Raleigh Restoration Post Numero Uno

I have a thing for fabulous vintage wonders.

I found a Raleigh vintage bicycle (circa 70s?) at a thrift store for $40 and of course I had to buy it in all of it's pepto bismol glory.

Why would I call it pepto bismol? Because its previous (disrespectful) owner decided to paint the ENTIRE FREAKING CLASSIC BICYCLE BUBBLEGUM MATTE PINK. Like who are you and what is this sorcery? Anyways, the whole thing was pink. Not just the frame, but the pedals, the spokes, etc. 

Which brings me to my next section: today marks the first Raleigh Restoration blog post. I am going to document my steps to restoring this bike to my own satisfaction. 

I ended up taking the entire thing apart and investing in some paint stripper. 

If you're going to use paint stripper, you should also invest in some sleeves, long pants, paint stripping gloves, face masks, and safety glasses. Shit is hella toxic...

This took SO FREAKING LONG, but the outcome is completely worth it. 

Starting with the main frame, I used two ladders and a pipe and hung the frame on it. I also had a tarp beneath me to catch the scrapes. I painted on the gooey, boogery paint stripper and let it set for about 5 to 10 minutes. This was plenty! The paint was already bubbling and looking very freaky. From there, I took a small putty knife and began scraping! I continued this with all the parts I wanted to remove pink from.

It's important to get most of the paint off and leave tiny pieces for sanding.

I looked legitimately heinous in these photos while sporting a red sweatshirt, long johns, and green socks. I also taped my hair back, since I could touch anything while I had the stripper on my gloves.

(aka you don't get any pics with me visibly in them)

3 hours later, all the paint came off, including both the pepto and the original Raleigh blue from underneath!

I gave up on the spokes. I couldn't pull through that one and I settled on just buying some new wheels.