Bicycle Mechanics - help after hurricane Sandy

I searched with no luck, I need your help. My 1980s steel frame peugeot was left at a house that got 4 ft flooding from hurricane Sandy. I pulled her apart and cleaned all the components with a kerosene bath and then used metal polish.(the components have such a great shine, they never were this clean) The only big loss was my Brooks Pro : ( and freewheel. After hours of tear down and cleaning I was wondering how I should clean out the frame itself? It looks like a tiny bit of surface rust inside the bottom bracket and seat tube. How do I go about preventing this from eating from the inside out? I was thinking Por 15 but its too thick to coat the inside. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Pics prior to the storm.
291139

theres some stuff called frame saver that you spray inside of a frame, and it coats it.

if the frame is -totally- stripped of all bits, you could dunk it in a dilute oxalic acid bath, that will remove the rust in a few days. after doing this I'd *thoroughly* rinse it out, inside the tubes and out, completely dry it, THEN use the frame saver on it.

I think you're on the right track with POR15. As far as it being too thick...it's not. A little goes a loooooong way! At one point in an earlier life, I was building a VW Bug from the ground up. I had the floor pan sandblasted and applied 2 coats of POR15 top and bottom. Probably about 100 sq ft total and that wasn't even 1 quart. It's thin...super thin. A 4oz can will do your bike about 10 times over.

For prep, you could use the POR15 Prep & Ready. (First link) Spray it inside the frame and let it air dry.

Then, apply the POR15. Pour a little in, seal up the frame and rotate. I would imagine it would be similar to the instructions for their fuel tank sealer.

http://www.por15.com/PREP-READY/productinfo/MRG/

http://www.por15.com/POR-15/productinfo/1GB/

This was a bike flooded with brackish or salt water? Strip down to the frame, flood it with fresh water. Get in all the vent holes with fresh water. I'd even put some dish washing detergent in the mix as well, flush it out good. Then I'd flush it out with denatured alcohol, this will help absorb water in the nooks and crannies. Then I'd dry it well in a heated, low humidity area for a few days, or hit it with a hair dryer. After all this, I'd then treat the insides to frame-saver or boeshield.

Edit: denatured alcohol is flammable, so be cautious.

The first step is to completely flush it with fresh water to remove any lingering salt. You can't do this too much. After that there are any number of oil/wax protectants available, from the Weigle frame saver, to automotive and industrial products you can find at auto or hardware stores. There's no need to remove the powdery rust, the oils will seal over and around it.

Years ago, we used to seal our frames with linseed oil, but today's aerosol sprays do an excellent job and are easier to apply.

As for the freewheel, I wouldn't be surprised if a fresh water soak, a bit of hand labor to work it loose, followed by an alcohol rinse (removes water), then oil, brings it back to 99% of the way it was before.

Spray the frame interior with fish oil.
panel beaters, auto body guys, use it for inside car stuff.
The fishy smell goes after a week or 2.

Spray the frame interior with fish oil.
panel beaters, auto body guys, use it for inside car stuff.
The fishy smell goes after a week or 2.

I believe that's a "Down Under" product, and don't know if it's readily available in the NY area. Around here fish oil is stuff you eat for it's heart healthy benefits.

But I'm sure the OP will find something comparable at an auto store, since cars have the same problem protecting interior spaces from rust.

Flush it repeatedly with fresh water and fill the tube with this. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=557&engine=adwords!6456&keyword=ospho It leaves a deposit of iron phosphate that will act like a ZRC under coat. Flush out the excess, dry it and treat it with Frame Saver or linseed oil.

There is a rust converting primer on the market that comes in a spray can. It converts light rust into an inert black oxide that protects the metal from further rust. Using an extension tube, you should be able to spray it into most of the areas of your main tubes and BB shell pretty well. Just mask the outside paint well to protect it from overspray. Online you can get it from Eastwood company with the extension tubing for coating the inside of vehicle frames.

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-rust-converter.html

Thanks everyone, I ended up running clean water through, then water/dishsoap mix. Blew it dry with a compressor. Hit the inside of the tubes with Freeall and an old toothbrush scrubbed the headtube seat tube and bottom bracket. Then sprayed all the tubes with Freeall and let it dry.


Thanks for all your help. Now time to find a nice vintage group to put on it : )

Very nice bike, is a good thing it survive from that hurricane. Good Luck and keep your bike looking great :)

Send me your address via the link on the site, and I'll mail you a bottle of Chain-L to hurricane proof the chain for next time (which I hope is a long way off).