Saved from scrap.. Purple Hazed Carrera Optima (probably)

[Osella]

Re:

Well; I tend not to be a visual perfectionist with frames.. If I want to have a certain finish, if I want unscratched, unchipped, I should prolly be buying new bikes, not old ones.. (That or have them blasted & repainted. I get that approach, and sometimes I use that approach, it's just not for all bikes.)
Essentially, the good paint such as there is on the majority of the tubing, is perfectly fine. The chips are around the dropouts (frame & fork), the tail-end of the stays, and the bad areas under the BB/chainstays.
The worst areas have had 2 lots of going-over with the Loctite 7503 and then coated with yacht varnish. The underside will probably still accumulate crud, so probably needs filler really.
Yacht varnish (the real stuff) works very well on frames in my (limited) experience and should at the very least stop the damage from spreading or worsening in combination with the anti-rust. It's kept my Voodoo rust-clear for 18 months now; tho I have hardly ridden it much

I don't feel the need to touch-up the paintwork, or try to do too much 'corrective surgery' to the frame. It's not new, so it doesn't need to look it; Keeping it alive & getting it in good condition is enough for now

 

[Osella]

Re:

Seat tube is pretty bad. Needs some filing work to get it working right. The top's mangled so going to chamfer it a bit and ream out the inner at least a bit. I don't think the tube itself is damaged, just the end hopefully..

Headset was...old... but after removing it there was no rusting inside the headtube, just a little on the steerer which cleaned off nicely. Brand-X sealed headset now installed - a very impressive piece of kit for £15 quid! Sealed bearing h/set, and includes a split crown race, making fitting it a literal 5 minute job!

The underside after removing the rust, two treatments with 7503 rust remover, and one coat of yacht varnish:

This is where it needs some additional coats to build up the protective layers and hopefully prevent further damage in the future.

Sachs mech arrived yesterday; so started mocking-up parts (can't resist) Jockey wheels arrived & fitted today; this evening's task is seatpost, more protective coating, chain length adjustment and cabling..
Parts-wise I'm now only waiting on one brake lever and then should be good-to-go! :xmas-cool:

IF there's decent light, I'll try to get some better shots of the paintwork. It's a quad-layer effect; blue-to-purple flip, but from oblique angles the blue gains an aquamarine highlight to it, and the purple gets gold highlights. It's fun, I'll say that.

 

[Osella]

Re:

Well, finally got it initially completed(!) :xmas-wink:
Apologies for the pic - definitely doesn't show the paint well as it was in the underground car park at work..
It all fits & handles well on a short commute. Unfortunately new chain on old cassette is not well-matched, so going to swap the cassette over & re-jig the mech as it's not quite getting all the way up the cassette either.

I wasn't sure about having such a low front-end (compared to more modern or front-sus bikes) but it's nicely balanced with the long-ish stem & lovely Azonic risers..
Shifting is all-friction with a Magura Hydrostop front & Avid Shorty-4 rear canti brake on a Nexus lever to visually match the long old-school Magura.
Total weight's in around 12kg which isn't light, but there's something about these old Saracen-designed frames that makes them ride a lot lighter & more responsively than their hefty tubesets suggests they should.
It's not yet seen any off-road action - but it is built as a commuter/cruiser owing to the paint & the rust.

 

[Thias]

That came out rather nice!

 

[Osella]

Re:

Indeed! Rear shifting issues have been fixed with a switch to a 9sp 11-32 cassette and a Shimano mech (sadly..)
Changed the stem too, to the matching Azonic one and another clearcoat on the rust. Now just needs some sun to properly show off the paintwork!

 

[Bicycle Addict]

Re:

I really like that, I think the contrast of the Black rims against the raw/polished stuff really works too.

 

[Osella]

Re:

Well..the rims are actually dark blue - though you can't see it in the shadows.
There's still a little bit of adjustment needed to the gearing as it's very draggy in the drivetrain.
Considering a change-round to the tyres as well, Nics are great on the rear but not feeling right for the front on mainly tarmac.

 

[Osella]

Re:

Well, it's been sunny so: Pics! (apologies for the smudge on the camera lens)

Tried a few angles to get the shimmer of the paintwork - this one shows the gold/bronze that it gets at oblique angles you can see on the toptube & chainstay..

 

[dyna-ti]

A lovely clean build Top marks.

 

[Osella]

Re:

And a few more after this week's commuting.. Sunlight finally!