Originally Posted by
gyozadude
Stevr:
If you haven't put chemicals down inside the frame, don't. A little rust coating isn't an issue and I use a corrosion preventive lube to spray. If the rust is scaly, then you've got structural issues with corroded metal and I would try and source some round metal wire brushes and put the shaft into the tube to clean it out a little to get a better idea of how bad the rust really is. Hopefully, you haven't put chemicals down the tube, yet.
But if you did put degreaser down, I would give the inside tubes a very good rinse, with bottom bracket removed, and frame stripped. And while at it, if you can get try and aim water into the chain stays and other tubes, or put the entire stripped frame into a tube of very clean water, dump, and the repeat. And if it's sunny and hot out, I really recommend you leave it out in the heat to bake bone dry. Then I'd spray an anti-corrosive lube (corrosionX, perhaps) to coat the metal on the inside. Wipe drips and excess pools of lube.
The problem isn't the degreaser being there for a short time, but the residue left and what it may do to corrode steel during wet months when moisture can get inside the frame and re-activate any chemical reactions that slowly dissolve joints and welds. A metal impregnated with a lube will help repel water.
So many things wrong...where to start
-A corrosion preventative is a chemical, too.
-Degreaser residue isn't going to dissolve joints and welds - at least not on a human time scale.
-Metal isn't impregnated with lubricant.
Originally Posted by
Stevr
Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I had used degreaser, though only approximately 10ml. I will return to the LBS tomorrow and ask them to assess.
Stevr: Degreaser does nothing for rust. Water based degreaser removes hydrocarbon materials, i.e. oils, in the same way that detergent removes it from your clothes. It basically encapsulates the oil and allows the oil to be washed away with water. That's not something that water and oil usually do.
Used on rust, however, all a water based degreasers do is put water in contact with steel and promote further rust. Something you are probably finding out.
gyozadude's second paragraph is good advice...partly. Strip the frame - check. Rinse the degreaser out - check. What he missed - or didn't know - is to remove the water that you used to rinse the degreaser. This is best done by chasing the water with something that dissolves the water but evaporates quickly. Acetone or denatured alcohol does a very nice job and evaporates quickly. Use either in a well ventilated area (outside works nicely) and
then let the frame bake out in the sun.
Before you reassemble the bike, you can treat it with a corrosion inhibitor if you like.