urbanplanner19

forum, pardon the seemingly mundane post, i searched the forum and couldn't find anything specific to an older bike.

i bought an old AMF 3-spd for my wife. it's really cute, but it could certainly use a good clean. rust on most of the chrome, dirty grips, etc. do you guys have any experience with this type of thing? any tips, things to avoid, or things you found helpful in trying to make that old (previously neglected) bike shine?

thanks a lot.

BearsPaw

I'm hardly an expert, but I recently acquired a 60's three speed that was DIRTY. I used Simple Green and some old rags to clean everything. The biggest problem I had was getting all the oil off of the rear hub. I found dipping an old toothbrush in my SG solution was good for getting that off. When I was done, I dried everything and re-lubed the drivetrain.

I buy Simple Green at Walmart in the automotive section, not sure where else to get it.

I've never had to remove rust from a frame, hopefully someone else can answer that.

tolfan

first I take it all apart and clean the frame, citrus cleaner works good for me. I take the fork and crank off and repack the bearings replace if needed. surface rust will clean off with wd40 and a green scruby, wire brush on a dremel for the hard stuff. If the rust is pitted into the metal replace or live with it. New cables always a good idea. Pick a metal polish you like for the shiney parts and I use mcguires car polish for the painted parts. Have the wheels checked and trued if needed at the local bike shop.If the spokes are rusty the cheapest way to replace them is to do it your self one at a time and then take them to the lbs. New tires always look good on top of the safety part and a new chain makes a big diference. dont know about working on 3 speed hubs.

East Hill

Urbanplanner19, do a search for 'oxalic acid', that will help with the rust issues, and I think that you will get some good information out of those threads.

As tolfan says: New cables, new tyres (if they look at all rotted), and a new chain if the old one is rusty (it's not that you couldn't clean it up, but chains are cheap).

Good luck with the project, and we will expect pictures when you are done .

East Hill

cuda2k

Simple Green or a citrus cleaner will cut through the grime pretty quick. Haven't tried Oxalic acid, but I've had pretty good luck with a chrome polish also from the automotive section of Walmart (turtle wax brand I think) and some mothers aluminum polish for components that aren't chrome plated.

bigbossman 

Nope - none of use here have any experience with this sort of thing. We stick to the new, clean stuff.....

The best way to overhaul/clean a vintage bike is to strip it down as far as you can, clean the parts separately, and re-assemble. Tires/tubes/cables/brake pads are a usually a given fro any bike I'm keeping for myself.

For smaller chrome bits, a weak Oxalic Acid/warm water solution works for getting rid of rust. For larger rusty parts, a liberally lubricated scouring pad (Chore-Boy/000 steel wool/pot scrubber) works well when applied with care. WD-40 is a great lubricant for this, as is Kroil and other light solvents/oils.

Stiff tooth brushes are your friend, as are small wire welder's brushes for steel parts like the freewheel. Blasting a cruddy freewheel with WD-40 and hitting it with the welders brush does wonders.

For gleaning grime, dirt, grease, and grunge off of painted surfaces like the frame, I like Awesome (at the 99 cent store!), Simple green, or just plain car wash detergent works well.

If you cannot/don't want to strip the frame, foaming engine degreaser works pretty well on greay hubs/BB/crank areas.

To rejuvenate paint, I like Meguilar's polish or fine cut glaze. other's have had success with Sratch-X. Mother's alloy wheel polish works great on alloy bits.

jim10040

What about scratches in the paint? There are many rub marks on mine (it really does have metal flake paint!). What about saving decals? I'm thinking of my Univega Gran Tourismo. I like the stickers (in good shape), and the paint can't be beat. Mag-who-sis polish I can do, but in the process, will it hurt the decals?

urbanplanner19

excellent help. thank you all VERY much.
I will post a picture of the completed project.

East Hill

Thank YOU very much! We love pics.

East Hill