jayjay8

I bought a used Specialized Hardrock Classic on CL recently, and I'm trying to clean up some rust that has appeared on the frame due to chipped paint. The sizes of the rusted areas range from penny-sized (largest) to tiny scratches (maybe 3cm x 3cm). I've cleaned up a lot of the larger areas by simply scraping off the rust, and I'm considering painting the area over with nail polish to cover up the exposed metal. I've read that nail polish tends to work well, but I'm worried that if I don't get rid of ALL the rust (there may be some remnants of rust between the edges of the paint and the bare metal) that the rust is going to spread underneath the paint and corrode more of the metal. Is this something that I should be worried about, or is painting over a tiny bit of rust ok?

illwafer

do your best and use a neutralizer like Naval Jelly (oxalic acid). follow the instructions.

use clear nail polish, then polish and wax. you can keep an eye on the spots and see how they do. with a waxed frame, rust forms very slowly.

jayjay8

I've read about stuff like Naval Jelly. I could use that for the small areas where it's harder to scrape off the rust, but should I also apply that to the larger areas where I got most of the rust off but where there's still a little rust around the edges?

I'm sorry if my questions sound dumb, but I don't know too much about bikes and the process who how to clean them.
I've looked at these two threads
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ots-what-to-do
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t-spots-safely
for some guidance, but neither were able to answer my original question.

wrk101

Naval jelly = phosphoric acid. I prefer oxalic.

There are at least 500 threads on rust.

bigbossman 

3M sanding pen. Available at most auto parts stores, or Harbor Freight if one is close by.