Sand it, treat it, clean it. After you’re done removing the rust, that should be a relatively easy to touch-up job with black paint if you wish. From my perspective, it looks like it’s definitely early enough to salvage, and worth the effort for a well-made, versatile lugged frame.

That said, I don’t have any experience with this model, but I am a battered veteran in the war against rust. Case in point: my commuter, which is currently undergoing its semi-annual periodic oxalic acid bath and cleansing which started last weekend. Planning to put it back together this weekend. I love this bike. I’m not about to give it up. What if this Trek is such a bike for you? I want that for you. You live in Portland. Embrace it.

Before



All I did was quickly scrub it with a mildly-soapy brush, and toss it in an oxalic acid bath (sold in many hardware stores as wood bleach, roughly 1 tbs per gallon).

Typically, it only takes about 24 to 36 hours for light to moderate rust. This bath lasted a few days but hopefully bought me several more years on my faithful Cilo. (I have an identical back-up frame in the wings.)