1982 Trek 412 Vintage Bike Restoration

1982 trek 412 vintage bike restoration

Since cobbling together my Ritchey Road Logic, I’ve taken the next step and undertaken fixing up old bikes. Check out my latest project, a 1982 Trek 412 vintage bike restoration!

1982 Trek 412 vintage bike restoration

1982 trek 412 before restoration

I picked this thing up off Craigslist. It had a terrible, oversprayed paint job, nonworking chain, brakes, and derailleurs, and tires that didn’t hold air. To the untrained eye it looked like junk, but with some new parts and elbow grease it could easily become a killer vintage ride.

Whoever did the paint was a total amateur. I mean, I’m an amateur too, but not a total amateur. The paint was thick and runny – no decals – and the “Trek” engravings were hardly visible, as was the serial number on the bottom, which I used to identify the year/model of the bike.

1982 trek 412 handlebars
Ew.

The bar tape, cables, tires, and tubes were completely shot. The handlebars were way too high and the brake levers too low. Just a real mess.

First: Prep and paint

First, I disassembled this bad boy down to the frame, and chucked the unsalvageable consumables (tires, cables, etc). I set the rest of the parts aside for later.

1982 trek 412 parts

Next, I used an abrasive disc attachment on my old corded drill to take the paint down to the bare frame. It took a while.

1982 trek 412 bare frame

Once that was complete, I gave it a once-over with some metal primer from Spray.Bike, who makes bike-specific paint that doesn’t run and gives powder-coat-like results from a conventional spray can. I then hit it with their green “Hercules” color.

Despite it being my first time, it came out well. One can was just enough for two solid coats. Pretty cool!

1982 trek 412 primed
Primed.
1982 trek 412 painted by spray.bike
After the first coat of paint.

Once the paint had set, I applied some era-appropriate Trek decals from Velocals. Finally, to protect the paint and decals I covered everything with Spray.Bike’s transparent finish.

1982 trek 412 paint job

Next: Service and reassembly

With the paint and decals done, I slowly began the reassembly process. Each part received a thorough cleaning and regreasing before being reattached to the frame.

1982 trek 412 assembly

The consumables I had junked were replaced with brand new parts: tacky bar tape, brake and shift cables, KMC chain, and Michelin Dynamic Classic gumwall tires. I also threw on an awesome Brooks Cambium C15 carved saddle for good measure.

I trued the aero Vuelta Airline 4 wheels with a spoke wrench and polished the metal parts with a wire brush. The rear derailleur hanger also turned out to be totally askew, so I had to bend it back into shape.

After lots of tinkering and cable adjustment, it was finally ready.

1982 trek 412 vintage bike restoration

The final product

Not gonna lie: the final product looks and rides awesome and I was totally tempted to keep it. I’m selling it only because it’s a little too small for me and I have to make room for the next project!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

1982 trek 412 seatstay engraving
1982 trek 412 handlebar and brake lever
1982 trek 412 with shimano acera rear derailleur
1982 trek 412 with brooks cambium c15 saddle
1982 trek 412 with dia compe brakes
1982 trek 412 with vuelta airline 4 wheels
1982 trek 412 downtube decal
1982 trek 412 with brooks cambium c15 saddle
1982 trek 412 vintage bike restoration

What do you think of my 1982 Trek 412 vintage bike restoration? I’d be happy to hear your feedback. Leave a question or comment below!

5 thoughts on “1982 Trek 412 Vintage Bike Restoration”

  1. Cool bike with all the TLC, and the mix of modern parts/components very good choice and touch… I just found a 412 which I am rebuilding so this a great reference. I’ve always been curious about the products from Spray Bike.com…very good solution. Thank you.

  2. Man, it looks awesome, I’m giving my 2005 SL1000 a retro look now, and was looking for pictures with spray.bike’s “hercules” color. I’ve been looking everywhere for 80s/90s Trek Decals as well, and until now I couldn’t even find the logo as an image. I’m so glad I stumbled upon your project! It looks amazing! Thanks for the links as well!

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