With one finger on the rump of the seat, I can push the Schwinn on a level road, and the bike itself corrects for any gravel or holes. I had to replace Old Faithful, the highest praise I could heap on a new bike would be to say that it feels just as good. T he only hard part to restoring an old bike is taking the components off. But at home, I keep a tool for this task which removes both sides. The bike before re-assembly.
P ainting is the cheapest and easiest task.
The first time, I let a body shop paint the bike after I spent two weeks sanding. Then I had to repaint the bike within a year. This time I used chemicals to strip the paint and just used sandpaper on a few stubborn spots and on rust. To paint the bike and retouch the fenders and carriers, I hung them from tree limbs, changing the attachment point with each session. By letting the paint dry between sessions and doing some mild sanding, it is possible to remove errors made along the way.