Kestrel CSX build

[Elfman]

Well, in my Bontrager Race Lite build thread, I hinted that I had a few other builds brewing, and this is one of them. I found a great Kestrel CSX on fleabay last year for a phenomenal price ($59!), but as you can see in the photos below it is pretty beat up. Lots of paint chips, some pretty deep (although none of them gouged the carbon underneath). Decals partly worn off, and a very well-loved Tioga Revolver crankset with some Onza and Campy chainrings came with the frame. The Revolver was seized into the bottom bracket threads in the frame. I got one side out, but the other side.....well, I completely boogered up the cups with the wrench and a cheater bar trying to get it out of the frame. It got so critical that I didn't trust myself to not damage the frame, so paid the $25 at the LBS to have them work their magic, and thank goodness they were able to get it out without any casualties (to frame or mechanic!). I reached out to @kingoffootball because I noticed he was trying to piece together a lot of Tioga parts for a build he was doing and sold it to him for a cheap price. So the Revolver went over the pond to the UK, and I was left with quite a rehab job to begin!

 

[Elfman]

A few more photos of the frame's condition:

 

[Elfman]

And the Revolver's that came with it:

 

[Elfman]

The serial number on the dropout:




It is upside down, but clearly reads 700353, and the serial number on the underside of the bottom bracket shell reads 54614, Cycle Composites, Inc., Santa Cruz, CA. Obviously early 90s, but not sure what the exact year is?

 

[Elfman]

Now, like I said, I've had this frame since this past winter, but didn't start working on this until a few months ago. So I've got a bunch of updating to do with my flurry of posts, to let you all know where I'm at with this build. Given the condition of the frame, there was a lot of sanding to do before a repaint, and I'm not keen on black so will be painting this frame red, but with a twist in the decal color (more to follow on that later). Here's the frame sanded down. I left some of the old paint, but this won't affect the new paint. A painter's trick: you can take a paper towel and while rubbing the frame you can more easily feel bumps and gradations in the finish. I used this trick while sanding, so even though some of the black remains, there won't be any "topographic" evidence of it once painted. This took A LOT of sanding, just to get all the chips and knicks out of the old finish.

 

[Elfman]

Once it was thoroughly sanded and baby butt smooth, I sprayed it with rattle can epoxy primer. The epoxy primer works great, much better than standard primer. Many coats and sanding in between to get it smooth and prepped for paint.

 

[Elfman]

So I'll be painting this frame red. My initial choice was Montana Cans Gold in Shock Red, which turned out a slight bit too orangey red:










Some of the photos show the results of my between-coats sanding, which removed the Shock Red paint on edges and where I sanded hard to get blebs all smooth.

 

[Elfman]

Ultimately, I zeroed in on a slightly darker red, Montana Cans Gold in Kent Blood Red, which I painted directly over the Shock Red. It's perfect, and was the shade I was looking for:




It's hard to tell, but it's ever-so-slightly darker, and no hint of orange whatsoever.

 

[Elfman]

Today, I put the final coat on before decals and clear coat. It's a very heavy coat, which avoids the "dusty" rough finish from prior lighter coatings that I'm fearful would have prevented the future clear coat from laying down smoothly. My camera sucks and the colors aren't quite faithful, but it is a very nice, deep red.




So, the twist to the decals: the original red Kestrels had white decals. Was never quite a fan of that aesthetic choice, so the lettering will be black, with a silver-gray to the standard bi-tone coloring found on Kestrel decals. Velocals makes Kestrel decals, but didn't have the CSX seat tube decal, nor the Made in CA/American flag decals, so I requested them and Velocals came through. They also custom-made me the serial number decals for the bottom bracket shell and the patent number decals for the non-drive side chainstay. My hope is that the "moment of truth" for decals and clear coat application will come tomorrow. I'll be putting on 2K Spray Max clear coat.

 

[Dr Dremel]

Always liked these, but I never realised they were made in Japan? I thought they were US made, or was it just the eaerlier MX-Z´s?

Anyway, nice effort on the repaint. Ton of work to get everything smooth, but looking good now!