favorite method to clean a frame?
1st I gotta say - the search function's just not working tonight. I keep getting the strangest results.
So anyway, I've got three old Peugeots: two from 1975, another from the early 80's, all white.
1) With one, it's is amazing shape, no rust, hardly any nicks, and the decals look new. However, around the BB there is a thin film of tough baked-on grease, that I assume has leaked out of the BB over the years. Rubbing it with a rough towel soaked in undiluted Simple Green did not make a dent in it. I tried a bio-cleaner of some type from the bike shop with the same result. I want to remove it without harming the paint.
2) with the other two, both have lost of nicks, some exposed metal, and some rust. What's the best approach for removing rust without scratching or dulling the paint? The 80's model has that "pearl" effect in the paint, so I don't want to screw that up. A friend suggested naval jelly for the rust. Is that safe on paint? And he suggested Simichrome to polish the very oxidized alloy stem and cranks on one of them.
The other thing I was considering on the bike frame was using the type of polishing compound that worked so well on my old cars (before they started clear-coating them).