Slight rust on frame bolt holes/braze-ons.

[gfish]

Hi all,

Just bout my dream bike and it is in beautiful original condition, however, I have noticed a small amount of rust on some of the allen-bolts (ie: on down tube bottles). Upon closer inspection, there was a small amount of surface rust on the frame, inside thread and some surface rust on adjacent paint. Also a bit on the brake cable sheath and top tube routing braze-on.

I'd like to take care of it to prevent any further progression. I was planning:
- Replace cables & rusted bolts
- Clean openings with WD40 as best as possible (with Q-tip)
- Framesaver inside of frame
- Touch-up Paint any exposed areas (ie: cable rub).

Any further/better advice? Loving this bike dearly and want it to last for as long as possible.

Thanks kindly for any help. I've attached a photo, too! Doesn't show much, though.

Image!

[cny-man]

A bit of overkill but go for it. Rust on the ouside of cable housing is a non-issue, but the inside may be rusted or dry as well, so certainly no harm done by replacing cable/housing.

[gfish]

(09-15-2014, 11:36 AM)cny-man Wrote:  A bit of overkill but go for it. Rust on the ouside of cable housing is a non-issue, but the inside may be rusted or dry as well, so certainly no harm done by replacing cable/housing.

Thank you, cny-man. Not so worried about cable housing, mainly concerned about the rust transferring to the bike frame.
The inside thread where bottle cages are show very small signs of rust on paintwork and more on inside the opening (ie:thread).

Probably being a bit excessive, but I really love this bike

[cny-man]

(09-15-2014, 11:43 AM)gfish Wrote:  Thank you, cny-man. Not so worried about cable housing, mainly concerned about the rust transferring to the bike frame.

Rust does not "transfer." It's a chemical process, only requires moisture, exposed iron/steel and time. Having rust on one part does not mean an adjacent part will rust faster. Secondly, you have it backwards. You should primarily be concerned about rust on moving parts, secondarily on items that only affect appearance. You can of course address both.

[GeorgeET]

First it would be good to know what bike you got? Although we here favor cro-mo steel frames nice thing about aluminum frames is they do not rust, I got one each.

Your restoration approach is good. IMO try lubricating the cables and housing you may not need to replace them. One old trick is the hang them straight and put a baggie with a hole in it so the cable end protrudes. cinch with a rubber band and put some oil in the baggie hang it up and put a drip pan underneath let the oil flush the cable. If cables are in bad shape than do replace.

For bike frame hard to tell how bad it is, photos would help. You can use products like naval jelly to clean the rust and than rustoleum rust reformer to seal the area. Than with a very small brush paint it in a dot at a time. You may be able to find matching automotive paint. As per fasteners if light polishing is not enough, replace with stainless steel ones. Just take original to hardware store to match.

PS
Aha saw the image , does not look bad at all good cleaning should do it........

[gfish]

(09-15-2014, 03:01 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  First it would be good to know what bike you got? Although we here favor cro-mo steel frames nice thing about aluminum frames is they do not rust, I got one each.

PS
Aha saw the image , does not look bad at all good cleaning should do it........

Bike is Nivacrom steel (Columbus MAX tubeset). It is an Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra, in Max. It rides so well, despite being a bit on the heavier side.

I have purchased some AC-50 and will use this as a protective coating, after I clean inside the bolt hole thread with some fine steel wool and WD-40/oil, trying to clean out afterwards with paper towel.

Then apply AC50, or grease.

Is this cleaning with steel wool OK?

Thanks for your advice.

[GeorgeET]

I am not sure what bolt hole you want to clean or how big. I would not use steel wool as it can leave some particles behind. Use products like Liquid Wrench with a brass brush, old toothbrush, or q tip and rag. WD-40 is OK for water dispersion but not great for other uses where more specific fluids are available. Its Ok if that's what you got.

As far as protecting from future rust, just clean on regular basis. Maybe a light coat of grease on cable ends, at the most. What else is rusty? Treatment differs. But a light coat of grease may work. Just make sure it does not become a magnet for dirt because than you will have a grinding compound. Again keep clean. Remember that torque figures on greased bolts are different so do not over tighten

Nice bike Columbus frames are very good...........

[gfish]

(09-16-2014, 01:23 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  I am not sure what bolt hole you want to clean or how big. I would not use steel wool as it can leave some particles behind. Use products like Liquid Wrench with a brass brush, old toothbrush, or q tip and rag. WD-40 is OK for water dispersion but not great for other uses where more specific fluids are available. Its Ok if that's what you got.

As far as protecting from future rust, just clean on regular basis. Maybe a light coat of grease on cable ends, at the most. What else is rusty? Treatment differs. But a light coat of grease may work. Just make sure it does not become a magnet for dirt because than you will have a grinding compound. Again keep clean. Remember that torque figures on greased bolts are different so do not over tighten

Nice bike Columbus frames are very good...........

Thank you, George. Ther eis really very little rust and I think it stemmed from a nickel plated bolt that rusted & crept its way in the bolt hole. I've removed, replaced, but want to do something about the rust that has developed in the frame/on the paint.

I've attached a photo.

Do you think ACF-50 on the bolt will be enough to prevent further rust? I'm not sure how to clean the bolt opening/internal thread without use of steel wool.

Thanks again.

[attachment=5359]

[GeorgeET]

Hmm . The inner surface , threads can be cleaned with a small round brush or use a cut piece of nylon dish scrubbing pad and a cleaner. IMO replace bolt with stainless steel. Most hardware stores have a lots of fasteners or a local bicycle store. The blister I'd carefully remove clean surface, sanding lightly with 400 grit or crocus pad. and use automotive touch up paint to seal it. Use a very small brush like 3/0 and paint one dot at at time.( The brush in paint kit is useless.)

I have used gun cleaning brushes and aquarium brushes. Look around for small round brushes or just use a cut of from dish pad.Its really not that bad.

Yes you can put a protectant on the threads. I am not familiar with ACF50, but it looks good although pricey. IMO put a bit of grease on the bolt and threads, synthetic if you have some, or use Teflon spray, that leaves a protective coating. Tighten bolt with your fingertips, do not over tighten..