Bomber Z1 refurb thread - TOTAL RAGE!!!

After months of these Z2's sitting doing nothing, today they got totally stripped ready for a total overhaul. New seals are on the way, but first, I've been desperate to get fresh paint on them.


The plan has always been to have them repainted in a crisp white by a professional, but after having recently being quoted £180 for the pleasure, I bit the bullet and picked up some Nitromors and a couple of primer/top coat rattle cans after work today. No idea how it will turn out...!

Question though: I like the look of white crowns on more modern forks and am tempted to do that here. Thoughts? I don't want to commit sacrilege!

Legs stripped and nasty yellow paint job ready for Nitro.


Ended up using two rounds of nitromors to get rid of stubborn bits. Turns out the original fork colour was orange. In case you were interested... :roll:



Before and after.


Primer coats on. Before applying, I went over the leg with wet 400-grade wet and dry. Cleaned, dried, then short sharp bursts of paint from around 20cm. Left the first coat to go off for around 20 mins, before repeating with the second coat.
Plan for top coat will be a gloss white, before decals and then lacquer.


It's early days, but quite pleased with the results so far. Will post progress as it happens.

Re:

Looking good...

Re: 1997 Z2 refurb

Nice. Take your time...................

Re: 1997 Z2 refurb

Cheers guys, and no worries THM, I'll be a while yet by the looks of things!

Any thoughts on my crown dilemma? Is white going to look daft on these?

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If the legs and crown are the same colour I think it will look good. What colour frame are you fitting them to?

Re: Re:

xerxes":2wd9gwre said:

If the legs and crown are the same colour I think it will look good. What colour frame are you fitting them to?

Click to expand...

They're going on my red M2 (link in my signature). Which brings up the other issue of decals - had toyed with the idea of white on white for a very subtle look, but think I might stick with red to tie in with the frame.

Cheers for input re crown though. TBH I was hoping white crown would get the nod! I think it looks smart. Suppose if the worst comes to the worst, paint can always be stripped.

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Bit of progress. One leg now with top coats in place, and curing nicely. Left the primer overnight then very gently took some 800-grade W&D to it to smooth out any wee imperfections. Three coats of gloss white top coat using same application method as the primer, and maybe 40mins to an hour in between coats (roasting hot today, so would maybe leave longer if doing again on a cooler day).


Second leg also now stripped, paint removed, degreased, and primed waiting for top coats tomorrow or Sunday.

Also decided to paint the crown white. Again, used exact same method as the legs, but must be a different metal as the finish is like glass. No complaints...delighted!


New dust and oil seals arrived this morning, and need to get my order for decals in to Gil. Next dilemma: red decals to match the frame, or a light grey (or even white) to try for a slick subtle look?

Pic to show how the finished product will look with the stanchions. I love it!

Re: 1997 Z2 (although maybe now thinking Z1?) refurb thread

I was sold these as 1997 Z2s, but from reading the Z2 manual I was expecting one leg with an open bath hydraulic cartridge, and one with a pumping cartridge. After stripping both legs, the internals are both hydraulic cartridges. Looking again at manuals, I notice this is the setup for Z1's instead of Z2's. Also now unsure whether the year is correct.

Will do more digging to try and confirm.

Re: 1997 Z2 (although maybe now thinking Z1?) refurb thread

The year is on the dials (+1 for model year)
Travel will normally tell you model at this time.

Well, brakes are now on for this refurb. :evil:

Legs are all primed, painted, and looking great (IMO ). Internals thoroughly degreased and cleaned, dust and oil seals replaced, and oil changed. In a perfect world, this is the end result (minus decals obviously). Purdy!


However, it seems that over the years some plank (not me!) has over torqued the foot nuts and sheared the threaded bottom of the hydraulic cartridges. Both of them :facepalm: . There was just enough thread left to secure the cartridges to the legs, but as you will be able to tell from the photo, they were never the most secure. And now they just won't take at all. Total nightmare. But since replacement cartridges are about £80 online, I'm a bit stuck .

I have a set of Z2's on the way, so may swap internals over when they arrive, and run the legs as Z2's.


If you have any spare Z1 internals lying around, PM me!!

Assembled on M2 that will get the finished articles (still awaiting decals)...