Originally Posted by
dashuaigeh
Interesting. I was under the impression that sealing the inside wouldn't prevent the spread of rust (just like clear coating over rust won't stop it). Thanks for the brands, I'll check them out.
Either way, I may just try to worry less about the rust. It probably won't affect the frame structurally for a good 25 years, and it seems Jobst Brandt has been riding his steeds all his life without ever worrying about internal rust.
There are nickel rechroming kits, but I'm with OFG on this one. Once chrome is gone, it's usually not worth replacing (too much money or too much time). One option is to polish the metal underneath and hit it with a few coats of enamel clear coat to try to seal the edges (avoiding flaking).
Unless the bicycle was left out in the weather with no saddle there shouldn't be a lot of water staying inside the tubes, so most tubes would just get some surface rust and that is fine. I'm not so sure with the new high zoot beer can thin frames, but I think most of those are treated for rust prevention or are stainless steel anyway.
Years ago it was determined that the process of applying chrome plating was quite toxic, that means in many places it's government regulated and the purchase, use and disposal of the chemicals used is restricted, this makes it very expensive. This is why you no longer see car bumpers being chromed, instead they are plastic coated.
While I like the look of a chrome plated fork and other chrome bits, I would only rechrome one if it was a museum restoration, for a functional restoration (a bicycle to be ridden)I would simply sand it smooth, maybe use some thin filler to make it really smooth then paint. If you want it to look different, then use a different colour or a lighter/darker shade of the same colour as the rest of the bike.