GT Avalanche 1998 - Project "Tequila Sunrise 2.0"

Bart_75

Dirt Disciple
Hi all , i want to share my project i had in mind for a while.
I always liked the Gt karkoram Teaquila Sunrise bike- paintjob, it was like one of my dreambikes , in my unsuccesfull hunt to find a bike like that i gave up because it was always not in the right size or the seller wouldn't ship it to Belgium, so i gave up.
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I had bought me 3 years ago a pretty beat up "1998 GT Avalanche" wich was in original colors purple with white and yellow accent's.
(Sorry still regret i have no pics like it was when i bought it)
The bike came with a steel Gt fork and a Stx drivetrain that was totally trashed
Also the paint was really scuffed and the top tube had a serious dent. I wanted to use the bike as a "go to work bike" so i painted the bike up again in black with chrome decals . I Builded it up again with some nicer parts , 1x drivetrain , Xtr and xt parts . In these 3 years this bike gave me so much pleasure that i decided i never would let it go , but however i was kind of bored of the black paint and it came up in my mind this bike deserved something better.
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First I was thinking to strip the paint and polish it, but then again i was thinking i would get pretty bored of that also vey soon.
It had to be in line with the "GT Cult Family"
If there is one paintjob i really like then it was the "Tequila Sunrise " paintjob, so i decided to give it a go .


So below ... my work so far......

Stripped the paint with paint remover, sand paper and steelwool and preparing for primer layer
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Found some spraycan colors that would kind look like the Tequila Sunrise colors , maby the orange is brighter that the real one but for me it was a go.
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After the primer was apllied and left dry for 3 days it was time for the first layer for the yellow parts.
Also found a "Kore" stem that i also painted in yellow.
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After drying 2 days here i masked the yellow parts to spray the orange parts and fade it out to the yellow wich turned out pretty good
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Then this was the most exciting moments for me....painting the black lines by using the good old freehand and pencil.

Spraying some black paint in a can and then carefully paint the lines like the real "Tequila Sunrise" was the plan.

However this was not so easy as i thought it would be so it's turned out to be a bit of a custom design 😁😊.

But i liked it so i kept on painting the lines and for me i called it to be the "Tequila Sunrise 2.0" 🙂
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Then it was time to make the decals with the Silhouette Cameo .
I reproduced some logo's with Photoshop and tried to keep it in line with the original one except for the "Tequila Sunrise 2.0" logo
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Decals apllied succesfully and i really like it how it turned out so far
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Next step is to apply the clearcoat on the frame, fork and stem wich will be in 3 layers .

I will post some updates next days of the build ;)
 
Signing up, looking forward to see it completed.
The best what could happen to that frame.
Great idea, and nice result.
Surely it will be a fun bike and a head turner.
And i like the whole story.
 
That's brilliant. I had one which was pretty tidy but required a touch up here and there so know what it's like to draw the black lines on.

Yours has turned out really well, great work. It's a great, iconic pain job and you've recreated it nicely.
 
Picked up this wheelset a while ago , couldn't resist these.
Glad i can use them finally on this build
Dt swiss xr4.1 rims laced on Dt Swiss 240 Hugi hubs ....the sound of the hubs ...so amazing 😛, ......ratatatatatatataaaaaaa :D
Also found a used but in good condition 9sp Casette and chain 11-42 and a derrailleur pad-extender for the 1x drivetrain
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