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Post by brianbutler on Sept 30, 2019 21:54:55 GMT
I just joined the board. I live in the Boston area. I recently acquired a bunch of bikes, partial bikes, and frames that were being thrown away. Among the hoard was a Lambert Aerospace Pro (First Generation) and a Viscount Aerospace GP, both with complete wheels, bottom brackets, handle bars, and other parts. The Pro has the original pedals. The GP has the original brake calipers but Dia Compe levers. The Pro had a replacement fork and Campagnolo headset. The GP has a death fork apparently in good shape. The freewheel on the Pro was beyond repair, locked solid and bound to the chain with a thick rust. I have disassembled both bikes and am currently refurbishing the parts, pressed new bearings in the GP bottom bracket (Pro has cup and cone bearings) and pressed new bearings in both sets of hubs. Three are smooth as silk but I believe the rear axle on the Pro is slightly bent, resulting in some minor roughness in one of the bearings (I tried two different bearings, no luck.)
I also have a 1975 Viscount Sebring completely refurbished but not completely original. I use it several time a week.
I just disassembled the Lambert pedals and removed/cleaned all of those little pins. Before I put them back together I need to find out what is going on with the finish on the pedal cages. I checked this board and noticed a couple of posts about a rough silver finish over the aluminum casting. Both members suggested this might be an amateur "aftermarket" paint job but mine also look exactly as described so I think the amateur paint job was applied at the factory. It is a remarkably lumpy and poor job. Here are a couple of pictures.
If this is really the factory finish coming off, then I will strip the rest of it and repaint them silver. Does anyone know if this is the factory finish?
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,388 
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Post by Jem on Oct 2, 2019 20:13:27 GMT
Hi Brian - welcome to the forum!
They do look very lumpy and amateur don't they!? I can't see how (even accounting for some of the stories we hear about Lambert/Viscount production line) these being anything but a rather shoddy cover up job by someone sniffing the paint fumes in a small shed in semi-darkness.
Are you Boston Lincolnshire or Boston Massachusetts ?
Jem
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Post by brianbutler on Oct 2, 2019 21:02:48 GMT
Boston, Massachusetts. Thanks for the reply. I chemically stripped the paint and tumbled the pedals in a non-abrasive ceramic medium to knock off any remaining crud. The underlying metal is an aluminum alloy casting - not the best material or workmanship. They do not polish. I doubt that the naked pedals were intended to be seen so I am inclined to think the paint really was the factory finish. I plan to repaint them. Here is a photo of the bare pedals: Brian |
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Post by 54roadie on Oct 29, 2019 20:17:17 GMT
If this is really the factory finish coming off, then I will strip the rest of it and repaint them silver. Does anyone know if this is the factory finish?
Hello Brian, and welcome to our little adventure in Viscounts.
My very first Viscount, waaaay back in the 70's, came new with cast pedals that had been painted silver. The paint job was OK, a bit better than your pictures show, but the castings were rough. My impression was, and still is, that it was too difficult to clean up the castings so they were factory painted with a thick coat of silver paint, likely an epoxy.
I was young and energetic back then, so I stripped both down to the bare metal, took one of mom's nail files and several sheets of sandpaper to the worst of the rough, and polished, as best I could. The job was one of my first exercises in "diminishing returns", as it took ages, but once started I wouldn't let go until I was satisfied with the result. They looked much better, but I wouldn't try it again without power tools.
Best regards, Frank
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