cota refurbish

We worked on cleaning the garage on Sunday and Monday afternoon. When we were finished, I pulled Noah's Montesa Cota 123 out of the garage and we buffed the rear aluminum mudguard. I always loved aluminum-fendered bikes. They just have a look that plastic-fendered bikes just can't achieve. The old Spanish mudguards are so well made with thick metal and beautifully rolled edges. I have a set of Sammy Miller aluminum fenders and they're nice, but not like the old Spanish ones are. I also decided to use a little rubbing compound on the tank to see if I could clean it up a bit. The compound did a great job of bringing the finish up to snuff. I think we're going to do a quick rolling restoration or refurbish on his bike. I remember doing this frequently when I was a kid and these were some of my first experiences at cleaning, buffing, grinding, and painting metal objects. One time I remember stripping his Honda TL125 down to the frame and throwing a coat of paint and polish on it while he was at work. These quick turnaround jobs were a necessity when you knew that you'd be in big trouble if that bike was in pieces on the garage floor when he got home. It makes me realize that I probably would not be such a calm parent, if Noah were to do the same thing. Anyway, we'll see if we can teach Noah how to clean parts and hopefully he'll always tear things apart when I'm there to assist. Yeah right...!