Project 27 is in the reassembly stage. It's always gratifying to watch a bike become whole again, piece by piece. But it's a slow process, as each item is detailed to look its best before rejoining the bike. In this case, the brake discs are in need of a facelift. The rear, pictured here, is looking quite rusted, but after a soaking in rust remover for two days, it actually cleaned up pretty well. Not well enough, as the fronts are scuffed and scraped and will require paint, so I'll go ahead and paint the rear so that all the discs match.
I begin with a wet sanding using 320-grit along with wire brushing as required to get in the nooks that paper can't. Then a thorough taping. I over-tape the braking surfaces and trim with a fresh razor blade.
Next, I'll tape the mounting holes, front and rear. This may not be strictly necessary, but I'd rather torque the mounting bolts onto a bare metal surface. I do this by razor trimming the depressed front holes, and for the rears I simply trim bits of tape on top of an appropriately-sized washer, then transfer to the disc.
And here we are, ready for paint. A light coat of primer followed by three coats of engine paint and Bob's yer uncle!
The final step is to de-rust the mounting bolts by soaking in rust remover followed by polishing the surface with a rotary wire brush and wiped with a metal protectant. With fresh tires mounted and the wheels detailed, the discs are torqued into place and this project's finished!
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