DIY Bicycle Frame Restoration - Refinishing: Strip, Prep & Paint - Trek 950 ATB rebuild - Part 2
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- I'm definitely not an expert, but you really don't have to be to yield some pretty respectable results! Just don't look too closely! My Trek 950 rescue and rebuild is gonna be AMAZING!
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I am forever amazed at exactly how awesome good quality steel is for a bicycle frame. Bends/dings - easy to fix. Corrosion - usually comes right off. Missing fittings - braze on some new ones. I had a frame builder (who works with titanium primarily) tell me that steel even "tells you" when it's about to fail - you can feel it. Plus, it'll last for centuries if properly cared for. You can't say any of that about carbon frames or even aluminum. Don't get me wrong - carbon is truly amazing stuff, but steel is classic for a reason.
Steel is Real!!
Demontable bike with tandam steel and new powder coat. Slow AF but dents just add character. When i ride with the 75+ crowd it's the bike i bring. Everyone needs a slow bike in the quiver.
The flexing without damage is modulus of elasticity , where steel excels
This strip down really gives people an idea of how high quality these old bikes are. I think a lot of the old bikes you feature on the channel don't get taken seriously or seen as really high quality because old paint and dated logos really do them a disservice. There is a certain level of charm in the old paint jobs and logos, but this video demonstrates how amazing the craftsmanship was on some of these old frames.
Thanks! I continue to enjoy your content. Content!
Thanks hey!
So, in 2017, I sanded my high school 1984 Huffy down to bare metal and repainted her International Harvester red. In college, I almost lost her. She was locked to a fence outside Sterling Hall at Madison for two weeks before I realized where I left her. Anyway, since the rebuild, I've ridden it 11,000 to and from work. Before I painted her, I added bottle cages to the fork to mount racks and added real water bottle cages to the frame (not standard on a Huffy). I used rivnuts rather than brazed on hardware. Had I known brazing was doable by mortals, I would have brazed. By my math, I've saved $3,500 not driving the car to work, albeit the real benefit is biking in its own right. Steel is real. But, 7 years later, there's some rust that needs to be taken care of. This video is so cool. I didn't use paint stripper as I didn't have a great way to vent the fumes (and folks told me that stuff was pretty toxic). Nice video. Thanks.
Thanks for leaving in the real life stuff. We all have those times in a project when it gets derailed. We viewers get to experience the good, the bad, and the beautiful and the beautiful is that paint job! Definitely good enough for who its for! Cant wait for the reassembly.
Really dug seeing the brazing work being done. I've been riding and fixing bikes for decades, but have never actually seen that before. Thanks!
In 2020-2021 I took a VW Beetle completely apart, every nut and bolt, refinished the pan, overhauled everything mechanical and did it as a Class 11 desert racer look type deal. I love it! I used those wire wheel things, probably about 15-20 of them to strip the replacement pan halves and the chassis. Five years later, I am still finding those wiry bastard pieces in the house with my bare or socked feet! They went EVERYWHERE. Side note, in the future if I use paint stripper, I will rough everything up with some 100 grit or something first. Saw it on a channel here about dipping and stripping cars. Cheers!
@@mtbikesam68 good tip, I stripped an older Cannondale “Delta V” and can confirm: rough-sanding before the strip really makes it like 2x faster and easier to remove.
Andy, striping a frame that way is a true labor of love. I’ve done it a couple of times and it is labor intensive. After my second frame I figured there has to be a better way, and you know what, THERE IS. I found a place where they dip and strip,paint off of cars. They submerge the whole car and it comes out squeaky clean. For $35.00 they would dip my frame and fork. They come out without a stitch of paint on them. Take it in one day two days later pick them up. I got spoiled, money ell spent.
Damn that's a lot of work. Looks great and can't wait for the next one.
Also, thank you for exposing me to brazing. I've taken some welding classes but never heard about brazing. Definitely more doable for a small home shop.
Andy gives you a pretty accurate peek into why professional frame painters, and frame restoration experts, charge what we charge. 80% of my time and effort (and hand cramps) goes into prep alone.
Wow! That turned out great! Congratulations on turning the bike into a beauty! As a bonus, it now matches Gregor! Always good to see him pop up in a video - and I didn't even spot any cathairs in the paintjob! 😀 I'm looking forward to part 3!
I too did that once - never again. I drop my frames off at a local place that does powder coating and they blast all the paint off. So nice - they get in all the nooks and crannies - and best of all it's just $25 per frame. They are so cool and I've even had some frames powder coated - they love experimenting with colours - especially the translucent metallic finishes. If it doesn't come out right they simply blast it all off. Powder coating runs about $50 to $75 which isn't bad considering the cost of 2 part epoxy primer and clear coat. I prefer painting as I can get as creative as I want with designs and colours that just isn't possible with powder coating. Blasting also gets rid of all the rust!
I'm envious. My local powder coating business wont touch bike frames, especially aluminum ones. But hey if you want your giant bro-dozer bumper on your truck done, they will do that.
For high abuse steel bikes, totally worth powder coating. Shout out to Forever in Oly WA.
A friend of mine got into power coating dune buggy frames his after shots always looked better than new I was surprised it really wasn’t crazy expensive to shoot them. He was doing one a week after work nice side gig.
The last project I painted were my truck wheels. One thing that helped the paint flow well was soaking the cans in a bucket of warm water before both primer and paint.
Thanks for the great vid. I love to learn and your channel is so welcoming and easy to follow.
This reminds me of when I was a kid, tearing my bike down apply Strypeeze , sanding, repainting & reassembling.
It’s kind of ironic-I bought a '93 Trek 930 on FB Marketplace about a month ago, intending to strip the frame and rebuild it into a single-speed gravel bike. Watching your video was like seeing what I’ve been doing over the past few weeks in my spare time: paint removal, wire brushes, and sandpaper. I didn’t braze anything onto my frame, though. I loved the raw steel look and how the lugs stood out, so I decided not to paint it. Instead, I just clear-coated the frame and am really happy with the result. I should have the final components installed in the next few days. I'm curious to see how your bike turns out-it already looks awesome. There’s definitely something special about these old US-made lugged Trek bikes.
I hope you like the look of rust, because clear coat over raw steel will not prevent rust from appearing under the clear coat. That's why an anti-corrosion primer is usually used.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Slept through most of the video! Enjoyed it very much!
I remember using the same paint stripper for my VW Mk2 GTI rims. It was a lot of work. I learned a lot. I now let my wheel shop take care of refurbishing my wheel sets. Awesome content.
I'm 6-1/2 minutes in to this video and haven't read any comments yet but I'm guessing you have remembered now why you vowed to never strip another frame again some years ago. I last stripped a bike frame in 1976 and watching this was good inoculation for me against forgetting why I vowed the same thing as I approach the potentially forgetful years. Hoping your lungs are OK.
For what it’s worth, just a suggestion for future reference from a professional painter..as far as rattle can spray paint there’s a product called Ultra cover 2x made by Rust-Oleum that I’ve been using for years on exterior metal railings,hinges,
metal bulkheads etc..that works really well..just thought I’d pass that along..BTW the bike came out awesome
Also a pro painter. I recommend using a product called “ Peel-a-Way” next time. Easier clean up as everything sticks to the covering that comes with the kit
For a rattle can job, your bike looks pretty great! That prep took a long time but looks like it was worth it. Take pride in a job well done!
First time I've ever seen this brazing process to create your own bolt ons !! Mind blown and mesmerized!
I just love watching pros execute difficult tasks with ease. I know you don't do this daily, but you crush the learning curve like a Boss
A century ago, when I was a teen, I was part of a trio that would go around town and pick up discarded bikes from the trash or buy cheap bikes at yard sales and refurbish them to re-sell. We did ok $ wise. For a while, I had the idea to open a bike shop but never did so. For paint removal, we would sand off the paint and only use stripper where sand paper wouldn’t reach. Often times we would just feather the paint in the corners and such if we were going to repaint the same color. Fun times. Thanks for the vid.
This reminds me of childhood in the early 90's. My dad couldn't afford to buy me a new Chrome GT bmx at the time so we completely stripped and repainted a used mongoose we got for almost nothing at a police auction. We used "chrome" rattle can paint but after the clear was applied it was more of a gunmetal. I loved that bike, it was one of a kind.
You saved yourself the cost of a New 2025 bike. Just paint alone not counting the labor costs for brazing welding. I think you did a fantastic job. Can't wait for the final build up.
Thanks for sharing your talents with us non pro bike mechanics. After watching your videos I finally had to put that knowledge to work. Had a front wheel making a strange little noise. Turns out had some dry bearings. So with some improper tools I got both front and back wheels new grease. So thanks for your help with helping me make my bike great again
That....was amazing!! The amount of work you put into that project proves out your passion for bikes! That color looks very sharp and I think your decal is very cool also. Very nice Bike Farmer, thanks! Looking forward to Part 3
Now that was a labor of love! Turned out excellent, Andy. Great content. Looking forward to the build video.
Looks awesome Andy! Love that antique gold color good choice. Love your little kitty buddy too!
I was so mad when you started painting it with hardware store paint after spending so much time on prep, but then the final product was really great. Well done.
Don't be. Prep is more important than any other aspect of painting.
Thanks for sharing this, as someone who’s been tinkering with older frames, it’s helpful to see this process play out!
Awesome Andy! Really great looking frame. That stripping work at the start is no fun. So tedious, but the add ons you did were great. I appreciate your creativity and willingness to, ‘just do it’. Cool little belt sander you were using, I’ve never seen that before. All that said, I once again liked and appreciated your work. Thanks.
@bikefarmer Andy, i thoroughly recommend using a right angle die grinder (air powered) with the correct arbor and 3m surface conditioning discs (ROLOC connection) for preparation of the frames, for future reference, trust me when i say, you'll love them makes life so much easier and doesn't rip into the metal at all.
Thanks! Great video!! I am about to pull everything off a 40 year old Santana tandem and touch up a few chips and scratches. It doesn’t have the Santana decals. Can you share any info on how I could get Jose to make me some Santana decals. I contacted Santana and they use a larger tubing now and their decals wouldn’t work on the size my frame is made of. I’d like to order their decals and have them scaled down and printed at about 75%. Can you help?
Last frame I did this to was a 94 Fuji road bike. I had really good results with a brush-on citrus based stripper. Cheap and not too smelly, probably less toxic.
some of the old fujis are chrome underneath the paint
From a guy who knows his way around a can of spray paint, you did a great job!
This is scratching my asmr itch. Great job bike farmer! Love this kind of content
love it, I was liking the copper, I would have thought any fan of LATTO and her big gear energy would have loved it as well😂❤❤❤. Also the stripping and prep was fun to watch even though I know it was a ton of work
You have way more patience than me, that frame would of been flying across Wisconsin if that was me, Nice job ! 😂 👍🍺
Turned out nice. Go easy on yourself as well you are going to notice way more flaws than anyone else standing a few feet from it will. Some tips on painting that might make it easier next time. Warm up the cans with warm water. make sure the room you paint in isnt cold as well. I have a little crock pot I put water in then put it on low with the cans in the water. It helps the paint flow better. You will have less to clean up if you put threaded rods or old bolts in any of the threaded parts. Also masking off the head so you wont have to clean that up for the bearing cups. Cant wait to see the finished bike.
I too did this once and vowed never to do it again. But yours turned out beautifully!
The polishing was satisfying to watch. Thanks for sharing.
I had a black 950 back in the day. Loved being reminded of all the cool little features and beautiful lugs. Great Video, thanks!
A+ Looks great Andy. It makes me want to give it a try on my Dad's old JC Higgins 3-speed that was repainted a few times before he got it.
I’ve always had the utmost respect for your work , but this video has taken it to a whole new level , you are a boss !
Andy, you’re a machine when it comes to sanding. Great job, the paint finish is nice & smooth looking. Amazed how down to the raw steel it looks like the fittings & tubes are new, being a 30+ year old bike. I commend you, well done, looking forward to your next video.
Nice job Andy. I have a Salsa Marrakesh with a gold frame and with the black Ortlieb panniers, brown Brooks saddle and bar tape, it looks the bomb and always gets compliments when out on tour. Can't wait to see you build this one up.
I'd have been happy to make a guest appearance. Hit me up next time!
The paint job is great! I chose exactly that color last time I painted a bike, in 1976, but didn't know enough to clear coat it.
Bob Ross would be proud Bikefarmer... you are a rattle can master!!! Same color as my old Waterford 2200, loved that bike.
Incredible! I love restorations, man. So cool. Also, just want to remind people that this is possible to do at home. I don’t even have a garage or indoor space to work, but I still repainted my bike and it came out amazing! Walk away and come back- remember you don’t have to do it all at once.
That is a LOT of work, I did a Trek Pilot last spring, used the spray.bike as well and it is kind of annoying, my can sprayed a little lumpy , I would up with a mat finish but it has held up well last season. The lesson learned is to get 2 cans of the color, I was really starting to run short. That is a cool frame, bring it to nutmeg this year!
Well for most of the video my cat sat and watched with me, he was entranced by all the sanding😂 I guess you’ve got a new subscriber although I’m not sure he has any taco money…
Great job, I wish I had the patience to do that!
That looks great . This is one of your most interesting videos to date, I think.
This is great content. I have a frame I've been putting off building up for years because I didn't want to strip and repaint it. This is giving me some inspiration to try new things. I may consider adding some braze ons as well. Thanks!
That paint job looks amazing. I'm so tempted to repaint my 1995 rock hopper now.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this - they probably have, but I’m too lazy to go through everybody’s comments - but I’d really love to see before-and-after comparisons at the end of your tune-up videos (also of this project - the difference will probably be stunning). It seems even the most basic tuneups result in visible improvements, & maybe you could point out or summarize everything you did to ensure the bike is good enough for who it’s for.😊
Where i grew up kids were always trying to spray paint things gold and making it look trashy. So i have a viceral reaction to the color. That said, nice to see your process here. Some day i hope to braze a disc brake tab onto a frame using a small handheld torch
DIY recommendation for stripping a frame or removing paint from virtually anything. Jegs and Harbor freight sell siphon feed sandblasters for $15. You will need an air compressor. Lowe's sells 50 pound bags of black beauty blast media for less than $15 per bag. Easier and no toxic fumes. I did some corroded alloy car wheels, they turned out great. A friend blasted his bike frame down to bare metal in under 15 minutes. You can also set up a basic box and endlessly recycle the media. I've been using the same blast media for almost 20 years.
I felt that under the breath "God Damn it" under your breath at 20:47 in my soul
Cool! Nice work! It’ll look great when finished! Especially in the sun no doubt! If you didn’t get any runs or flash spotting then you did good! I’ve painted bike in too much humidity and it shows - metallics especially. I’m sure it will look awesome 👍👍👍
been waiting for the follow up on this bike!
I only use chemical stripper on hard to reach spots. I prefer to use the grinder, first. Less messy and faster.
Good work with the braze-ons and other frame modifications, I liked watching that.
Great job! I've done a few frames with a few different methods. Firstly, I got a wetblast nozzle for my consumer grade pressure washer, works great for bike frames. Then, instead of paint, I apply rust converter to the bare steel. This gives it a nice black finish, but doesn't affect the brazing, love how the brass detail go with the black. I then apply decals and clear coat, ends up looking pretty professional, hard to get any runs
Way more better, hey! Strong work.
You killed me with that makeshift wire clamp 😂
Golden looks clean!
Loved watching that! I’ve never seen brazing done before. Very cool!
Very Nice work Mr. Farmer, I would say it is better than good enough for who it's for. Looking forward to P3, and eventually turning it into a rolling riding bike.
Nicely done! I’ve attempted this twice with less than stellar results
Paint job looks great!
Looks a hundred times better than my last, pretty much epic fail, rattle can paint job. BRAVO!!
Nice work Bike "Framer" (see what I did there?) I'm a retired car painter (40 years in the business) and while I never approve of a rattle can paint job I have to say...very nice work! When I saw you start with the spray can stripper I thought to myself "boy are you in for it"! And you were! What a labor intensive mess! But you persevered and ended up with a nice result. I'm proud of you! Cool brazing skills too!
Swear words edited out and replaced with soothing elevator music. Serenity now!
When you were doing the center punching it reminded me of seeing Frank Zappa on the Carson show teaching Johnny how to play the bicycle frame as a musical instrument.
Good work.... having done 2 frames myself ... Im really impressed and wish i taken more time! Looking forward to the build
Excellent choice on that color. Makes ir look way more newer hey!
Looks great! I personally have no affinity for those gold and copper tones, but this did turn out great if you’re into that kinda thing 😂… whatcha gonna do to keep the rust from progressing internally?
I was almost going to say "clearcoat it" and there it was . Looks great.
Old Trek Bicycles (Frames) are the best! 🎉
I'm actually working on a frame paint job myself. This video helps alot. Great idea how you placed the fork in the frame bottom bracket to spray from different angles
I liked your first “clamp” and that you still went for it after it slipped haha. Seriously though good work on the bike so far.
Quality content! Frame turned out fantastic, great job. Thought the meows at 45:17 was part of the "relaxing beat" turned out it came from a real tiger.
I've done this to a few frames, but never to this quality. Stripping is a real chore. I think that brazing needs to be the next skill I pick up. I was getting MonkeyShred vibes at the end when your cat showed up!
im amazed you stripped it yourself, that's some serious labour ^^
was super excited to see this in my feed when you dropped the video about you getting it back i was stoked!!!! i have a trek 830 mountain track from 95' that i love not as cool as this one here but i love the geometry of these bikes very comfortable llots of supourt to my back when riding long distance almost never have any strain on my knees or anything excellent bikes they were making back then any ways love the videos lots
Can’t wait for the build. Got a 22” 1989 950 in the stand in my garage. Original paint and group. Can’t settle on the bars. Considering dirt drops or north river. Might have to try both.
I've color-matched a bike to a car, but not to a cat... nicely done!
funny, the first and last bike I ever paint-stripped and rebuilt was a trek 930. very proud of the work, but never again lol. I'll wait for the sandblaster guy to come back.
Now I want one and the fun part will be choosing the color.
Yes! Been patiently waiting for this one and today is my only day off. Perfect timing to stay in bed and watch this. Love the drumlin trail sticker! Also would totally buy a Bikefarmer Wisconsin license plate sticker if you made some.
I know it would have been a huge pain in the ass but id love to see a black bike with the lugs gold sometime!
Also if you want to keep paint out of threads, cut an earplug in half, squeeze it and jam it into the hole to be kept clean!
Really excited to see the final look. The brazing was cool as hell
I like the solid color gold a whole lot more than these multi color extravaganzas you see on some bikes. Simple is good. She's a beauty.
Great result .Bravo from Greece.
I am no paint specialist, but that looks like a good paint job for me. Surely good enough for who it's for, and surely way more better hey than how it started. And it's the same color as the cat!
Looks amazing well done Andy
I just did this to a '94 920 frame, except I used brush on. Stripper is decent when the paint is still slightly wet with stripper, but once it starts drying, which happens pretty quickly, the paint doesn't scrape off easily. You basically have a short window to work with, or you have to apply it again. I found that using my heat gun over a section of the frame at a time for about 10 seconds makes the paint release from the frame real easily to where it scrapes right off...and without the mess. I started with the stripper, but ended with the heat gun.
I was using my heat gun to remove stickers, when I discovered that heat loosens the paint, too 🤪
@mattgies oh, dangit! I'm pretty sure I've seen Farmer use a mini torch to get old stickers off...those and heat guns will work, but they get up in temps real fast.
Turned out friggin' awesome, by the way. I painted my Schwinn World Sport back when I was in high school. It is difficult to paint tubes! I can't wait to see it built up and done! Real nice! You deserve some tacos for sure, incoming super thanks.