Cycle Repairing and Adjusting
With a Chapter on building a Bicycle from a Set of Parts

8o CYCLE REPAIRING spirit. Frequently, these blacks dry too quickly ; in fact, some of them dry before they can be properly laid on, and consequently produce an uneven, patchy appearance that never will look well. Moreover, the surface will chip with the slightest provocation, and soon look shabby. These spirit blacks are only suitable for touching up, where some part has become chipped or rubbed, such as the edges of rims, mudguards, etc. Probably the best results will be obtained by using carriage painters’ flat colours, and varnishing for the finish. This will look better and wear better than any other method if properly done. Touching Up.—A word or two here will be in place on the item of touching up, as even this may as well be done properly. The most frequent cause of the necessity for touching up is rust, which forms on the surface of the steel where the enamel has become thin or worn, and allowed the damp to attack the metal. Before the parts are touched up, the rusty places should be thoroughly rubbed down with emery-cloth until the metal appears bright, taking care not to scratch the surrounding portions of the enamel that are not to be coated, as the scratches will show through the new enamel put on, especially if coarse emery-cloth is used. Where a badly chipped place on a prominent part is to be touched up, the object to attain when rubbing down is not to leave any sharp edges of the old enamel surround- ing the rubbed-down portion, as this shows up quite plainly when dry. The edges should be rubbed down well, so that