Molteni Merckx Restoration Tuesday November 08/2011

I spent some time today doing some final prep work on the frame prior to painting it. I went over the frame again with 180 grit paper and a steel brush to remove every last speck of original paint. I decided to paint the bike fully, so after speaking to Mike from Colormelt he suggested I also use the same grit paper to scuff the chrome enough to take the primer and paint. I did a final pass with 400 grit, and the frame is ready to paint. When I got into the lug work to remove the last bits of paint, the cut outs, which I originally thought were triangles, were actually hearts. I am going to have the rear water bottle lugs removed as per Merckx's bike as it is much more period correct, and it will take the decals better. Speaking of decals, I practiced applying vinyl decals with soapy water. I had some old sheets of sign vinyl and practiced on an old frame. Works like a charm.  Here is the frame, ready for it's new coat!