Is it really important to let it dry for 12 hours and then reapply a 2nd coating?

Do you also use the entire can on 1 bike?

I plan on doing this on both my bikes within the next month.

Rode my Pista for a long time yesterday (with 2 guys from Bike Forums!) and we went through a lot of wet parts where the snow didn't melt yet.

I still haven't cleaned the bike off, too tired yesterday, but I hope no water got down the seat tube (it wasn't raining).

The purpos of the delay between coats is to allow the previous coat to set up. Much the same manner as a painting process. If it is coated as a massive glob, then it will run off and puddle in the low places and the upper parts are just like they got one coat.
I prefer Extend Rust treater myself. It is chemically reactive to rust and forms a primer-like hard finish. Both work fine. To help with the seat tube water entry issue, make sure there is a drain hole on the bottom bracket shell. Doesnt have to be much, 1/8 will be fine. Then grease the neck of the seatpost collar area where the clamp splits, that is the primary entrance point.
Another steel maint trick that is always good is storing in a warm/living room temp at least periodically. The heat allows the moisture inside to dry a bit better.

Is there any other place to store the bikes ?

My furniture in my living room has names like "Selle Italia" and "Salsa."

I did that in my dorm room in college, but I can just barely convince my landlords to allow them in on work permits. Times change

Do you really have to treat it twice? I only did one coat. Not that I'm cheap, just did know you had to do 2 coats.

I cleaned my Pista last night and took everything apart, and WD-40'd the hell out of it...

OMG it was a freaking mess! I had to put my cats in their carriers so they wouldn't come and lap up the WD-40, I almost passed out from the fumes too.

There was some rust developing on the inside of the seat tube already (also on my Poprad, which actually had more rust and I haven't even ridden it as much as the Pista!).

I hope the WD-40 helps, it was a spur of the moment thing the I decided to do all that last night.

I think I'm going take my Poprad to the bike shop and have them to it professionally (at least I hope they do it right).

Is frame saver really necessary? Like is my steel frame going to spontaneously vaporize while i'm riding it one day?

Framesaver will extend the life of your steel frame... I don't know by how long though, but just looking inside my seat tube and seeing all that orange rust on both of my bikes (that I purchased within the last 2 months)... gives me the heeby jeebies already.

I read some articles on the Rivendell Bicycles website that were interesting.

I'm sure surface rust like what I'm seeing is not a big deal, but it's still annoying, considering I never got that with my aluminum bikes.

WD-40 is a fairly lightweight (viscosity-wise) lubricant/cleaner/degreaser. So while it claims to drive out water, I think I'd stick with something heavier like grease. The last thing you want is either the stem or seatpost rusting into your frame.

Yikes, I think the bike will be hanging in a museum before it gets to that point. I hope to get a new bike every couple of years. (I've actually been through 8 bikes over the last year, I've kept 2 of them, returned 1 and sold off 5 on Craigslist). I just like to take care of my belongings while I have them.

given enough time, WD-40 evaporates!-all of it. It is not grease. It is only good as a temporary, quick fix lubricant.

I did both of my steel bikes this winter. I still have enough left for at least one more bike. I took the wheels, cranks and fork off, stuffed rags in the headset cups to protect them from runoff and spent several minutes after spraying each coat rotating the frame in several directions to help distribute the product. I did the second coat the next day, and waited another day or two to reassemble. It's easy enough I figure to redo it every 3-5 years, as that gives me a good excuse to do a full visual inspection.

What about an old steel bike with maybe a lot of advanced rust--would "protecting" the frame at this late stage slow down the rusting?

This is good info for me, because I hope to keep the bikes I enjoy riding forever. A good steel bike should never expire if cared for!

Extend rust reformer is made to halt (reform?) existing rust. It is actually designed to bond to the present corosion porousity to form it into a ceramic-like surface. So the answer is yes BtW, this Sedona pictured is a 1993 from a tropical island. 3rd paint job and no internal rust because I had treated it.

I was easily able to treat two bike frames to two coats of Frame Saver each from one can. Spray it down each main tube and rotate the frame several times to be sure the wet coating is evenly distributed before it drys. Be sure to spray inside all of the stays using the vent holes and a thin tube to get the Frame saver into them.

Am I the only one that finds it annoying that new frames don't come with a rust inhibitor applied by the manufacturer? Seriously, if they are going to paint the outside, they should take care of the inside as well.

Paul

imo, framesaver isnt necessary for most people. if you are tough on your frame or live in an area that is hard on steel, then it is probably worth it. i bought a can of framesaver and i've never used it.

OP, if you went through some puddles, it's not going to hurt your bike. if you commute in portland year round, then i would have different advice. if you are going to use framesaver, make sure you get it into your bottom bracket. even the grease on your seat tube is going to protect that area.

+1 What he said.


As far as whether framesaver is necessary, it depends on the riding environment (comments above) and how long you plan to keep the bike. My regular riders are a 1984 Lotus Classique and a 1987 Schwinn Prologue. You bet I am using framesaver.

Absolutely right. My rain/beater bike is an '83 Trek 400 lugged steel frame that is ridden almost exclusively in bad weather and on wet roads. I treated it with Frame Saver when I bought it used in the late '90's and after 10 years of abuse it has no rust of any kind.

If you live in a fairly dry area and almost never ride in the rain, don't bother with Frame Saver but it's cheap protection and good insurance. What's the downside of using it?

About to apply framesaver to my pugsley..

I noticed there are tiny vent holes at the rear dropout where seat and chain stays meet. I'm concerned that applications of framesaver (it being extremely sticky) will clog up the vent holes.. What do you guys think?

The holes are (were) there to vent gasses during welding.

oh doesn't serve any purpose of draining water out if it gets into the tubes?

All rust is "surface rust". That rust you see, used to be the surface. Boiled linseed oil or Boeshield can be used instead of framesaver. There are also other products similar to Boeshield on the market (CRC makes one). Boiled linseed oil is probably more difficult to apply as it isn't in aerosol form. Also, linseed oil and rags are a fire hazard.

If you keep it clean it will most likely outlast you. I am assuming that the frame is chrome -moly or moly manganese. Rust is not a big problem.