Peppo Bescarini C4 Monoscocca

Starting a recondition of a old C4 Monoscocca 115 I got from Italian fin swimming champion and friend.....

Quote from sdeisen

After the Omer pneumatic expectations are pretty high

Sorry but the Airbalete was a brand new gun I had no feeling for other than a platform for mods that I would never do to any truly vintage Pneumatic I own.
This gun was owned by a very good friend that returned to Italy and a life serving god. I will merely service it, prep it for a Gflex finish to preserve and protect against beach use and UV fading. Only a few conservative mods will be made that will be reversible in time, don't look for any plastic pulley wheels.;)

I'm not happy with my cell phone pics so will re-shoot with a real camera Mon or Tues.

Ciao, Don

Quote from virgili

I have been using years ago this gun in the med sea, bought in Genova
Amazing Italian design revolution!:)
at the time a pretty expensive gun (and made by a bicycle manufacturer if my memory is not wrong)

weaks:
-line release clip
-no rail for the shaft wich makes noise and decrease the accuracy at the time you are moving to instinctive shooting

I saw images of the C4 mono in 1998 or so, and kept telling myself I could afford one used, once the price came down, but that didn't happen for a long time. I am honored to now have my old friends. It will go on to my son in time.

Merci Don

Quote from Marco

Good one Don! Is it the one that has the muzzle with the threads for the bands or the one with the balls for tying then?

I would go with single 14 mm bands cut as short as you can load them and a 7 mm South African shaft. Keep it simple. These spearguns didn't need a rail or shaft guide to shoot straight.

Hope to see it with some blood soon.

Marco, this is a very early one with balls for the bands. Shaft will be 7mill UHT steel with a fair'ed in double flopper, with another for a low profile slip tip. One one thing I can tell you about the bands ....they will be Italian green.:D

Cheers, Don

Here is the mech after I removed it, Peppo did a great job keeping it clean and well greased.
The reel axis pin/mount is very stout, just needs some cleaning and re grease.
One (soft) image of the Ti muzzel.

Cheers, Don

Quote from Marco

I'm not a big fan of greased mechanisms. It will allow sand to get trapped in.

Keep it up with pictures of the project.

I use silicon grease and synthetic oil in my air guns and T-9 when layed up for winter. As this C4 will get a bit of beach use, I agree with no heavy greasing.

Cheers, Don

Thanks Marco.

I washed the gun with alcohol, let it dry, then sanded lightly with 220 dry paper to give some tooth for the base coat of Gflex to key into. Blew off with compressed air, followed by a base coat of Gflex that I will let cure/shrink a couple days and re-sand for top coat that will be de-glossed with fine abrasive pad.
I plan on rubberizing the handle with 3M 5200, let it cure until I can cover with a layer of wax papar then imprint with a grippe pattern from nature. Any rattle snake in my area are served notice.:D

Cheers, Don

Rubber bock sanded with 220 in prep for coat # 2 tomorrow. I use un powdered latex gloves to keep oil from the skin off the work. Tomorrow I'll scotch brite the shiny voids and low spots.
One thing I like about working on a good friends gun is; it gives you quite time to reflect back on all the good times and fun over the years with them. One year Peppo had made for me a high end Topsider type boat shoe in wonderful acid green and sand leather in his homeland. Had them resoled twice in 25 years before finally giving them to Mother Ocean on a dark night in big seas that green watered me Zodiac Grand Raid over the transom ....Yeah fun times.

Cheers, Don

Awoke at grey light today and made it wet again, 2nd coat of Gflex flowing out nice and flat. I don't use my rotisserie for this material coating. The working time is app 45min at my Cali temp of 70 degrees before gell starts, I just re hang the work (gun) end for end every 1/2 hr for 2 hrs to reverse any possibility of runs/sags. Now I'm off the the local expresso bar to check out the bikes and chicks.

Cheers, Don

Quote from Dan

Don, how are you applying the epoxy?

$2.00 1'' brush with the bristles trimmed to 1.25 inch used to pull the finish evenly in one direction. I don't use the real cheep one that the bristles fall out off. When wetting bare carbon cloth I use a foam roller.The mixed epoxie cup is pre warmed in hot tap water to make the finish more viscous. On wood I always apply finish as the days temp is dropping not rising. This helps limiting micro bubbles growing to macro bubbles that pock mark the finish. Air is also in the grain of the wood surface. About 1 ounce total for the 2 coats and about 50% of the base leveling coat was sanded off, epoxies cure without off gassing or evaporating hardly any wt. Looking at the gun now I doubt any more finish will be used. I'll let it set for a few days before I knock off the shine with a very fine 3m pad.
When mixing the resin with the hardener, gently fold the hardener into
the resin. Do not whip it together. This fast action will allow air to enter into the mixture which will form bubbles.
Resins with longer working times are ideal because they allow the mixture to be combined slowly,
carefully and thoroughly without injecting any air
Cheers, Don

I'm going to scrap my rubberized handle and implant two nice fitting rubber scales I re cut from a old knife.Yeah the tape is just for layup.

Cheers, Don