision to got for a full refurb, while retaining alot of the bike's character and original patina.
Started by stripping the frame down and getting rid of all the nasty bits. Made a spray booth on the balcony
I masked over the original stickers and gave it a fresh coat of colour
after the colour coat I removed the masking and then touched the sticker up with a chrome nail varnish where it had a small nick.
then applied a clear coat over the whole frame. I tend to heat the frame and the paint and then use 2 thick coats instead of many light coats. This is because spraying lacquer from a can usually gives a satin orange peel finish in light coats- the thick coats ensures you get a super glossy finish, you just have to watch for runs!
this is the frame finished, really happy with the results!
stripped, re polished and rebuilt some vintage Wienmann brakes
Then onto a Campag wheel set and single speed from Gussett, nice quality but a little pricy. New gum wall tyres and tubes
As the week went on I was on eBay and gumtree every night sourcing suitable parts.
modified the stem so it would sit lower in the frame
Then on to the bars. Again wanted to keep things pretty retro I went with some black cotton bar tape. It was my first time wrapping bars so took a couple of goes!
got the brakes hooked up with a small trigger
I really wanted an old suede racing seat so picked this up local from eBay.
its a Iscaselle Cortina suede seat. It arrived and it was pretty smooth but managed to get the nap back with various grades of wet and dry.
Then that brings me to today!
got everything finished up last night so I took it to work today (2 miles) and it rides like an absolute dream! lovely and smooth. too some pictures over my lunch break.
and thats pretty much everything! I finished the build last night and its taken me just over a week to complete. Really took my time and wanted to make it as perfect as possible while still retaining the bike original character.
I'm over the moon, hope you guys like it
I have a huge passion for all things old/mechanical/engines/cars etc and after moving to the big smoke a couple of years ago I've always struggled to maintain my tinkering hobbies due to space and cost of a unit.
I ride a 80's Peugeot SS as my daily commuter and thought it was about time to buy a little project.
onto the Carlton.
Found this on Gumtree from a local guy and immediately fell in love with the frame and the graphics.
I was in 2 minds whether or not to sell up as it was or to try a full refurb. Made the decision to got for a full refurb, while retaining alot of the bike's character and original patina.
Started by stripping the frame down and getting rid of all the nasty bits. Made a spray booth on the balcony
I masked over the original stickers and gave it a fresh coat of colour
after the colour coat I removed the masking and then touched the sticker up with a chrome nail varnish where it had a small nick.
then applied a clear coat over the whole frame. I tend to heat the frame and the paint and then use 2 thick coats instead of many light coats. This is because spraying lacquer from a can usually gives a satin orange peel finish in light coats- the thick coats ensures you get a super glossy finish, you just have to watch for runs!
this is the frame finished, really happy with the results!
stripped, re polished and rebuilt some vintage Wienmann brakes
Then onto a Campag wheel set and single speed from Gussett, nice quality but a little pricy. New gum wall tyres and tubes
As the week went on I was on eBay and gumtree every night sourcing suitable parts.
modified the stem so it would sit lower in the frame
Then on to the bars. Again wanted to keep things pretty retro I went with some black cotton bar tape. It was my first time wrapping bars so took a couple of goes!
got the brakes hooked up with a small trigger
I really wanted an old suede racing seat so picked this up local from eBay.
its a Iscaselle Cortina suede seat. It arrived and it was pretty smooth but managed to get the nap back with various grades of wet and dry.
Then that brings me to today!
got everything finished up last night so I took it to work today (2 miles) and it rides like an absolute dream! lovely and smooth. too some pictures over my lunch break.
and thats pretty much everything! I finished the build last night and its taken me just over a week to complete. Really took my time and wanted to make it as perfect as possible while still retaining the bike original character.
I'm over the moon, hope you guys like it
