Lisa is such a good photographer and I appreciate her so much, here are some photos of recent touring bike build and front rack product review pics.  Click on any image to view it or click on link to our flickr set.

One of the most difficult bike restoration projects is clear coating a steel frame as there are so many options on how to accomplish the task and of course not all of them work very well.

Last year when I found an old Puch Bergmeister in the back of a pickup truck headed for the scrap metal yard I looked it over to see if it was worth doing anything with as the rust had all but destroyed the frame. With chain rusted solid, paint deterioration and surface rust it looked as though the frame may had gotten too pitted to be salvaged.

For ten bucks, which is what the scrap metal yard was shelling out for scrap I decided to get the bike to the shop and take it from there.  

There are several methods for removing paint from a frame but due to the paint deterioration and rust I employed the most commonly used wire brushes, wire wheels on a drill, sand paper and Boshield Rust Free rust remover.  After removing the worst of the corrosion I decided to strip off the rest of the paint with Easy Off oven cleaner.  That worked very well and is much less labor intensive than the other methods.  After spraying the cleaner on and watching the effortlessly drip the paint off the frame I repeated three or four times to get all the paint and residual corrosion removed. Then came the hard work of wire bushing, sanding and polishing working the surface and prepping it for a clear coat.

After I felt the prep work of the exterior surface was complete and after initial inspection of interior of frame which determined the possibility of this bike restoration project, it was necessary to treat the interior of this bike frame to prevent future rust or corrosion.  There are two choices of product for this application eitherJ.P. Weigels Bicycle Frame Saver Rust Inhibitor or the newer less heard of Pro Gold Steel Frame Protector.  Pro Gold has been well reviewed as it is reported to be able treat several frames with one can but I haven't worked with that product.  

The biggest question is what type of clear coating works best for applying to bare steel and cost relative to over all value of the bike.  Powder coating with a clear coat was not necessary and other bike restoration guys were not entirely pleased with the results when compared to how much it cost.  After much research and bouncing some ideas around we narrowed it down to two choices.  Everbrite Protectaclear or the newer Glisten PC available from the trusted and highly reputable Por 15 Paint Poducts which are used for automotive restoration and painting projects.  

Because the Everbrite Product was a mere $19.95 I thought I would try that first and requires a specific surface preparation method as do all paint products but if you're going to use Protectaclear you have must use Maas Metal Polish to clean and buff out the surface for proper adhesion.

Photo at right and at top of page shows the nice look and finish after Maas Polish and Everbrite Protectaclear were applied.  At the time we were completing this project the newer product mentioned earlier Glisten PC was not available. Although we like how the frame looks with the Everbrite product we have decided to consider a can of Glisten PC for $34.95 and see if it provides better protection from mild rusting.  Here along the Texas Gulf Coast humidity and salt air are factors that contribute to rusting. 

Our results after a year of storing the bike outside allowing rain and weather to test the Everbrite Coating we are relatively pleased with the results.
For average daily bike commuter use this product would be sufficient in maintaining a rust free frame with the bike being stored in doors when not being ridden.  However, for a more durable coating and perhaps a more aesthetically pleasing look we are considering the new steel clear coat product Glisten PC.

This has been a popular topic in forums with folks asking lots of questions about clear coating a bare steel frame so thought I'd give it a "blog about".  Visit the links listed below for more information regarding this topic.

Forum Discussion
Blog Article Opposed to Clear Coating Steel Frames
Lovely Bicycle Blog Article 
Sheldon Brown Article for Steel Frame Prep and Paint
Italian Frame Builder Who Clear Coats Frames

Whenever I receive a product to review the very first consideration I look at, particularly with bicycle touring and commuting accessories is ease of installation and use.  Other than assessing the overall quality there really isn't much if anything else to consider. At the beginning of September I had posted an article regarding disc compatible front racks for touring.  At that time I wasn't privy to Minoura's disc compatible front rack and therefore it wasn't mentioned.  There are some very nice front rack options in that article to suit most needs. Before we get started here I must mention that per Minoura's instruction manual this rack is not intended to be installed on a rigid fork.  So this post is not only a product review of the MT 4000-SF, it is also a "how to install this front rack on a rigid fork".

When I received the Minoura MT 4000-SF front Pannier Rack as a gift I was pleasantly surprised at my first assessment of the quality, even if all of the instructions were in Japanese. I have provided a PDF instruction manual for download at the end of this post. First of all it is a steel rack, which I really appreciate just in case I should somehow bang it around while touring.  So many other bike touring folks recognize and have an appreciation for steel if only because it is so easy to repair should welds break or come loose.   Having said that looking over welds, design and even the paint this front rack from Minoura is unique in quality to price comparison it's unbeatable.  At about half the price of Old Man Mountain Racks , which I consider to be the best, Minoura's front rack also includes all the mounting hardware at no extra charge.  Includes mounting brackets for canti brake post mounts or clamps for front suspension fork mount.  This rack is also disc brake compatible and will fit all mountain bikes including twenty niner.  Similar to Old Man Mountain racks a rack specific front wheel skewer is supplied for axle mount.

Minoura also offers a low rider style steel front rack with the FRP 3000.   If you don't need a front rack that is disc brake compatible or for suspension fork check it out at link provided.  I have installed this rack on an old Bridgestone MB-1.  Easy to install with axle skewer and brake boss mounts. Click Here for my review. 

A few folks have asked about mounting panniers to the Minoura front rack so I have added some photos.  I have been able to attach three different brands of panniers to this rack, two of which are shown below in photos from Axiom, Delta and Avenir in the case of the top rack trunk bag.  Photos link to more information regarding the panniers.  Enjoy.  Also, as I mentioned previously this rack has become popular and at times is difficult to find for purchase.  Here is a LInk to other reviews of Disc Brake Compatible Front Touring Racks.