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I used finger nail polish I got it at Wally World to touch up. It’s called Pure Ice, Strapless(label on the bottom) is the color. It is a dead match for the blue, but the metallic is just a little smaller than the original. I gave it 2 thin coats of the fingernail polish below the pencil line and I used Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze for the clear coat. I taped all around and covered everything with cloths before spraying the clear and then removed the tape immediately after spraying. I went over it twice with the clear. After it dried I rubbed it out with Meguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 to remove the tape line.
My daughter laughed at me because I went to several places in the mall and carried the frame inside to help get a good match. I went through about $30 and 6 different colors before I went to Wally World and found the match. The funny thing is, the nail paint seems to be tougher than the original paint.
The bike arrived and was packed very well. It was a good thing because the box took a hit so hard it knocked the pressed in axle out of the front nukeproof hub. There was also a huge hole by the front wheel that was taped up and a small hole in the bottom of the box. Most of the parts from the axle were in the bottom of the box, but an end cap was lost out of a hole in the box. I had to buy another identical nukeproof hub off an auction site to get the end cap. I’m just glad the frame didn’t get damaged.
I know this is an old post, but did you ever find a seat post clamp? Both Undergrounds I have have a 31.8mm clamp. The paint was all chipped up under the clamp so I drew a line on the seat post with a pencil around the bottom of the clamp and took all the paint off under the clamp. I touched up below the line and then clear-coated. The 31.8 clamp fits perfectly. The paint on those frames is THICK!
I’ll post pictures when I get it. Not sure exactly what I’m going to change on it other than the fork, rims, and seat. It has nuke proof hubs I probably will keep and control tech stem and bars I’ll probably keep.Looks like all XT components with XT canti brakes. I plan on putting a SID fork to replace the Manitou Answer fork, but might put a Noleen fork like my brother has on his frame. I have 4 mountain bikes and they all have SID forks so the Noleen would be a change.
I just purchased a 1994 Underground (aluminum) from an auction site for $355, but the guy is over-the-top with $150 shipping from Alabama to Florida. It looks good in the photo so I hope he packs it well so it isn’t damaged during shipping. I already have another that I’ve ridden for 14 years, know what the bike is, and was willing to pay around $500 total for one. I absolutely love the old Undergrounds and Homegrowns. I have a Specialized Epic with XTR group and a SID fork and like the way the old Undergrounds ride much better. Most people don’t know what they’re looking at and view it as just another old outdated mountain bike. I can’t wait til the Underground I just bought arrives. I’m planning on cleaning it up, replacing a few parts, and taking it down to my LBS to show the guys.
Yes, it’s a Fastback Limited 2001. Mike built it with Dura Ace components including some very cool wheels. Interesting connection to the Homegrown with the USA Tomato decal.
The Project Underground #2 frame I am building now didn’t have the seat stay decals and I couldn’t find any that were totally correct, so I picked up a BMX set of decals on Ebay that had 2 seat stay decals that were the same size and looked pretty good.
Just wanted to add that the velocal decals are not correct. They are larger than the original. The seat stay decals are unusable they are so large and the USA tomato decals are defective.
Not a great picture but this is #1 Project Underground finished. NOS SID World Cup fork, NOS period correct XTR shifters, XTR Derailleurs, XTR rear hub, blue Machine Tech front hub, Lightly used XTR crankset, XTR ti rear cassette, Avid Ultimate V brakes, Mavic 717 rims, Chris King Headset, Thomson stem and seat post, Schwinn Stinger saddle, Easton Monkey Lite bars, and Mythos XC tires. All I did to the frame was light touch up and clear coat. My thanks to Grambo for the heads up on the frame. I had been looking for one for 6 years. No one I knew would sell theirs. BTW, #2 Project Underground in the works, gonna be new 2 X 10 speed XT set-up.
I have an aluminum Project Colorado with an old Rock Shox SID dual air that works much better than the Judy SL that came on the bike. Other than the fork I switched the Canti brakes with XTR V brakes with kool stop pads. Everything on the bike is XTR except the front hub which is Machine Tech, Mavic 717 rims, Thomson seatpost and Tioga stem and Monkey Lite bars. The fork was definitely the biggest improvement. I attached a picture that was taken before I changed to 717 rims.
Just touched up, replaced the decals and clear coated 2 Project Underground frames with Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze. Any problem areas sanded with 1500 then 2000 grit wet-n-dry sandpaper then polished the whole frame with with Meguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 fine scratch remover. I’m no pro painter or anything, but the guys at the LBS really liked the results.
