Highs and Lows

   Score! I finally acquired a Campagnolo Super Record headset for the Colnago Nuovo Mexico build-up. Listings on eBay had been rather sparse since December, but three different auctions appeared last week, and luckily one of them ended at a price with which I was comfortable. An added bonus was that it came via a seller from the States, so that I didn’t have to wait weeks for parts from Spain or Hungary, as had been the norm for “Campy” parts that I’ve collected so far.

   I’m always surprised by how much less space bikes take up when they’re assembled and leaning against a wall, instead of when individual frames and parts are hanging up or resting on shelves in my workshop. I was anxious to put as much of the Colnago together as possible because storage has become an issue with so many projects going on, a couple of which are well on their way, but I’ll talk about those bicycles next time.

   Here is a  photo of the assembled headset with the fork, stem and handlebars in place:

   Next is a before/after shot of the fork crown, which I cleaned up with some steel wool and light oil. I then repainted the engraved Colnago with black enamel, as it had looked originally before dripping sweat and oxidation took their toll.

   The installed aero seatpost that can be seen in my "progress pic" below is not original, but needed until I find a Super Record version so that I have something for my wall clamp to grab onto other than the frame. I will probably hook up the chain, cables and derailleurs during the next couple days, but I still have to hold off on the brakes and their cables until I can find some new hoods for the levers. It is nice to finally see the bicycle take its familiar shape!

   Well, not everything goes according to plan. When I arrived to pick up the Pinarello Prince frame from the painter, I was immediately met with a confession that he didn’t really like how it turned out. Perhaps if he would have more closely listened to my instructions, the job would have turned out better!

   The painter’s workshop is attached to his home, but he had told me that it is not heated particularly well. Because the airbrush is sensitive to temperatures, he was concerned with turnaround during this brutal winter. I assured him that I was in no rush, and he could wait until the weather turned a bit milder.

   Unfortunately he wasn’t very patient and rushed through the work during one of the days the temps hit the low 50s – BIG mistake! There were runs and some sloppy overspray on the graphics (see photo below). I had explained that I just needed the white areas that lay beneath the logos to be extended, and provided the logo sheet for size reference. Again he proved a poor listener, and went overboard, wrapping the white paint around the frame tubes.

   To his credit, the painter told me he would not accept payment for the frame, and I was very happy about that. However, I’m not so pleased to be faced with trying to correct the mistakes and finding someone to complete the project in the way I intended it to be done.

   When I returned home I more closely inspected the frame and gently scraped at some of the clear coat blobs with a dull X-acto blade to see if they could be removed, and/or sanded down. At first I was disappointed to have a blob pop off with the white paint, right down to the original orange undercoat (also visible in the photo near the top of the seatpost). I then realized that if this small patch came off so easily, I might be able to remove the whole white coating and start from scratch.

   Yes, I’m facing more work or the cost for someone else to complete it, but with the alternative being a really shabby looking finished project, I’ll suck it up! I have an appointment with someone who does automotive airbrushing later this week, hoping to get a good idea how to proceed from here.