Jay Van De Velde wrote:
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> To get that '30s look for handlebar tape, I used linen. At fabric supply stores you can get something called "bias tape" which comes in a 1 1/2" width and you can buy whatever length you need. Cut the tape in half lengthwise to give you a 3/4" width. The color of the linen tape is a shocking bright white, so to temper the hue, I soaked the tape in hot water with several bags of tea. When dry, I used rubber cement as a backing adhesive and installed it like any other type of HB tape. The resulting color matched the patina of the original '30s bike. To see photos of it check out the pics of the '36 Gloria (Thanks again Steven Maasland!)
> http://photos.yahoo.com/
Beautiful bike Jay! I've used bias tape too. There is even a Celeste color for old Bianchi!
To make it pass as the real deal Gaslo, you need to fray the edges. When I've used actual Gaslo on my bikes the tape exhibits loose threads at the edges before I've even completed the taping job! No wonder Tressostar™ was so popular!
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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