uglification project. not exactly going according to plan...

niceonetom

well, rather than continue to hijack the "images of beauty" thread inappropriate content, i thought i'd start a thread about the lunacy that has taken hold. this is, well this was, my bike:



pretty nice ay? well, too nice really. or that's the way it felt everytime i locked it to anything and walked away. so i resolved to make it a little less shouty, and perhaps a little less cool. i'm happy to exchange a bit of flash for some peace of mind. so out with this stuff and to work.







at this stage i was reduced to muttering "ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod" to myself and pacing in ever decreasing circles. but in for a penny...

.

niceonetom

rinsing off the first coat of nitromors (which is terrifying stuff btw, it's like alien blood or something) gave this effect which i briefly considered sticking with. slightly funky looking -in a splash-tape kind of way:





but, in for a pound...

niceonetom

powering through...

two more goes with the alien blood and i an idea was emerging...







so, having subconsciously (at first anyway) aped a litespeed icon and spray painting all the finishing kit white, my bike is now a white chain and saddle away from being a wanker's show pony. this is not what i had in mind. if anything this thing is going to be even harder to leave unattended.

help?

72hundred

OH MY GOD MAN!!!!

Fair play to you for sticking with your plan.

EDIT: Actually fair f'ing play, that actually looks pretty cool. And remember you could always re-spray it.

Caroline_ie

Looks great, i knew it!!!! :cool:

TinyExplosions

Is there going to be any corrosion problems with leaving it unpainted?

Looks nice in bare metal though!

unionman

Man you have too much free time. You fooked up a perfectly lovely bike.

Pains me to say it but it looks good. You're right though, if anything it has become more sensitised to thief radar.

pickarooney

Why are there no gears?

flickerx

pickarooney wrote: »

Why are there no gears?

here's your answer.

man that bike is slick. i want it. first purchase upon return to grim streets of dublin - bolt cutters or petrol powered angle grinder. nice one tom.



yes it is a thief magnet. especially in white. crap bikes arent white. spray it brown.

brianthebard

Leave it without a saddle if you don't want it nicked. Looks pretty good though.

Chips Lovell

Nice job on the stem and seatpost collar. You're a dab hand at the DIY. You could also put some sort of clearcoat on it, but yes, it probably looks even more nickable now.

Matt black? Sorry, my head hurts and I'm all out of ideas

Lumen

It won't stay like that for long without clearcoat. Unpainted aluminium is hard to keep shiny.

I wouldn't worry about "corrosion" as such - the thin oxide layer will protect it.

For some reason I'm thinking "acid etching".

Vélo

At 1st I thought "Jaysus there's one born every minute", and I'm sure you did also. In fairness it is looking good and I can't wait to see how it turns out but yes you're still a lunatic!!:eek:

fish-head

That does look sorta cool...

Húrin

As an Authority on bike uglification, I think you're being too professional about it. You should leave on the saddle, chain and everything else while you are crudely spraying away.

Diarmuid

flickerx wrote: »

here's your answer.
.

Classic BikeSnob.
"State-of-the-art carbon fiber road racing bicycles with complicated gear-changing systems can cost thousands of dollars, whereas fixed-gear bicycles with handmade frames, top-end parts and colorful wheels and tires cost just a few thousand dollars."

Harpz

Tom, tom....tom.
That bike is in no way ugly. it was nice and then you made it ugly...and then you made it nice again...now what was the point in that. I suggest spraypainting it with an assortment of out of fashion auto paints.

stabu

Amazing job, full credit to you.

The red in the original photo comes across as one of those understated reds - the kind that gets discolored by the sun and gets quite unattractive in the hotter climates (which we're not in). I don't know if taking it to an ultraviolet tanning shop may have got it uglier quicker .. however unfeasible that may have been :-D

But seriously, my own view is that getting rid of the logo is a major step, but what really gives me peace of mind is grit, grease and general dirtiness. I think even pro-thieves take exception to getting grease on their clothes.

Unfortunately, mud won't cut it as a deterrent either. In some cases, mud is attractive (owners of 4x4s crave for it).

Of course, the problem is how to grittify your new bike without getting it on yourself. I'm sorry, I just don't have the answer to that. Which kind of makes this a pointless post really. Shame on me.

blorg

Harpz wrote: »

Tom, tom....tom.
That bike is in no way ugly. it was nice and then you made it ugly...and then you made it nice again...now what was the point in that. I suggest spraypainting it with an assortment of out of fashion auto paints.

This man is an expert in bike uglification, I would heed his words

Harpz

The gritty dirty look is actually very easy to achieve.
Step 1. apply duct tape all over the frame. (this in itself is a deterrent.)
Step 2. wait a couple of weeks
Step 3. Remove tape. (residual adhesive will stay on the frame)
Step 4. Expose to grit and dirt.
Step 5. Congratulate yourself as people sneer at your ugly bike while secretly knowing how lovely it once looked

niceonetom

thanks for the input folks.

i've decided that it's easier to change the plan than to change what i'm doing. the new plan is to make the bike a badass as possible (without actually spending any significant amount of money or anything). brushed aluminium (under clearcoat) and white it will be, sort of a fixed gear ipod really. for one month.

then project uglybike will resume. probably.

oh, and Harpz, having recently met Húrin (and his bike) i can fairly say that your uglybike crown is under real threat. true, he did start with a very different (and to my way of thinking inherently uglier) type of bike - an upright steel cruiser - but the job he has done to remove any residual street appeal can only be said to be thorough. this bike could make children cry and kittens vomit. it's like mister blobby died, and they left his rotting pink and yellow carcass out in the sun, then covered the festering remains with stickers. really, it's both impressive and disturbing.

'68 Fastback

Might I suggest, when the project starts again you could consider Hammerite. It looks terrible, all lumpy 'n' sheet. Comes in awful colours too so that genuine lump of beauty that ye turned into a 24 carrat lump of beauty will look like a garden gate.
I knew Cannondale spent time smoothing out their welds but that frame looks amazing. At least now, what ever you do, you can always strip it back to the metal and be happy.

flickerx

niceonetom wrote: »

i've decided that it's easier to change the plan than to change what i'm doing. the new plan is to make the bike a badass as possible (without actually spending any significant amount of money or anything). brushed aluminium (under clearcoat) and white it will be, sort of a fixed gear ipod really. for one month.

my guess is you wont be able to bring yourself to uglify your bike once you've made it into that wanker's white show-pony. its nice having a nice bike. post a photo of it when you've sprayed it.

my advice at this stage is to buy a kryptonite evolution mini for the front wheel, and put the mounting bracket on the frame. for locking the rear wheel and frame, buy yourself an 80cm long abus granit steel-o-flex lock, this will fit around your waist when cycling. granted it'll be a bit heavy (i had a 1000 version and it was fine, but you might want something a bit more hardcore) but you'll get more out of the bike if you're able to lock it up with some peace of mind.

that gunk that you used to strip the paint off - whats the chemical name of it?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

flickerx wrote: »

that gunk that you used to strip the paint off - whats the chemical name of it?

As far as I remember, it's methanol and methylene chloride

/edit: yup http://www.hex.co.uk/MSDS/loctite/nitromors.pdf

Itsfixed

flickerx wrote: »

my guess is you wont be able to bring yourself to uglify your bike once you've made it into that wanker's white show-pony. its nice having a nice bike. post a photo of it when you've sprayed it.

my advice at this stage is to buy a kryptonite evolution mini for the front wheel, and put the mounting bracket on the frame. for locking the rear wheel and frame, buy yourself an 80cm long abus granit steel-o-flex lock, this will fit around your waist when cycling. granted it'll be a bit heavy (i had a 1000 version and it was fine, but you might want something a bit more hardcore) but you'll get more out of the bike if you're able to lock it up with some peace of mind.

I agree. I had the exact same issue as you in that i bought a nice Il Pompino frame in shiny blue that was unexpectedly pressed into service as a hack bike for getting from heuston station to work in Ranelagh (although I don't work there anymore). I initially covered the whole thing in black duct tape but after a week or two I gradually peeled it all off. I bought two good locks and after a year and a half it was still untouched.

Why deny yourself the simple pleasure of having others admire the beauty of your machine, particularly now that its one-of-a kind?

flickerx

niceonetom did you ever spray this?

i am going to buy some paint remover now for a frame i got. will post pix.

niceonetom

never did spray it actually. i fell for the bare aluminium in a bad way and couldn't bring myself to use the matte black rattle cans i'd bought.

i did give the naked frame a few coats of clear-coat in the hope that it would keep oxidation at bay but within a couple of days of commuting in shitty weather a weird patina had developed under the surface... it looks strange, sort of patchy iridescence, and not entirely unattractive. it's still developing day by day. i don't know what i might do with it in the future.

i'll post pics later. been meaning to bookend this thread for a while.

Hermy

niceonetom,
Autosol or similar metal polish will keep that bare metal pretty.
Available from any decent motor factors.

niceonetom

thanks hermy - i should have done that instead. if i want to polish it now i'd need to remove all the vernish firstand that would mean stripping the frame again. more bloody nitromors :eek: i might end up doing that, but not any time soon. it's nice to know it would work though.

question: if i used metal polish like autosol would it stand up to exposure to the elements? or would i end up having to repolish it every couple of months or what? it never even gets washed yet alone polished

Caroline_ie

niceonetom wrote: »

question: if i used metal polish like autosol would it stand up to exposure to the elements? or would i end up having to repolish it every couple of months or what? it never even gets washed yet alone polished

I used Autosol on my bike and also belgom alu to polish the frame and make it shinny. My dad used to use that on his motorbike a lot and used to have to polish it every so often. If you use the like of Autosol, you will make your alu look nice alright, but in your case, I think it's the lacker you used that was probably too thin or weak or ... you know, not good enough against the cold. You can probably just stratch it off with your nails.

Hermy

niceonetom wrote: »

question: if i used metal polish like autosol would it stand up to exposure to the elements? or would i end up having to repolish it every couple of months or what? it never even gets washed yet alone polished

I don't believe Autosol acts as any sort of shield from the elements. It's just a very fine abrasive that removes the oxidation on the surface of the metal leaving a shiny finish which is probably a lot easier to clean, but yeah, it would need to be done every so often. A good coat of lacquer sounds like the prefered option for you.
I don't know much about lacquer and why some do and some don't take on bare metal but I might be able to find out.

Lumen

Tom,

The patina under the clearcoat is just aluminium oxide, which indicates that your clearcoat job wasn't good enough.

Bare ali is a PITA to keep looking shiny, but if I was you I'd strip off the clearcoat and let nature take its course. You can polish it back up again in the summer.

niceonetom

I'd forgotten to bookend this thread:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

crazydingo

I stripped down my fixie a while back and resprayed it with a piaggio paint. I got bored of the colour and wanted to personalise it after my brother gave me the frame and forks.

scottreynolds

crazydingo wrote: »

I stripped down my fixie a while back and resprayed it with a piaggio paint. I got bored of the colour and wanted to personalise it after my brother gave me the frame and forks.

nice job -- its a joy doing something like dat.

crazydingo

Thanks! I'd recommend it to anyone, it's really rewarding

Esroh

Tom if you can get yourself the lacquer thats used on Engraved Brass/Alumin plates , the type you see on Buildings etc it will work on the bike. It is expensive and not easy to get on evenly. There's an engraving suppliers on the Quays just off O'Connell bridge on the Hueston Station side + Direction. Dix's is the name.(not very obvious just a glass door but they are in the Golden Pages) They should be able to help

crazydingo

Just found a pic of my bike before i stripped and repainted it, taken by Stein (I presume the same Stein as here??) on Londonfgss

Caroline_ie

like the green version.
did you get it resprayed professionaly?

thebouldwhacker

Anyone ever dip a bike?

flickerx

Caroline_ie wrote: »

like the green version.
did you get it resprayed professionaly?

+1 on this, I'm keen to hear how you did it if you did it yourself, there's a nice shiny finish off the job. I really want to find out more about repraying frames.

niceonetom

crazydingo wrote: »

piaggio paint.

ooh sparkles.

What do you mean by piaggio paint? Rattle can? Pro respray by a scooter dealer? Is the finish tough? I've yet to see a home job that lasted well - the paint always seems to be a bit to soft for bike use... but I might go back to paint at some stage so I'd be interested to know what you did.

NeilMcEoigheann

i used halfords rattle can touch up paint on my bike worked pretty well with several undercoats and a lacquered finish, you saw it the other night when i picked up the pedals...

crazydingo

Caroline_ie wrote: »

like the green version.
did you get it resprayed professionaly?

I got it done by a friend with a spray gun. I was going to do it myself but he has used spray guns before and I didn't have an enclosed area to do it in.

niceonetom wrote: »

ooh sparkles.

What do you mean by piaggio paint? Rattle can? Pro respray by a scooter dealer? Is the finish tough? I've yet to see a home job that lasted well - the paint always seems to be a bit to soft for bike use... but I might go back to paint at some stage so I'd be interested to know what you did.

I went to East Coast motor factors in Tallaght. They have tons of different colours and I was looking throught their motorbike colours and liked that particular green. I bought about €60 worth (I still have some extra for touch ups). Unfortunately there are quite a few ugly scratches on it now which sucks. I think my friend was lazy and only put on one coat of laquer (which gives it the shiny finish).

For my next project (the conversion) I am gonna get the frame and forks powdercoated. Another friend knows someone who does it professionally and I think it was around the €100-€120 mark but thats cool because apparently it lasts longer and with all the nitromors and primer and paint and laquer I bought it probably worked out at the same price if not more. But I wouldn't change it if I had the chance because it was great fun to do and quite an experience (especially because I had to rush to get it all put back together before the PDM)

petethedrummer

usemyillusion12 wrote: »

so removing the paint on your bike gives it less a chance of being stolen ?

Among other things*, it may do.
(*things including standard of lock, number of locks, locking location and an element of luck).

usemyillusion12 wrote: »

hmmm . . . .. , why not follow the logic and put it on your car ???
or your house so it wont be broken into !!!

They generally steal the contents of your house. Not your actual house. But that said. If you live in a tip as opposed to a well kept house it might imply you are less well off than your neighbour.

usemyillusion12 wrote: »

come to think of it , kids keep getting knidnapped . . . . . . .

I don't think anyone would endorse applying pain stripper to a child. Also I'm not sure of the mindset of child kidnappers if they had the choice between a good looking kid and an ugly one which they would go for, not being a criminal psychologist and all.

usemyillusion12 wrote: »

What the hell is this world coming to ?

People steal stuff for several reasons. One is the re-saleability (if that indeed is a word). An ugly bike is gonna be slightly harder to re-sell than a pretty one.

I can't believe 1) that you had to have it explained to you and 2) that I actually went to the bother. Bored I suppose. Also whether Tom actually managed to make his bike uglier is debatable.

ROK ON

petethedrummer wrote: »

Also whether Tom actually managed to make his bike uglier is debatable.

Fair point. If I actually see Toms fixie in real life I am going tp steal it.

short circuit

usemyillusion12 wrote: »

it wouldnt look like anybody would give the ransom for your kid .

I for one would definitely not give ransom for your kid ...

But for my kid ... I defo would even if he/she was the ugliest in the world ...

But I would only pay money for a good looking bike ...

Does this in any way illustrate the difference between bike and kids .. apart from other obvious ones which we shall not go over.

blorg

Jesus what is it at the moment with all these newbies coming in and going nuts in the cycling forum?

Caroline_ie

... too much sun melts people brain ... thank god the rain in back.

Tom's bike isn't ugly, it's been personalised, he is a man of great taste.

Peace and love to all ...

Raam

blorg wrote: »

Jesus what is it at the moment with all these newbies coming in and going nuts in the cycling forum?

I guess the inclement weather stops them from going nuts outdoors. Us poor cycling forum posters are easy pickings what with our skin tight pants and unusual obsession with bikes.

emty

blorg wrote: »

Jesus what is it at the moment with all these newbies coming in and going nuts in the cycling forum?

Funny,was just thinking the same thing.Also,the harsh tone of some of the post's is a bit hard to take.Can't we all just get along