jptwins

I recently picked up a 1972/73 Fuji 'Special Road Racer' and it had a curious feature when i bought it:
Duct tape covered seat and chain stays. Shiny!


I obviously knew there was going to be some rust, so i wasn't surprised when i removed the tape and saw this:


I'm pretty sure this can't be cleaned off (though i've been surprised by some of the bikes you guys clean up). My question is, what do you usually do with chrome in this shape? Clean it as well as you can and consider it, um, patina? Paint it another color? Wrap it in twine and shellac it, ha ha!

As for the other chrome, which is in better shape: it seems like brass brush and aluminum foil, followed by simichrome seems good.

cheers!

illwafer

you could sand off all the rust and chrome and keep polishing until you had a chrome shine. protect the steel with wax and/or some rust inhibitor.

you could also sand + chrome paint. or sand + any of your other options.

some people will recommend an OA bath, but i think it's beyond that point.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

The chrome on my World Voyageur is totally borked. I went at it with some 2000 grit sandpaper and it shined up a little and smoothed out a lot. My main goal was to get it to a point where it was fairly smooth and not constantly flaking off bits of chrome. Simichrome and tinfoil didn't do much for me....simichrome is really for aluminum parts anyway....not that it will hurt chrome, that's just not its intended use.

After I sanded mine....and I don't know that that's the best route to go, its just what I did....I gave it a shot with some ScratchX and then liberal polishing with Mothers Carnuba wax to help protect it.

khatfull

Definitely beyond OA. I passed on a Fuji Design Series framset for exactly this reason, really icky chrome that the owner simply steel wooled off. I would have liked to have had a chance to OA it but it was much too far gone.

Here's what I'd do: Pull the tape, scrub off everything that's flaking, smooth the stays as much as possible...go the Bondo route if you want to take the time, then mask, prime, and paint nicely with a good quality silver paint. While it certainly won't look chrome it will look better than it does with the tape off, the frame will be protected, and it will look somewhat the part anyway.

jptwins

i'm thinking the sanding sounds good, but yeah, the real question is what to do AFTERWARD... how did it look with the scratchX and wax?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I think it looks damn good considering how it looked when I started. I'm all for some battle scars...its a 40 year old bike after all.
I just keep after it with the Carnuba Wax....to paraphrase Pete Townsend: I don't wipe it down after every ride or anything like that though, I just ride the damn thing.

Mine's only been on the road since April but its seen plenty of sweaty miles and a bit of salty ocean breeze and its still lookin fine. I've reapplied the wax twice and I'll do it again before winter.

here's a before shot...I know I know...you guys have seen this bike a million damn times and are probably getting sick of it


After:


a few months later:


You can see in that last pic where the surface rust was just starting in and making little brown dots on my lugs...That was mild enough that it wiped off with some WD40 and a little elbow grease. When I see that its a good reminder that I should have waxed it a few weeks ago.

I considered painting over the lugs but I have another bike where the PO painted some rusty steel parts with silver paint and it looked like absolute crap. I'm sure someone can do a passable job of it but I haven't seen one.

MrEss

I've got some yucky chrome on my Atala, pretty similar to yours, Zaphod.

I removed the rust with steel wool and "Break-Free CLP" gun oil. Brass wool would have been a better idea, but I was in a hurry. Since it was well-lubricated, the steel wool didn't harm the good chrome much.

The bare areas haven't rusted at all because Break-Free is awesome like that. I'll probably just give it another go every year or two for good measure.

Maxturbo

Nothing short of re-plating will bring it back 100% and it's beyond wire brushing. BUT...I'd go with the aforementioned hand abrade to remove all rust, Bondo, sand, "chrome" paint but add a clear-coat topper (to increase luster, and more importantly, durability).

There is also a "chrome" powder coat on the market that does a credible (luster wise) if you happen to be concidering a full frame paint job.

I restore vehicles for a hobby (sometimes a living), FWIW.

Max

jptwins

Thanks everyone, i'll post pictures when it's done. I think I'll opt for the chrome or silver paint with clearcoat.

gaucho777 

Anyone have any advice for "cloudy" chrome? My Peugeot has some large spots where the lustre is gone, and I've wondered what if anything can be done to restore the shine.

iab

Caswell plug and plate sort of works. YMMV.

https://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm

gaucho777 

^ They even have gold plating kits!