1994 Dynatech Diablo STX. DONE (More or less..)FINAL PICS

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

Cheers folks ( Si, I'll do you a PM tomorrow re that thing )
Chris: guess where your wheels are going Yeah I know the fork is the steel version, I am pretty sure only the LX model and above had the ti blades. It's still lush

I guessed the stem was steel - I'll spray it for now.
Do you know if laquer and paint adhere to that grade of ti ok or do you reckon I'd be better off just peeling and cleaning up the ti tubes?

I've love to see the frame in bits! Thanks that really would be ace.

 

[Rampage]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

No idea about the paint.
The end caps on the forks are lacquered aluminium.

 

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

I'll do some extensive googling
The laquer has come off one of the end caps ( very neatly ) and I am going to do the same to the other one and give them a bit of a polish.

 

[Rampage]

Re:

It tends to come off in one piece!
They will polish fine.

 

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

Yes, yes it does

Wish all the stuff would come off the frame as easily...
*puff...pant...sand...struggle...faff...faff...fafitty faff...*

 

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

Evening all. I have been polishing. I decided to start easy with the fork and as Rampage so rightly predicted the laquer from the remaining laquered end cap came off in one neat piece, the oxidisation having worked it's way under the clear coat. ( see the pics in the first post. )
Polishing alloy is new to me apart from shining up the odd chainset, so it was clear to me that the end caps on the fork would need a bit more than my usual fiddling around with a rag and Autosol in front of an episode of Buffy.
So, I gave it a good clean and had a think, stuck a brush in my trusty fake Dremel and put some Autosol on the brush:

And gave it a bit of a seeing to :

Which gave me this:

Then went over the whole thing with polish and then waxed it, which gave me this:

So I am reasonably happy so far

Now back to getting the stuff off the frame.

 

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

I have been removing the coating from the main tube: It's going to take a while.
The plan is to start with 120 grit then progressing down to 2000 grit wet and dry paper. I tried some of Halford's emery cloth today and it was hopeless: it pretty much self destructed which was a bit of a surprise. I am still vacillating between re-spraying the colour fade and just leaving it like a pre 92 model. I suspect it will be decided by whether I can get a good colour match for a reasonable price. I think it will look pretty good either way

I started cleaning up the chainset last night: an STX one and it's not looking too bad so far: no pics yet though.
I have an old LX rear mech to replace the joke one that came on it.
The wheels will need a bit of work and are getting new tyres later this week, then it's a matter of doing the mechanical stuff: making sure everything is greased, adjusted and ready to roll. I hope there's the right sort of weather at the weekend for a comfy pootle along the Ship Canal.
Now then: Anodised bits: Blue or Green? I've a few of both

 

[Si_33]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

Good effort Stu - you've been hard at it

 

[Dare]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

I must suggest chemical paint remover if I haven't done it before. Trust me it will save you loads of time!

 

[doctorstewie]

Re: 1994 Dynatech Diablo STX.

Cheers Si
Dare: I had thought of that, but I am worried about it getting on the lugs and attacking the bonds. Probably being a bit over careful, but I actually quite like sanding. I find it soothing, especially when you get to the stage of the tubing looking better than it did when I started.

I was a bit short of time today to I just finished off the chainset: I think it looks quite nice, but there's some oxidisation I just cannot get rid of, even after a few hours with Autosol and a dremel-a-like.