Mailman’s XS2 a full on restoration

Sanding.....sanding.....sanding. Jeeze Louise, I’m sick of sanding. I’ve been trying to get my frame ready to paint.
The front half of the frame went pretty well, but the back half has so many tabs and triangular gussets and hard to get to corners, that sanding is difficult at best, and my progress has been really slow. So yesterday I brushed the back half of the frame with my low odor citrus stripper
69202677-F3BF-432D-B5F5-BFAF92D40C19.jpeg


I let that sit overnight and today I scrubbed it off and.....not much luck. It hardly put a dent in it.
So I hit it yet again with a different brand of low odor stripper and let it sit.
EAB7CF00-4F27-4E5E-A523-62F6945E63C2.jpeg


Again, it didn’t do much. It did however soften the paint up enough that I went at it with wet sand paper and I got a lot of the paint off. As it sits right now, it’s probably 80% of the paint removed. I know I could get better results with a serious stripper, but I have to be extremely careful with my asthma. Media blasting would have also been nice.
Even better would’ve been just dropping this thing off with the powder coating shop.

I’m too far into this process to change course now. I’m close to having it ready, but man! I’m ready to be done with this part.

My new fork seals should be here Friday, so I can also get those finished.
 
Woohooo... getting closer. Starting to see the light at the end of your tunnel. I’ve loved following this journey with you. I’m getting excited for you to be close to reassembly. Ive got to say Bob, your two build threads are some of my favorites on this site. You are so thorough and have done such a great job of documentation that we can really relate, as we all have been working through your troubles right along with you. That, and as I’ve stated before, I really enjoy your writing style. You really pull your audience right into your story/documentary... if you will. I’m mean this really is a documentary, right?These threads are inspiration to anyone thinking of taking on a restoration project. Kudos Bob, keep up the excellent work. I’ll be looking forward to all you future posts!!!!
 
willis said:
Woohooo... getting closer. Starting to see the light at the end of your tunnel. I’ve loved following this journey with you. I’m getting excited for you to be close to reassembly. Ive got to say Bob, your two build threads are some of my favorites on this site. You are so thorough and have done such a great job of documentation that we can really relate, as we all have been working through your troubles right along with you. That, and as I’ve stated before, I really enjoy your writing style. You really pull your audience right into your story/documentary... if you will. I’m mean this really is a documentary, right?These threads are inspiration to anyone thinking of taking on a restoration project. Kudos Bob, keep up the excellent work. I’ll be looking forward to all you future posts!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks Willis!
Your too kind. It’s funny, my first bike, the ‘77, I really just wanted to document my progress and keep a running thread where I could seek advice as I went. I was rather pleasantly surprised to find so many like minded individuals on this forum, but the real surprise to me was just how many good hearted and generous people we have here. So willing to share their knowledge and help you source parts, even offering up parts from their own stash. What a great bunch we have here. And our resident PROS , man where would we be without them? It’s why we have so many long time members.

I’m not a great mechanic, I’m learning as I go, like so many others on this site. When I get this bike back together, if it fires up and runs the way it should, I will consider it a minor miracle! Haha! :laugh2:
Thanks Willis, for your friendship and continued support.
It means a lot to me!
Bob
 
Mailman said:
Sanding.....sanding.....sanding. Jeeze Louise, I’m sick of sanding. I’ve been trying to get my frame ready to paint.
The front half of the frame went pretty well, but the back half has so many tabs and triangular gussets and hard to get to corners, that sanding is difficult at best, and my progress has been really slow. So yesterday I brushed the back half of the frame with my low odor citrus stripper
View attachment 130963
I let that sit overnight and today I scrubbed it off and.....not much luck. It hardly put a dent in it.
So I hit it yet again with a different brand of low odor stripper and let it sit.
View attachment 130964
Again, it didn’t do much. It did however soften the paint up enough that I went at it with wet sand paper and I got a lot of the paint off. As it sits right now, it’s probably 80% of the paint removed. I know I could get better results with a serious stripper, but I have to be extremely careful with my asthma. Media blasting would have also been nice.
Even better would’ve been just dropping this thing off with the powder coating shop.
I’m too far into this process to change course now. I’m close to having it ready, but man! I’m ready to be done with this part.
My new fork seals should be here Friday, so I can also get those finished.
Click to expand...

Hi Mailman,
yeah, Mr Cheapskate shoulda had it blasted. Too late smart, eh? I don't want to be insulting, but is your sanding technique all that it should be?
Here's how I'd get the paint off if the stripper didn't do the job and I didn't choose to get it blasted.
Degrease with kerosene or diesel fuel on an old towel.
Buy a 50' or 100' roll of 1" width coarse grit cloth backed emery tape.
Tear off mebbe yard long strips of the tape, lap a strip 1/2 way round a frame tube, grab each end, pull it tight and pull it to and fro to clean half the tube,
Switch to do t'other side. Tubes have at least 3 sides. The tape will also tear endwise into narrow strips to get into awkward spots.
Corners and grooves that the tape can't reach can be attacked with a rotary wire brush in a die-grinder.
Usual caveats re eye, skin and breath protection apply.
 
I admire your tenacity Bob, when I first started on my build and looked at the condition of the frame I just sent it off to be blasted and painted,.
I think if I had tried to do it myself it would be still sitting there half done.
Not to mention the fact that even all your dirty jobs manage to look clean!!
 
fredintoon said:
Hi Mailman,
yeah, Mr Cheapskate shoulda had it blasted. Too late smart, eh? I don't want to be insulting, but is your sanding technique all that it should be?
Here's how I'd get the paint off if the stripper didn't do the job and I didn't choose to get it blasted.
Degrease with kerosene or diesel fuel on an old towel.
Buy a 50' or 100' roll of 1" width coarse grit cloth backed emery tape.
Tear off mebbe yard long strips of the tape, lap a strip 1/2 way round a frame tube, grab each end, pull it tight and pull it to and fro to clean half the tube,
Switch to do t'other side. Tubes have at least 3 sides. The tape will also tear endwise into narrow strips to get into awkward spots.
Corners and grooves that the tape can't reach can be attacked with a rotary wire brush in a die-grinder.
Usual caveats re eye, skin and breath protection apply.
Click to expand...

Ha the emery strips are exactly what immediately came to my mind when I read about the sanding labour .
Looks Yamaha did a good job on the paint which is why they have lasted so well I guess.

Great thread Bob .I was going to say good job Bob but then you end up with bob a job !:D Anyone remember doing bob a job with the Scouts in their youth ?:)
 
Ok 5T, now you got me going with those Harbor Freight links. I just might have to Ho Ho Ho my way over there and get myself an early Christmas present or two! :D

Hey I know those Roloc discs are made to be used with an air tool, but do you think they’d work alright in an electric drill?
 
Mailman said:
Ok 5T, now you got me going with those Harbor Freight links. I just might have to Ho Ho Ho my way over there and get myself an early Christmas present or two! :D

Hey I know those Roloc discs are made to be used with an air tool, but do you think they’d work alright in an electric drill?
Click to expand...

FWIW - I think they'll be fine - BUT - you do need to be sure to not overheat the drill.

The duty cycle for drills normally entail a few seconds or a minute to drill the hole and then at least that long to re-set for the next hole while grinding / stripping paint would imply a very lengthy period under full or nearly full load. I'm sure that if you back off occasionally to allow the drill motor to cool down, it will be OK.

Pete
 
I never had much luck using any sort of grinding or sanding discs, even wire wheels, in a drill. They don't spin fast enough it seems. When I finally got some die grinders, they were a revelation. But, they don't have much torque so work best with 2" and smaller wheels. Also, they spin so fast, you can't use those nylon bristle "dico" wheels. They get so hot, the tips of the nylon bristles start to melt, lol. So, you will have to stick with a drill for those.

So, if you don't have any, add a couple die grinders to your HF shopping list. Get the straight and 90° ones. These also work great for buffing in tight spots using this HF kit .....

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-buffing-kit-43657.html

I just love spending other people's money, lol .....
 
Its bad enough just getting the grime and grease off these frames let alone sanding them. I wouild still invest in the die grinder and Roloc Discs if you have a large enough air compressor but I would still bite the bullet and have it media blasted even if Im retired and have more time on my hands. Your saving so much money doing the majority of things as it is.
 
I took my frame to a local furniture stripper. He said he did bicycle frames, but never a m/c one. I said it weighs about 70 lbs. and he said
to bring it down. It came back with only a little paint in crevices..easily removed with a wire brush. I think he charged $30.
 
Not sure if many use "aircraft stripper" on their frames. It gets brushed on and after perhaps 5/10 minutes the paint bubbles up and you can use a plastic scraper to remove residue. Also it is water cleanup. I would not want to get it on my hands so good gloves are necessary..
tim
 
Oh yay! I made it to the happiest place on earth!
31812DB2-933D-43DC-A569-A3B33EB47E00.jpeg
453C0026-FF5A-47D4-BC2C-BDAB2B2A890B.jpeg
985B02BE-7BF1-4CA0-A133-93100DE25734.jpeg


And oh yeah, I got the assorted wire wheels too! I really wanted the angle air grinder ( only $13 !!! ). But I don’t have an air compressor big enough to run it, so that would lead to a new air compressor and fittings and hoses, and then more air tools, and before you know it , my car would have to be parked outside!! Yikes! :yikes:
 

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