Saturday, June 9, 2012

1971 Italvega Nuovo Record - New Powdercoat and Decals are Finished


On to the next project - the 1971 Italvega Nuovo Record has been waiting for about six months for it's rebirth, and it's time to get started.

I really like the Italvega/Univega story, and despite the fact that Ben Lawee was more of a designer/distributor than a bike builder himself, I find his frames to be some of the prettiest and most graceful of their time period. I suppose if you can't do it yourself, find someone to do a good job for you!

Anyways, after spending the past year or so working on the Specialissima, I thought it would be fun to work on an earlier Lawee product, one of the Columbus tubing/Campy equipped Italvegas. 

Although I didn't keep the original color, I did select a color that Italvega used during this time period for my powdercoating. Like the other bikes I've refurbished, I went with Triple A Powdercoating in El Monte, CA because of their excellent work and fair prices. Once again, they did a great job. Up close, this  frame looks like it's been nicely sprayed with quality paint, despite the fact that the coating is an industrial strength protective coating. The attention to detail they give is really exceptional. In the end, this bike has a beautiful, almost unscratchable period correct finish that I'm very happy with.

The decals are also new - purchased on ebay, they went on easy and have a UV guarantee.


   
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