Bicycle Mechanics - Chain rust/wear/cleaning

okay first let me say that this is my chain. i bought this 85? miyata 310 off a guy who said it had been in his garage for the past couple years, but it was ~$1200 new (can't remember exact amount). anyways here are some pics of the chain, freshly cleaned chainrings, and dirty freewheel:

wait, before you post that my chain is toast, in general how can one remove rust from an old chain?

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i217/rat_factory/IMG_4033_resize.jpg
cleaned chainrings

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i217/rat_factory/IMG_4032_resize.jpg
uncleaned freewheel

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i217/rat_factory/IMG_4022_resize.jpg
chain length

Ive salvaged worse chains than this with solvent, a stiff wire brush and alot of elbow grease fueled by Guiness(for stength!). Cant do much for stretched chain tho.

A new chain for that bike is what? 5-8 bucks. Just get a new chain, that will extend the life of your entire drive train in the long run.

It's really hard to tell from the photo but it seems the freewheel cogs are in very good condition so a new chain should mate with them wthout problems.

As recommended, get a new chain. The work involved in cleaning up the old one isn't worth it and chains, particularly pre 9-speed, are cheap.

Yes chains are cheap. Also riding and shifting knocks a lot of the rust off.

man what was i thinking. i should just buy a new 6 speed hg chain. i scrubbed the damn thing for half and hour and realized i was ******** to try and use a chain streched 1/2 an inch. the real thing i was worried about was the new chain wearing the old cogs and chainrings unevenly. thanks

If it's been sat in a garage the chain should be fine. The chain lube should have kept the chain internals free from rust. Surface rust on the outer surfaces is mostly cosmetic. Any rust at contact points will quickly get removed.

It's really hard to see if the chain is streched or not in the photo. You need to measure from rivet centre to rivet centre not from the end of the plate. The chainrings and freewheel have very little wear. Usually there is visible wear to the teeth if used with a stretched chain.

I'd measure the chain correctly and if it is stretched replace it. If it isn't stretched just do your nomal lube procedure and ride.

The way that ruler is placed, it's easiest to measure from the 1/2" mark (the start of one plate) to the 12 1/2" mark (where you should find the start of another plate). You'll then see that the chain is only 1/16" or so longer than a new one.

Whenever I measure a chain, I measure it while it is mounted. I've recovered chains that had some mild, not deep, rust by first cleaning in Clorox bleach, then rinse and place immediatley in Simple Green then back to bleach then finally simple green followed by a thorough rinse. Wipe the chain, then place lube on the chain surfaces to prevent rusting when the remaining water evaporates. BUT, if the chain still shows rust, then the rust is too deep. Even if the visible rust is removed by riding with the chain in place, I would be concerned that the metal surfaces are scored and may damage the cassette. Looking at the chain in question, I would probably just replace it.