Your Bike
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busy putting my "restored" bike together... hope to get it done by the end of the weekend. will post some photos then. for mg33 or anyone else who's keen and hasn't done anything like this before, here's a quick breakdown:
i kept track of what i spent. have to work it out, but overall it's under $200. $35 for the bike. i ended up restoring all the parts, except for new brakes, brake levers and cabling, totaling about $80. new tires and tubes for about $10 (dead stock the guy at the shop dug up for me).
apart from standard tools i already had (monkey-wrench, sockets, spanners, allen (hex) keys, etc.) i bought a chain-tool for $12 and a crank-tool for about $12 as well. these are custom bike tools you can't really diy... the crank tool is to release and pull the pedal-mechanism off. you won't be able to do this without it.
consumables for restoration...
soft sanding blocks turned out ideal for stripping the old frame. to remove rust i used light oil (Q20) and steel wool. to clean old grease from components i used mineral turpentine. it's less corrosive and noxious than other stronger solvents, but any solvent that evaporates will do. for shiny chrome parts i used 'sylvo'. you'll find similar products at your supermarket's cleaning/household department. it's for polishing chrome or stainless steel furniture/appliances.spraypainting... primer, colour, clear top-coat. pretty standard.
re-assembly... i used automotive bearing grease for the crank and fork (where bearings are used). also, a good rule of thumb, anything with a thread should be greased before tightening.
if i think of anything else i'll add it here, or ask questions if you want. one more thing, keep detailed diagrams (and take photos) when taking things apart. i kept everything in separate, labeled tins and jars. i took the rear wheel quick-release apart without documenting it and now i'm struggling with figuring out the puzzle again.
i'm gonna wheel it down to my local shop for a tune-up this week. i've cleaned and re-assembled everything pretty good, but to avoid damage and breakdown i'll just ask the guy to give it a quick once-over.