Originally Posted by jadesnakebiker

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share some novice and potentially inaccurate advice about treating rust on steel frames.

I'm currently doing some maintenance on my steel '87 Schwinn Prelude which indeed has some rust.

A friend had told me before that rather than trying to remove rust and then paint over it, you can simply chemically treat the rust itself so that it stabilizes and forms a protective coating over the rest of the steel, turning black in color. This is a pretty cool option in that it sounds like a pretty tough protectant (perhaps tougher than paint) and, if you're into it, retains the bike's worn character.

While you can buy different "rust converters" commercially I was hoping to take a more DIY approach and found this helpful article/video: Make Your Own Rust Converter ? All Natural & Food Grade

The author uses a balsamic vinegar reduction (rich in tannic acid, the chemical that converts iron oxide to iron tannate) which evidently works well!

If people comment on this thread I will follow up with my own results on my cro-moly frame.

Cheers!