Originally Posted by
jet sanchEz
Geez, that is a nice job you've done of cleaning it, did you use oxalic acid?
I did use some OA, but mostly just for the small parts.
For the paint I used Blue Coral clearcoat polishing compound, followed by Zymol wax. I used Testors paint for the touch up spots, then carefully wet sanded and followed up with the polishing compound. Not perfect, but a massive improvement.
I also cleaned years worth of crud off the decals (very carefully) the same way.
I did try soaking a complete wheel in OA. The rims were fairly true, the butted chrome plated spokes were rusty. I made a box from 2 x 6 lumber and lined it with plastic. I pulled the bearings and axle and coated the races with a heavy coat of grease.
It worked, but the spokes were pitted. I will relace the original wheels with stainless steel spokes that will stay nice. I think the rust would soon return to those chrome plated spokes.