Originally Posted by birch71
OK... it's really rusty bolts, stem bolts that is, but the title sounds funnier!!
Since I've been riding all winter in Chicago, my stem bolts have a nice coat of rust on them. What's the best way to clean this up and furthermore, prevent this from happenning again?
My use of Boeshield on the bike may remind at times the use of Windex in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Any sign of rust gets treated with Boeshield. With the frequent Boeshield use my bike has no problems standing day by day in the open no matter what the weather. Boeshield also goes to the inside of the frame and the inside of a rack, lock etc. In fact, I've got myself a gallon of Boeshield from an aircraft supplier.
Another strategy is to replace the rusting bolts and nuts with stainless hardware. However, the stainless steel is somewhat weaker than the typical steel in screws. If I were to replace my single stem-clamp screw with stainless, it would break.