Originally Posted by Gary Fountain

Yeah - repaint it. It would be nice to see what is under the paint. I hope there is not too much rust around the bottom bracket. It will probably be fine but an inspection without the paint would be very nice.

I was lucky that I had access to an oxy-acetelene set and a heating torch. I was able to burn paint off frames. It is quite easy to do and the tubes did not heat up enough to change colour. I just used a wire brush to brush away the paint residue which was another very easy task. It left me with a completely bare frame that I was able to inspect and repair if needed. I think the heat stress relieved the frame.

I don't know how you are going to prep the frame but I do suggest removing all the paint so you can see the state of the steel.