Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Sheriff Mk II


From far off Italia comes the next steed to get a working over by the re(wind)cycle crew. The frame is an early eighties Francesco Moser made from lightweight Colombus steel. Delivery was a little tardy but when the packaged came beautifully wrapped and covered in fragile tape all was forgiven. The frame is straight and neat although the paintwork and decals leave a little to be desired, but for fifty euros (plus 'pacco ordinario' delivery) you can't complain!

First things first we need to get rid of this paint. A quick trip to the local hardware store and I had the necessary equipment. I needed some paint stripper, a cheap paint brush, a scraper, some chemical resistant gloves and some other safety gear. Don't mess around with paint stripper. Although it looks something a little like jelly it will burn through your skin and strip the lining from your lungs if you are not careful.


Watching the paint stripper work is amazing! Before your very eyes the paint starts bubbling and frothing and with a quick swipe of the scraper off it comes. As I took the paint off I discovered that the Moser is actually half chromed. Unfortunately the chrome has some rust spots on it although I have read somewhere that Coke-Cola and aluminum foil will remove it, so I may as well give that a go.



Next step is to remove the headset and bottom bracket and then a hit it with some sandpaper and maybe a little wire brush action if any of the rust is stubborn.

1 comment: