urbanturban8

Hi all, first post here, somewhat long time lurker.
I've recently acuired a PUCH Vent Noir II Frame that i love but it came with problems such as missing fork (substituted by BLB) and a very iffy condition - alltho not rusted it has a lot of pit stains, and chews through the chrome on the downtube and under the top tube - the rest seems mostly fine but they are so many i'm considering having it refurbished somehow - maybe after that i can work on getting vintage parts as it now has a mishmash of components on it.

I will try and get better pictures of the "Damage" - the frame handles and behaves flawlessly and there is from what i can tell no rust - i think it would be a shame to just paint it black (as the original vent noir) or any other colour then chrome/smoked chrome.... i would love to have some info on the chrome job it had (hard or decorative?) so i can try and maybe figure out a way to restore it. Shops around here only do decorative chrome so i would have to look towards austria / hungary for a solution if so...

any advice would be appreciated -

exxongraftek

A fellow owner of one of these bikes says the chrome is very hard, that the hardness compared to standard chrome was a selling point.

Be VERY careful in choosing a rechroming shop, the process is very corrosive and if not done properly will expose the Reynolds 531 tubing on your frame to internal (thus VERY dangerous) rust. Good luck!

photogravity

Were it me, I'd treat the rust and ride it. Chrome refinishing is very difficult to get right.

urbanturban8

thanks for the replies

i've been reading more and will leave it as is and will have to decide between waxing it every 3-6 months (will strip some of the on top decals as the "gold sprinkle" is so old it peels by itself sometimes - i feel bad for the puch writing but since its peeling - it will undermine the coating)

another option suggested by someone was to clean it really well and powder/clear coat the whole thing to stop moisture from getting in from the outside...

Wildwood 

54cm Vent Noir
seattle craigslist.

***Classic/Vintage Austro Daimler Vent Noir II

no contact with seller.
i can facilitate.