Hi,

I have a couple of steel bikes and one has some rust (which is fine because it is a beater), and a new one which has some dings (from installing wheels etc.). I want to know how I can protect these bikes from (further) rust.

I have read in places that automotive clear coat doesn't usually work. On my beater I will need something that can cover fairly large areas and on my new bike I can make do with some touch up paint (will nail varnish work?).

So my question is: what is the best way (which isn't paint - don't want my beater to end up looking nice!) to cover exposed areas to prevent rust?

Thanks

Daven

Automotive wax.

I use paste floor wax.

Navy Tuf Glide if you can find it.

Another trick you can do is strip all the components off the frame, then strip the frame to bare metal. Soak it in water with a little acid added, with the negative terminal of a current-limited power source hooked up to it. Hook the positive end up to a plate of nickel or zinc and let it run. The anode (positive side) will oxidize, then dissociate, float across the water, de-oxidize against the cathode, and plate it with metal.

Aluminum you can do, but make it the anode and it'll turn funny colors.

back in the Bronze Age many Italian bikes came with pearlized paint and the concept of factory touch up paint didn't exist yet.

Most found that the only way to get a decent match for touch up was nail polish, and those who used it found it provided long term (decades) of protection. Unfortunately paint fades over time, so many of these carefully matched touch up jobs ended up looking line acne scars, but that's another issue.

touch up paint chips as they happen, stainless steel bolts,
You can Internally coat the frame, while all apart.
there are prior how-to's on that to search thru.

Thanks for all the replies. This sounds like the easiest solution - how often do you apply it?

Thanks

Daven

Moving to a place with no oxygen in the atmosphere would really solve it..

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