Why Kennedale is a Magical Place

So here I was ugly old frame in hand. When I really looked at the bike I realized that I wasn't going to be able to save anything on it other than that frame/fork set and the wheels, which meant removing the old handlebars, brake lines and tires. I set up this thing with a furious vengeance using screwdrivers, my amazing socket set that my Dad gave me for Christmas a few years ago (I'm serious, it's amazing. Check this thing out) and even occasionally a rubber mallet.  There was over 40 years of rust on some of these parts and not everything wanted to come off easily.

The bike as I bought it

After an house or so I had the whole thing taken apart with the exception of removing the tires from the wheels.  It seems after 40 years steel and rubber can become one.  I knew that before it was powder coated it was going to need some welding, and before that it was going to need to be sandblasted to remove the original paint and rust.

The frame after being sandblasted

Now I didn't know anyone who did powder coating or welding personally, but I knew where I could find someone, Kennedale.  Now if you aren't familiar with Kennedale, TX it is a small town that borders Arlington, Mansfield, and Fort Worth.  At one point I had heard that Kennedale had more junk cars per capita that any other city in the world (I can't find any facts to supports that, but that's the rumor).  Aside from junk cars Kennedale has an abundance of paint & body shops, welders, tire shops, auto parts dealers, used car lots, salvage lots, etc.  I knew that I wouldn't have any trouble finding the right guys for the jobs.

A quick google search for "powder coating Kennedale" and the top match was Top Koat less than 5 miles from home.  I loaded up the parts and headed that way.  There I met the owner Joe Galvan who was a little curious about the project and what I was bringing him.  I explained what I was building and he got the sand blasting started.

Joe called me the next morning, Friday, and said the parts were ready to be picked up and welded.  He sent me about a mile down the road to Riley Machine & Welding who did a top notch job on the areas I showed them, and even found a few others that needed fixing.  I expected the job to take 48 hours or so, but I got a call the same afternoon that the bike was ready.  It looked solid so back I headed to Top Koat and Joe and I went over the colors and what needed to be done.  I left my new baby in Top Koat's very capable hands for the weekend.

Joe Galvan the owner of Top Koat in Kennedale with my powder coated frame

Monday afternoon Joe called and told me he was done.  I dropped everything and headed that way.  Man was I impressed.  These guys did great work at a very reasonable price.  I'll be back to Top Koat again for sure.

So now that the bike was back from the cleaners it was time to figure out how to put this thing together and what I needed to do it, but more on that next time.  Here are the pictures of the bike after getting powder coated.