Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/792642
While the frame was off at paint, I turned my attention to all the little bits (axels, chain adjusters, brake pedal, brake pulls, swingarm pivot bolt, brake rod clevis and arm, and lots of various springs and other items) on the bike that were orig- inally zinc-coated but had long since turned to rust. About fi ve years back, my buddy Gordon Brennan and I came up with our own "home brew" for zinc-coating steel parts. e brew is made from vinegar, sugar, magnesium sulfate (epsom salts) and zinc roof fl ashing. Yup, all crap you probably have around the house or can pick up almost anywhere. It is ap- plied to steel parts using a manual battery charger. I won't go into a lot of details on the process here, but I did a write-up about the process on the Penton Owner Group site that pro- vides the details. Anyway, the objective here is to apply a new coat of zinc to protect these parts for another 40-or-so years. In the photo, you can see the progression of a couple of brake pulls. In the fi rst photo, the parts have been degreased and any heavy rust removed with a wire brush. In the sec- ond photo, the parts have been glass bead blasted and then washed in soap and water. In the next, they have been given a 30-minute bath in the home brew, and in the fi nal picture, they have been lightly polished using steel wool. I am sure sending these out and having them professionally zinc-plat- ed would yield prettier results, but it would also be pricey. Using the home brew method, you can do all the parts for a bike for less than 5 bucks in mate- rials. Cost. Where do we stand? My goal remains the same; cobble together a respectable racer for $899 or less and have it ready for the third row of the fi rst 2017 NETRA Vin- tage event in Meriden, CT on May 6th.