Sears Drover, maybe Puncher (Old house find) could be used as a barn

rugblaster

Active Member
#1
Corona has brought me back to working on some mini bikes I found five years ago in an old house. There were four in there, a K&S, a Bonanza, a MTD (I think) and this Sears bike. I took it apart and used some old DuPont 606s lacquer compound to buff the original paint out, also the chrome. It looks pretty good, so I want to do it up as original. What I think is the original motor (Tecumseh with Craftsman numbers on the plate) is another story and the purpose of this post. If your going to keep the bike as original as possible would you strip the paint off the motor and paint it or leave it rusty. I'm going to clean the motor up and overhaul it, but should I paint it? I'm thinking it will look goofy with the original paint, with the 40 years worth of patina. You can see the fan housing is mostly a thin layer of rust.

 
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#2
Patina is always better in my book.. I have had good luck using Rust Oleum rust remover gel. Brush it on and let it sit for an hour, don’t let it dry..keep applying as needed to keep it wet. Repeat if needed..Most of the rust is just staining...

I had a really rusty old Briggs that I did this on and believe it or not there was a bunch of the original white under the rust staining. You’ll be surprised at the results.


Corona has brought me back to working on some mini bikes I found five years ago in an old house. There was four in there, a K&S, a Bonanza, a MTD (I think) and this Sears bike. I took it apart and used some old DuPont 606s lacquer compound to buff the original paint out, also the chrome. It looks pretty good, so I want to do it up as original. What I think is the original motor (Tecumseh with Craftsman numbers on the plate) is another story and the purpose of this post. If your going to keep the bike as original as possible would you strip the paint off the motor and paint it or leave it rusty. I'm going to clean the motor up and overhaul it, but should I paint it? I'm thinking it will look goofy with the original paint, with the 40 years worth of patina. You can see the fan housing is mostly a thin layer of rust.

 
#3
Here is a Wards mini bike I derusted and clear coated using the Rust Oleum.



C407C178-12FE-4D46-8D7E-BDB4142EEEE0.jpeg

10EB66F4-87D7-4837-A3BD-9C621D8811E2.jpeg


Corona has brought me back to working on some mini bikes I found five years ago in an old house. There was four in there, a K&S, a Bonanza, a MTD (I think) and this Sears bike. I took it apart and used some old DuPont 606s lacquer compound to buff the original paint out, also the chrome. It looks pretty good, so I want to do it up as original. What I think is the original motor (Tecumseh with Craftsman numbers on the plate) is another story and the purpose of this post. If your going to keep the bike as original as possible would you strip the paint off the motor and paint it or leave it rusty. I'm going to clean the motor up and overhaul it, but should I paint it? I'm thinking it will look goofy with the original paint, with the 40 years worth of patina. You can see the fan housing is mostly a thin layer of rust.
C407C178-12FE-4D46-8D7E-BDB4142EEEE0.jpeg 10EB66F4-87D7-4837-A3BD-9C621D8811E2.jpeg
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#8
Close! It's actually a 1968 Galaxie XL fastback
I had a '67 version of that car back in college; really liked the stacked headlights on that year!
I reluctantly sold it, as the frame rails were rusting through at the front of the doors and I had no means to deal with it...:(
 
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