I purchased some "green" rust remover that I was told would not damage paint. I wiped down a frame and removed a few small rust spots. Today when I went and inspected the bike in the sun I discovered that the clear coat over the chromed forks was peeled all over. Not only that, the rust is back!

Question 1) Should I wipe it down again just to remove the remaining clear coat for looks sake or could that damage the paint underneath (assuming that the rust remover didn't already destroy it?

Question 2) Can I re-clear coat (I assume I can't just paint on varnish)

Did you neutralize the rust remover afterwards, or did you just leave it on the bike overnight?

photos - I put the frame on a utility box by the street to photo - the orange rust isn't mine!!!

i simply rinsed it down with fresh water from a tap.

Also, many rust removers say not to use them on chrome. Is your chromed fork clear coated?

The fork is/was clear coated. I was told would be okay. My fault. Just have to deal with consequences now.

The clear coat on the chrome is somewhat protective I suppose, but in my opinion is essentially superfluous. The fork of my '84 Odyssey looked much like that, so I masked off the painted part, used paint stripper and fifteen minutes later wiped off the remainder of the age discoloured clear coat. Chrome polish and synthetic wax, and now it's shiny again.

I suppose one could clear coat it again, but why?

machinist42

I was hoping someone would say that would work!! I will do that tomorrow and learn from my mistake and NEVER EVER DO IT AGAIN!!!! Lesson learned and thank you!

You're welcome. Old clear coat more noticeably yellows and turns opaque on the chromed bits on bicycles, so I generally strip it off. (I suspect it's easier to clear coat the entire frame in factory than to mask off the chromed elements, and fresh clear coat doesn't dim chrome's shininess too much.)

I'd advise waiting for others on this forum to weigh in with their approaches and opinions. I consider myself fortunate to have benefited from the abundant wisdom and experience of some of the members here, learning of clever techniques and approaches I had not considered. (Sometimes, though, as with anywhere, not so much.) I'll be checking this thread to see if anyone has come up with a "better" or even different approach. Knowing **** is good.

(Additionally, I'd ask an moderator to move this over to the main forum, as you really are not asking a "worth" question, and it'll be seen by more eyeballs over there.)

OP,
I would remove the clear coat, you can see how much brighter the chrome underneath is.
After removing it use a high quality "paste wax to seal the chrome and just keep waxing every once in a while to keep the rust at bay.
Best, Ben

As this is not a "What is my bike worth?" thread, we have moved it to the regular C&V forum.

@machinist42 How do YOU usually strip off old clear coat?

OP used green rust remover.

What is your material of choice?

I recently polished the chrome fork socks on my wife's Peugeot - I used #oooo steel wool dipped in acetone.
Just mask the fork at the paint line - Chrome polish and wax when you're done - It turned out great

As I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, I mask off and use paint stripper to remove the clear coat: specifically, the gel type.