Saturday, Frame Paint Stripping...

This frame is going to get hardtailed and powder coated.  First I need to get rid of this old paint.  Once stripped I'll be spraying down the frame and blowing off the water with the air compressor.  Then I plan on checking frame welds and removing some tabs I won't be using.  Here is the basic stuff you need for the paint removal process (not pictured 1 small steel brush).   

Here is a close up of the neck.  This is a slow process.  Don't let the stripper dry on the frame.  Don't scrape to soon either.  I was pretty liberal with the ammount of stripper I put on.  This stuff is pretty strong so wear long sleeves, gloves and eye protection and take your time.

After a couple of hours of multiple coats of paint stripper and scraping here are the results.  I ended up using one can of paint stripper, and trashed a paint brush and wire brush.  There are a couple of surface rust spots that need to be taken care of.  Also I want to get rid of some tabs that I won't be using.

Once the frame was stripped I spent a little time with the angle grinder taking off the neck gusset, speedo cable guides and other tabs that I won't be using.  I'm pretty happy with the results.  This frame is almost ready to be hardtailed.

Yamaha motorcross wheels

I got these wheels thinking that I might be able to use the front wheels hub for the '78 project I have going.  The wheels came off of a Yamaha motorcross bike.  They're pretty rough and I'm not expecting to much.  Gonna be getting some bearings and stainless steel spokes soon.  Also, I'm gonna need an aluminum 21" front rim (36 hole).   

Yamaha MX hubs and rims

Taking out the rusty spokes was the easy part.  A 4 inch angle grinder and cut off wheel did that job.  If I had a torch, maybe it would have been even easier.  Removing the tires was the most difficult part.  Getting to this point took me a couple of hours of work.  About the wheels...The front wheel is 21 inches.  The rim is about 2 1/2 wide and had a 3 1/2 tire on.  The back wheel is 18 inches.  It's about 3 inches wide and had a 4 1/2 tire on it.  They still look exactly like this, what the heck is wrong with me?  Well, I just need to get back to it.  Crazy schedule has been pulling me in lots of different directions lately.   

A little more progress

Here's what I did after work on Wednesday.  This stuff was in really rough shape, but the sand blaster was up to the challenge.  If your gonna attempt this at home, please, wear a respirator and keep it on till your done.  Ventillation is also a good thing too.  I had to take a break for a while after this round of parts to let my lungs recover. 

Here is a before and after photograph of my chain adjusters. These things cleaned right up.