Groovy Cycleworks

[Rody]

Richard,

So glad your skills with a torch eclispe your Photoshop abilities :)

Good to see you, thanks for keeping the builder conversation moving forward.

r

[Rody]

There is nothing worse than getting ready to show a bike to a customer, or in the case of Nahbs, the world, and find a small scratch or dust nib in the paint. EEEK! What to do?

Although the world of paint can be a scary place to trod, such small issues can be competently handled by even the most brutish builder with a little knowledge and patience. So, to enlighten those that wish to learn, follow along below as we enter the magical world of "making small ugly blemishes in your fancy paint disappear with grace and ease".

Here's what you need to get going...

- freshly washed hands with no dirt or oily residue
- 1200 grit wet/dry sand paper
- Bounty paper towel (leaves little to no lint, dyes do not transfer...good stuff!)
- 3M Perfect It rubbing cream
- a little patience

We start off with an annoying dust nib, captured in the final layer of clear. In this case, it is top dead center of the top tube. While most would have a hard time seeing it on casual inspection, I know it's there and it bugs the crap out of me, so let's fix it.

We'll start off by washing our hands and then cutting a small square of 1200 grit paper...

Lightly sand the area, starting from the origin and gently working your way out in a circular motion. For scratches or larger blemishes, I will apply more force at the origin and then decrease the pressure with the paper as it moves away to the periphery.

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Once the area is sanded to a smooth uniform surface, it becomes our job to begin to make the area less noticeable. We are basically using a smaller grit of abrasive and making the scratches smaller as we work the area until it is undetectable with the naked eye. In this case, we will use 3M's Perfect It, a nice smooth rubbing compound made just for this application.

A little bit goes a long way. Put a dab on a paper towel and mimic your previous motion...working out from the origin in a circular pattern.

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I usually go through two or three applications, gently increasing the diameter of my working area, feathering the existing finish into the repaired area. The area is already blending together smoothly, yet still is a bit dull.

After my paper towel applications, I put a dab on my clean finger and rub it down again. The area will glaze up. Keep working the area over the entire length of your fingers area until it wets out again and goes to glass, leaving a smooth, glossy finish that matches the surrounding clear.

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And Wah-lah, you have a perfectly repaired area, devoid of detectable blemishes.

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A simple process that can save you a lot of stress before the big reveal.

cheers,

rody

[Honus]

Hi Rody,

Great show write up. It was great meeting you and Kalten at the show and the bikes looked awesome!

[Too Tall]

Here is the link for the Saturday Night Framebuilders Party Smoked Out Live: Over The Top Radio - Live From NAHBS btyb Alchemy Bicycles 02/23 by overthetop | Blog Talk Radio

Rody, man you rocked it I owe you one for not even blinking when asked to stand up and represent at the last min. As my people say you are a menche.
Seriously, your son looks like he could take down a double stack of pancakes, bacon on the side, eggs and look hungry for seconds. He's a competitive swimmer and he says you make him sweep floors. GOOD! Meeting you both was great. Hope to get you both to Ballers sometime, consider that a open invite. How about this year?????

Awesome to hear you prop Chauncey Matthews and Eric Dozwell both Vsalon sweethearts we all appreciate.

[Rody]

seems like it always takes loner to put stuff away from the show then to get it all wrangled up and in the van.

Working this week on Greg's 29er build, will be a unique one to be sure. He's an avid trout fisherman and wanted his bike to represent that, so the frame will have a gently curing spine and get painted up in these vibrant colors...

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Fabrication is almost complete, just going through the first blasting stage now to check that everything is as it should be...

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Then it will begin the laborous paint process.

Make sure to check into the blog later to see the process up close and personal.

cheers,

rody

[Rody]

See the whole process in pics here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Greg's Bigwheel in Brook Trout motif...

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[Rody]

Here's a quick sneak peek of Gregs Bigwheel; built with Full XT, Stan's Arch EX wheels on Maxis rubber, Thomson Stem and Seatpost, King Headset and bottom bracket ceramic coated, Groovy Luv Handle, Magura MT6 brakes, and a 120mm travel X Fusion Fork.

Should be ripping fast...

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[Too Tall]

Great googly moogly son you done good. The paint reminds me of a very old bass lure on my shelf and the bike, well gosh that's really exciting to see.

[Rody]

Thanks Josh, you're enthusiasm is contagious :0

Final pics can be seen here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Final pics of Greg's Bigwheel

or on Friday in FNL

cheers,

rody

[maunahaole]

Thanks Josh, you're enthusiasm is contagious :0

Final pics can be seen here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Final pics of Greg's Bigwheel

or on Friday in FNL

cheers,

rody

Holy shit, that's hot.

[Rody]

Each March, I try to spend a little time on projects that otherwise lanquish the rest of the year; race team builds, repairs, etc... In that vein, I completed a new sled for Zach, a great kid who is an up and comer in the under 18 Expert division. I wanted to give him a frame with a little edge and personality. Hopefully, it will be a kick ass ride that will encourage him to ride and race hard. :)

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You can read about the build and finish process here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Zachy C's Rat Rod 650b

cheers,

rody

[Too Tall]

NICE!!! If that kid does not "get it" now he will real real soon. It would be super nice to see some action shots of him racing...asking too much???

BTW the decal design is a d@mn nice touch.

[Rody]

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how its done, here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Cerakote and snakeskin...

[dgaddis]

I can't wait to see that bike built up.

[shirk]

Rody your paint work is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

[Rody]

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More pics and my rambling thoughts on the material and process here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Carey's Camo ceramic....

[e-RICHIE]

This is cool atmo -

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how its done, here...

Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Cerakote and snakeskin...

[Rody]

I am a big advocate of providing for grass roots racing opportunities. Currently, we operate 12 mountain bike races each season, including the state championships, with 100% of the profits put back into the local cycling community. Aside from all the promotion and day of race time committments, I took on an awards project for last seasons winners, to be honored at the first race of this year.

I wanted to make a kinda industrial/raw fabrication looking trophy that also honored our two largest sponsors; Monster Energy and Clif nutrition. Sounded cool, until I had to actually start fabricating 45 of these...what do I get myself into?

Anyway, had lots of fun with the guys who came out to share the pain. I hope they are well received...

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[Rody]

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[Rody]

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