Coloured Mudguards

[Mick F]

Job complete.

Firstly, here's a photo from a year ago with the mudguards as original.

I spent a happy hour or so this morning, fitting the newly painted (and the front repaired) mudguards, then waited for a break in the constant drizzly rain to get the bike out and take a photo of it in its new livery.

I like the way the silver compliments the silver of the other components. When I need new rims, they will also be silver.

Close-ups back in the kitchen out of the drizzle.

[deliquium]

^ brill and inspiring

[Mick F]

Thanks!
I'm no artist and I tend to rush jobs a bit, but I'm very pleased with the results.

Remove the mudguards and all fittings.
Mask off the chrome bracket ends.
Flatten the black plastic with fine wet and dry.
One coat of white plastic primer.
One coat of silver top coat.
Flatten gently with wet and dry.
Another coat of silver top coat.
One coat of clear lacquer.
Leave it all alone for 24hrs .............. that was the hard bit.

[Mick F]

I forgot ...........

This is the repair and the extra bracket.

[Mick F]

Test ride complete ......... in the rain and the muck, and I found some rough roads and cobbles and puddles to go through.

Nothing to report. All was well.

[nigelnightmare]

Mick
Lovely job.


If it breaks again you could try using plumber's cement and an off cut piece of mudguard on the inside for a strengthener.

[Mick F]

Meanwhile, I bought a small pack of brass screws and nuts. A couple will go on the front mudguard after the spraying is complete, pending finding something better. We're off into Plymouth on Saturday, so I'll pop up to Express Fixings and get something in stainless. I'll have a chat with them to see what they have that will do. Dome nuts sound good with a small screw-head inside.
http://www.expressfixing.co.uk

Bought some M4 dome nuts, button-headed screws and washers yesterday, and just fitted them.

They look much nicer than the brass screws.

[reohn2]

Great job Mick .
I the past I've always pop riveted stay brackets on when either the original rivets have failed and found them to do a very good and neat job.
Do you not trust them?

[Mick F]

I considered pop rivets. I have a rivet gun and various sizes of rivets.

I'm not sure how tight pop rivets go, and perhaps they could go too tight so they could be too tight considering the mudguard crack. I wanted to be sort of gentle with it and using nuts and bolts rather than a rivet gun, I could gauge how tight they were tightened.

I suppose in the fulness of time, I would buy new mudguards ............................ and paint them of course.
I would also fit a second stay system to the front, and could well use pop rivets.

BTW, I only needed two nuts, four washers, and two screws - but I bought half a dozen nuts and half a dozen screws and a dozen washers and all in SS - and it came to the grand total of £2.50.

[reohn2]

I considered pop rivets. I have a rivet gun and various sizes of rivets.

I'm not sure how tight pop rivets go, and perhaps they could go too tight so they could be too tight considering the mudguard crack. I wanted to be sort of gentle with it and using nuts and bolts rather than a rivet gun, I could gauge how tight they were tightened.

I take your point.

I suppose in the fulness of time, I would buy new mudguards ............................ and paint them of course.
I would also fit a second stay system to the front, and could well use pop rivets.

As I posted above I haven't had problems with 'pops' when resighting stay brackets

BTW, I only needed two nuts, four washers, and two screws - but I bought half a dozen nuts and half a dozen screws and a dozen washers and all in SS - and it came to the grand total of £2.50.

You can't grumble at that sort of cost

[Mick F]

Thread resurrection.

Looking at the photographs, the mudguards - both front and rear, but especially rear - have now warped out of shape.
The rear has become non-straight (when looking from above) and the width has gone in and out a tad, plus has twisted. The front less so.

When they were black, they were fine.
After painting them, they were fine.

18+ months down the line, they are not fine.

Don't know if it was the paint wot done it, but I think it woz.

[Brucey]

the rear mudguard looks like it was fitted under considerable strain; over time the mudguard will deform or crack if it is fitted under strain. Maybe that was it?

cheers

[Mick F]

the rear mudguard looks like it was fitted under considerable strain; over time the mudguard will deform or crack if it is fitted under strain. Maybe that was it?

cheers

Was it from new?
That photo above - with the mudguards black - was an early photograph.
Look closely, you'll see the spacer.

Are you saying that it was because I removed a plastic sleeve - still got, coz I've found it.
Are you saying that the rear mudguard has gone out of shape longitude, twisty, canted, as well as radially because of missing it out?
Surely not.
I never adjusted the stays from brand new, just moved the bottom front out by removing the spacer.

The rear mudguard doesn't feel right at all. Not just shape, it doesn't have a hope of ever being put back properly. It's thin and floppy and has set all "wobbly and twisted". If you were to lay it down on a flat surface, it would show the deformed shape. Difficult to describe the three dimensions. Forget the curve, it's the shape.

IMHO, it had deformed due to the paint.

[Brucey]

Are you saying that the rear mudguard has gone out of shape longitude, twisty, canted, as well as radially because of missing it out?
.

yes, exactly that, although the mudguards was probably also strained before you changed things, just not as much and not for as long. Many plastics do not have an infinitely low creep rate at room temperatures.

cheers

[Mick F]

Why does it feel softer and floppier than it used to feel?