1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

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Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Took the fenders for a blast today as well as some other bits. The grit we have at work is too fine, it took forever to do the fork yesterday so I mixed in some building sand. It worked better but still not abrasive enough to do the job effectively. Most of the paint is gone but the dry rust is still there, as well as spots of tougher paint in places. I'll do the rest with PowerStrip and a wire brush.
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Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Had a nice day today. Stripped off the Kurust with P120 grit paper. Degreased with a clean rag and isopropanol alcohol and sprayed 2 coats of Zinc182, came out really nice. Here are the results.
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ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

Enjoying the progress
Can't wait for finished results
What top paint type are you using?
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Pleasure's mine, I will be using Combicolor by Rustoleum which is a urethane modified alkyd based paint. I will apply this with a roller on the straights and with a brush on the joints. Additionally I am contemplating throwing on a semi-gloss 2K clear coat by SprayMax. This is a 2 pack aerosol with an activator at the bottom of the can to mix the resin with the hardener. Great product for guys without a compressor and spray gun. This would future proof the bike against dings and give further protection against the weather...

I say contemplating because this will not make the paint ding resistant and I think I would enjoy the ease of touching up the dings with a brush and some combicolor whenever they appear, a clear coat of 2K would complicate this somewhat...

I'll keep thinking about it, lets see what happens...
iandusud
Posts: 1577
Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by iandusud »

Great job. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
jb
Posts: 1782
Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 12:17pm
Location: Clitheroe

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by jb »

Very nice job so far. How are you intending to tackle the chrome?
Cheers
J Bro
Suffolker
Posts: 149
Joined: 5 Jul 2014, 7:04am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Suffolker »

iandusud wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 2:53pm
Suffolker wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 10:42am Best of luck with the restoration.

I have a later Raleigh Superbe, which I bought new in the early 1980's from a now-defunct cycle shop in Lowestoft. I think it was one of the last sold new. By then, the headlight had changed to a more rectangular plastic model, the battery backup had gone, and it has a rear rack. It came with a Brooks B33 in brown with black paintwork, a modest toolkit and a decent frame pump.

At the time, I had a difficult decision, as I had to choose between the green Superbe, which fitted me, and a brand-new black Raleigh "police" cycle, which did not.

It's a very nice cycle to ride, and I like the "stately progress" it makes. Just the thing for summer days.
I actually sold a few of those in the eighties and everyone had a rubbing chaincase and they were b*ggers to set up so that they didn't rub somewhere (which is presumably why they didn't do it properly at the factory). Weighed a ton and unless the rims were built up totally concentric the brakes would snatch. But they are lovely :D
You're right about the chaincase! The other problem with them is that the slide out door by the crank, and occasionally the removable rear section, are prone to going adrift. In fact, I have somewhere a couple of the doors that I've picked up from the road. I'm not too impressed by the chrome on the wheels, although mine have been in a salty environment, including salt water flooding, which didn't help. I keep meaning to replace them with stainless rims, and bought a really nice old machine with stainless Westwoods off someone for a tenner or so. Didn't notice at the time that the wheels were 28" and too big.
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

I plan to attack the chrome with the sandblaster as usual. From what I'm reading, sandblasted chrome doesn't cause any issues. Then it's just etch or zinc primer and top coat as with anything else.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thr ... me.975819/
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

On friday last week I did some further work on the front fender. I posted some photos last week showing the initial results of the sandblasting which weren't that great. This time I applied the following steps. First I removed the remaining paint with PowerStrip and a rotary tool with a wire brush attachment as well as a stainless steel kitchen scrub (I discovered these things are great for removing stripper softened paint). Next I removed the majority of the dry rust with P120 grit paper. Lastly I sandblasted the whole thing to achieve that gritty matt surface. Today I did some final touches on the blaster.

I also removed the old rivets which secured the remains of an old mud flap. I was able to drill out the first rivet but I came out off centre so the hole is now a little egg shaped. The second rivet was rusted solid to the end of the fender which was very frayed and thin so I cut it off with a cutting disc.

Here are the results:
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Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

In the mean time I have procured some stainless steel powder and I will be making a filler paste with epoxy glue in order to fill the areas that have rusted through. I also plan to make a cover plate for the end of the fender out of an aluminium soda can to future proof it against fraying. I shall report back later.
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Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

Primed the fork today, 2 coats of Zinc182 as before on the frame. Same as in my sample tests, wiped the surface with isopropyl and warmed up the cans in warm water before application. I didn't abrade the surface as the forks were sandblasted.

Funny how it says the flash off time for this product is 3-4 hours on the data sheet but 30min according to the can... :lol: I suppose you just go with the one that's more convenient? Also very nice wooden smell so I'm guessing it's cellulose based.
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ClappedOut
Posts: 585
Joined: 30 May 2020, 12:43am

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by ClappedOut »

On a side note the original key ring on eBay warns not to ride with it in the lock, could be an exciting experience!

Coming along well.
TooManyBikes
Posts: 70
Joined: 27 Dec 2017, 11:05am
Location: Notts/Derbys border.

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by TooManyBikes »

Great to see the project as it goes on, I miss the blast cabinet that I could use at a previous workplace! Have used the brush on type Zinc 182 paint on van repairs after welding in the past couple of years, and find it to be very good stuff.
That stripper you used looks great too, may order some for an old much repainted Carlton frame and a couple of other jobs. Cheers, and keep us updated.
My name is Michael, And I have too many bikes.
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

I highly recommend PowerStrip, only downside I have found to it so far is that the plastic neck of the bottle fails after being pulled in and out too many times. If just left pulled out, it'd probably be fine. Mine failed so I had to pour it into another container.
On a side note the original key ring on eBay warns not to ride with it in the lock, could be an exciting experience!
Genuinely curious about this. Can you elaborate? Forgive me if I'm being thick or just missing an obvious joke. They go over my head all the time... :lol:
Krashper
Posts: 84
Joined: 4 Apr 2021, 8:33pm

Re: 1957 Raleigh Superbe Restoration Thread

Post by Krashper »

I have also finished filling the eaten bits on the front fender. I did this over the course of a couple days. I used just regular PoundLand epoxy resin with stainless steel powder mixed in. I used the stainless powder so that there is a metal substrate for my primer to bond to. I wasn't sure how the primer would bond to the epoxy it self. Having sanded the fully cured epoxy, I can see a lot of metal particulates and the whole surface is more metal like.

On the front bit that was the worst off I added some isopropanol alcohol to make the resin thinner and filled the whole thing with resin from the inside. The alcohol had the effect of making the cured resin more gummy and flexible. It wasn't sticky or improperly cured but just more rubbery. I could poke it and it would deform but then return to it's shape. Despite being more flexible, I managed to abrade the surface easily with sand paper and I decided to put an extra layer of fully hardened resin on top as I wasn't sure how my primer would bond to a flexible surface.
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