On the topic
of restoration, a wise man once said that an item is "only
original once". That speaks volumes, and if you're
wanting to preserve your Barracuda, you should take the time
to clean and recondition the bike, including replacement of
parts with true originals, but leave the finish on the frame
and fork as it is.
If however,
you're not necessarily looking to preserve or hold onto your
bike for decades, in hopes that it's worth a ton of cash
down the road, you have some work to do.
The first
thing I suggest doing, is disassembly, documenting each and
every part on the bike. Include the make, model and
size of each part. During disassembly, you can take
the time to inspect and clean any parts that you will keep
and reinstall later.
Now that you
are down to a bare frame, you can inspect it and determine
whether or not you will refinish it. If the frame is
to be refinished, you can either choose to do this yourself
or have a professional do it. Doing this yourself,
means removing the existing finish including decals, then
applying new paint, then decals, then a clear coat.
A hair dryer
or heat gun is the easiest method to soften decals for
removal. WD-40 can then be used to clean any adhesive
residue. At this stage, you should be seeking or
fabricating replacement decals.
Paint removal
can be done in a number of ways, but I recommend using a
paint stripping gel. Use steel wool or high-grit
sandpaper to smooth your surface once the majority of the
paint is removed.
Wipe down the
surface with acetone to remove residue prior to painting.
Again,
painting is something that I won't go into much detail on,
but many people have success with rattle-can paint.
The trick to this method is to spray light coats more often,
rather than fewer, thicker coats. You will prevent
running, and get a better finish.
After
allowing a few days for the base coat of colours to dry,
apply your decals and let them set up for a day. Once
that step is complete, spray on a clear coat using the same
method as you did for the base coat.
Now, you can
reassemble the bike with your parts, being careful as to not
scratch or disturb the finish on the frame and fork. |