restore? or leave it alone......that s the question

[Chuck#1848]

Swing69, Carefully clean it from top to bottom, Slap some tires on it... get her running and make sure any and all safety factors are taken care of.....Then ride it and enjoy it for a few years while doing that listen to what people at any of the meets say to you about it, After a few years decide then. If you dive in to it now you can never bring back what you have now.

If it were mine that is what I would do but.........I wouldn't restore what you have in those photos paint included

Just my .02

[sirhrmechanic]

OK: overwhelming to NOT restore. About the paint: should I try to remove the wrong red that was applied over the orig. red? Any clues on how to go about that? TIA

You probably run more risks trying to remove the 'new' paint that is over the old paint... than you do leaving it alone.

That said, you can 'try' removing a bit of the new paint in a small, discreet area using 600-grit sandpaper and water with a drop of dish soap in it. You will cut through the old paint fairly quickly to see what is underneath. Stop the minute you see 'old' paint. Then move into an adjoining area. Once the old paint is exposed, you can work with rubbing compound, then 3m Imperial Hand glaze then a good quality wax to see if you can bring the old paint back. May be possible, may not. You will learn a lot from your test patch.

FYI, we did this on an entire car side a bunch of years ago. It had been painted over the original color down the side of the bonnet and along the sides (and around the back) of the body. It was about 200 hours, but we brought the original paint back. 1 square inch at a time. It took us about 3 months, because the most anyone could work at a single sitting was a couple of hours. But, remarkably, the paint came out incredibly well. It was an utterly insane effort, but the owner wanted it for 'preservation' class car. Which it was... but, wow.

The first key is to test in a discreet area. Do not use chemicals... too hard to control. 600 grit sandpaper will cut through paint really, really fast if wet and soapy. Practice, practice, practice.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[rwm]

don't follow the masses and do what YOU want. it's you bike.

[dane]

Pic of of my WL halfway done using paint stripper. The Flight Red original paint under the black was very nice. As stated in previous post, one square inch at a time. Easy 80 hours of tedious winter work. Results well worth it.

[swing69]

thanks for the tips. any tip on the tank logo? if its even there....

I do appreciate all the tips and opinions, honestly thank you.

[Peter Cooke]

Pete. You are baiting us, or you have three or four empty wine bottles on the table this morning.

Steve -"please explain"

[Steve Little]

Pete. I should have put a smiley face after my post.
Although your bike has had a repaint at some time in the past it still looks to have a lot of original character.
There are so many of these era bikes that have been restored, and certainly, that is the owners prerogative.
But in the vein of the original question of the thread, my vote would go no restoration.

Regards Steve

[Sargehere]

I read post after post above commenting on "Not erasing the character," and "it's only original once" in reference to this old Teens Indian. As far as I'm concerned, the bike was repainted with a spray can and reassembled already. Bikes retaining that referenced "character" are original-paint, "OP" bikes. This one retains all/almost all of its original equipment, but only because it was bolted back on after someone erased its original finish some time in the past. It's not original, already! It's already been ruined as an "original condition" bike, in my opinion.

You ask about the "tipping point." It's probably there already, IMO. In present condition, it's neither an original nor "restored." It could be considered in the condition of a "rider," if a couple of decades newer, or, in consideration of its age, something for you to start up and show off at occasional antique meets.

In my judgement, this old Indian has already lost the mystery and originality of an undisturbed, original-paint artifact when it was stripped to the frame and repainted with a spray can and reassembled somewhere in its past. It really is too bad, I think, that the art of "crustoration" (simulating old paint) has not developed to the point of being able to more accurately simulate a lifetime of everyday use. Every attempt I've seen at faking old paint so far has missed the mark pretty badly.

Even if it could be done, that would probably be even costlier than a full-on "rolled out of the factory" restoration, and I agree, we've seen too many of them, already. All that shiny would be nickel, and would need a museum-like environment to be preserved "like-new" thereafter.

I vote for you studying the real preserved old Indians of the era (the original '14 electric Hendee Special in Loveland, Ohio, would be a good start) and to try to duplicate the old finishes, not as a forgery of anything, but a tribute to the bikes as they really were.

[T. Cotten]

"Tipping point"?

From a little tinkering that can be quite rewarding...
to what?

The abyss of *restoration*?

....Cotten

[djones]

The only correct answer is that it is your bike, and your decision. I agree with Sarge, it isn't original, so that option is unavailable. "It is only original once" is true, but someone before you changed that.

I have been flamed for restoring my 101 scout, but that was my decision and I have not regretted it. I believe there is nothing wrong in taking a non original bike and trying to get it as close as possible as it was when it left the factory. Erasing years of abuse and neglect, and work by cobblers, is not a bad thing. It is also the part of this hobby I enjoy.

Not flaming your bike in any way, I have not seen it up close and it may be perfect the way it is. Just saying I think there is nothing wrong with restoring it.

[Peter Cooke]

Pete. I should have put a smiley face after my post.
Although your bike has had a repaint at some time in the past it still looks to have a lot of original character.
There are so many of these era bikes that have been restored, and certainly, that is the owners prerogative.
But in the vein of the original question of the thread, my vote would go no restoration.

Sorry Steve, I was having a very blonde day. I had re read my post and couldn't decide if you were referring to my 31, the Indian or the 1914 in my avatar so I just gave up and asked. I should've drunk the 3 or 4 bottles of wine before I logged in. That may have helped.
You are correct about my bike having plenty of original character. That's part of what attracted me to it. I'm gonna have to apply some more thought into which way to go.
As I mentioned the motor is in need of a rebuild anyway so I'll start with what has to be done and figure out the rest in time.
If only I could walk into a barn and find a set of original paint tins....

[Steve Little]

It's 8 am Saturday morning. The wife has just run out the door to go to her weekend classes in Melbourne and the forecast is thunderstorms, sleet and hail.
Think I will make a cuppu, saunter out to my heated workshop and restore the hell out of an ignition switch. Yep. It's gunna be a great weekend.

[rwm]

.Tipping point"?

From a little tinkering that can be quite rewarding...
to what?

The abyss of *restoration*?

....Cotten...Cotten[/QUOTE]
call your pharmacist and tell him "july had 31 days and your one med short". your august thinking has been off. If 95% of these bikes were left original they would still be leaning against a wood pile rusting away.
should we cover every wla part in cosmoline and place it back into a paper wrapper? Tom you need to get past the crusade against guys over doing their bikes.it's going to happen. like it or not. trophies points or just smiles. bikes will be polished, plated, puttied over with bondo and painted to the 9's. most the bike that you dislike ride on repop frames. with new hubs, gas tanks and handle bars. really no damage there. what's to preserve ? just an original motor. don't let it boil your blood. their all lying about the amount of original parts on these bikes.

[swing69]

To shed a little more light: This bike had not been disassembled and painted. The engine has never been out of the frame. The clutch has been mucked with and wheels removed to get the orig. tires off. The spraybomb paint was shot many many years ago on the tank/toolbox/downtube area/oil tank. Why? who knows. but it certainly was not stripped and painted. A few fasteners have been replaced as things were lost.

What it does have is all its original Hendee lighting, air pump and all the tools. There is virtually no rust on the bike. So here are my two choices:

1) full blown restoration......to the 9s as it were. $$$$$$$$$ I figure 2) disassemble, reassemble for safety a reliability. $$$$

choice 2 would give me a bike to ride and enjoy. choice 1 would give me something to rub with a diaper and worry about someone sneezing on. I like choice 2

[swing69]

Is it still my fathers axe? handle replaced four times, head replaced twice.

Lift up orig. gas cap, roll under a complete set of repop parts, re install cap. Next replace crappy looking cap with repop shiny one. what do I have?