Another question! Yay! Rust. It's why frames should be covered in Rhino liner!

[No]

So, instead of just making a thread to hold all of my questions, I'm making another new thread!


A bit of paint has been knocked off my cross check, chipped and cracked away that is. How should I deal with it and what products are best?

Should I just get rustoleum and do what the instructions say?

[mickeg]

Model paints come in many colors, as do nail polish.  I could not find the exact match to my LHT, but my other bikes I have found reasonable matches.  I also occasionally use clear nail polish to protect bare metal.  On my racks, I often just use a black permanent marker.

[triaesthete]

Deal with it mentally  and leave it looking used.....

All things are transient.   "Mono no aware"  as they say in Japan.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_no_aware

Crack this and you'll own the bike instead of the bike owning you 

Known in some circles as beausage.  http://www.ecovelo.info/2008/06/03/a-deep-patina/

Happy days
Ian

[JWestland]

Vaseline is a cheap way to protect the frame, so is cooked linseed oil if you want to protect but not paint.

Kurust is a rust converter for the paranoid (like me)

Humbrol/nail varnish for those who cannot bear bare metal.

Most people just seem to cover up the frame and see it as a noble scar, but I painted over the chips on my XTC as white underpaint stands out like the proverbial thumb against blue.

[Danneaux]

Hi No!

A good strategy to answer your questions is to do a search of the Thorn Forum's past posts. Some questions such as paint touchup recur frequently and there's a great deal of useful information in the archives. Most is Thorn-specific like the Forum, but some have universal application.

I've posted a little tutorial here to make effective searching easy: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4390.0

Best,

Dan.

[No]

I had typed in "rust" and thought that would bring up any relevant topics, but not much came up. So, that's why I made the thread.

I take it that the rust is not much to worry about?

[JWestland]

A bit of rust is fine, I am rust paranoid and would cover it up with Kurust.

But most high quality steels will not rust through at the tip of a hat. If unsure post some pics and we can have a look

[il padrone]

My old touring bike was a cromoly frame. In about 1998 it got some bad scrapes on the frame. I did not get around to touching it up (lazy coot !!) and it did develop a bit of surface rust. Time went on and I kept a check on it. The rust did not get any worse - just a very light surface patina. Now 15 years later the frame is my son's bike, in regular use and no worse for the wear

Chrome molybdenum has about 5% chrome in it. Stainless steel has 11% chrome. It's the chrome that protects from serious rust.

[mickeg]

I take it that the rust is not much to worry about?

I bought a used Bridgestone mountain bike that had been stored outside long enough to have a 2 inch diameter tree growing up through the frame.  (Owner had to cut down the tree to sell me the bike.)  Where the frame paint is chipped, the rust looks significant and all paint that was on the steel handlebar and stem is gone.  But otherwise everything is solid.  Fixed it up and I use that as my errand bike.  I store it outside, thus I did apply a heavy coat of Frame Saver to the inside of the frame but it probably was not needed considering the history of the frame.  

[JWestland]

My old touring bike was a cromoly frame. In about 1998 it got some bad scrapes on the frame. I did not get around to touching it up (lazy coot !!) and it did develop a bit of surface rust. Time went on and I kept a check on it. The rust did not get any worse - just a very light surface patina. Now 15 years later the frame is my son's bike, in regular use and no worse for the wear

Chrome molybdenum has about 5% chrome in it. Stainless steel has 11% chrome. It's the chrome that protects from serious rust.

Ah that's why stainless can go brittle if not properly processed when making the frame. My dad did metallurgy at school, when I asked why not all bikes are stainless, bar cost, he also mentioned the brittleness risk with it.

My Ciocc had some tiny bit of cough patina cough on the chrome parts that don't even react to Kurust. So it's rust refusing to even oxidize, doubt that will ever rust through there.

[Danneaux]

My Ciocc had some tiny bit of cough patina cough on the chrome parts that don't even react to Kurust.

Jawine! While I prefer an ammonia-based metals polish like Blue Magic, you can get some amazing results on rusted fork ends and stays simply by rubbing them with aluminum foil dipped in water. An old trick from my car-restoration days, when it worked a treat on rusted chrome-plated bumpers. It quickly removed the rust from the half-chromed fork and stays on my 1970 Raleigh Gran Sports after I bought it years ago. It has stayed nice ever since. Doesn't cost much to try. I'm not alone in having success. See: http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Rust is the self-protecting process whereby steel forms a layer of oxidization over itself. It is a beneficial process, less costly than painting.

Andrew Muzi, owner of Yellow Jersey in Madison, Wisconsin, about once a year publishes a photo of a bike he sold forty or so years ago which is entirely encrusted in rust, not a speck of paint remaining. It works very well and the owner rides it daily. (And, to address another current topic, who would steal a fully, completely, thoroughly rust-decorated steel bike?)

Andre Jute

[No]

Crack heads, that's who. They'll steal anything. Even old worthless stuff. Had it happen.

[il padrone]

Bike parking in Lucca, Italy 

[JWestland]

Jawine! While I prefer an ammonia-based metals polish like Blue Magic, you can get some amazing results on rusted fork ends and stays simply by rubbing them with aluminum foil dipped in water. An old trick from my car-restoration days, when it worked a treat on rusted chrome-plated bumpers. It quickly removed the rust from the half-chromed fork and stays on my 1970 Raleigh Gran Sports after I bought it years ago. It has stayed nice ever since. Doesn't cost much to try. I'm not alone in having success. See: http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html

Best,

Dan.

I had a good go with Autosol which did a great job. Some specks remain, but if rust doesn't react with blue-oxide converter, meh, not really rusty.