I picked up a 1984 Trek 760 today; components are in great condition, and the frame has some surface rust on it (cable rub areas). I don't know of the condition of the whole frame, I have yet to remove the bottom bracket for further investigation. The bike rides wonderfully though; god I love steel frames!

My two questions:
1) Should I worry about lead paint when stripping the paint off the bike?
2) if I find some rust on the inside of the tubes, is there a way to remove it (cheaply)? I've read that I can use a rust prevention spray to prevent more rust, but am curious as far as how to clean the inside of the frame.

I am very excited right now though; this is going to be the perfect road bike for me if I don't find any issues with the frame. :-)

1) Not sure on that one. i never thought of older bikes having lead paint. I imagine it could be very possible. Yikes, I should be more carefull!

2) If you want to prevent more rust go with Weigle Frame Saver, if you want to completely remove it, go to your local hardware store, and get some deck bleach. It contains Oxalic acid. Mix up some of this with some water in a large container (strength depends how long you have to let it soak. I did about 1 part acid to 3-4 parts water) and dip the whole frame in it. Be sure not to have ANY aluminum in the acid it will tarnish the steel. Let it soak till the rust is gone. (for me it was about an hour). The acid wont hurt paint either, but make sure to clean the raw steel with soap and water first. After the rust is gone, I would Frame Saver the insides of the tubes.

Good luck!

-Jerry

You don't suppose people have 'oxalic acid parties'? Maybe somebody gets a kiddie pool + some acid, gets like 10 buddies together, everybody throws in a couple bucks for the acid and some beer, then dunk their frames into the pool and drink beer for an hour? How about this, how important is it to get rid of whatever rust is inside if the frame? Will frame saver, prevent it from spreading?

the paint is Imron, like all of the older bikes. I dunno when (or if) they ever changed paint, but all of the early steel ones were painted with Imron. You should use care not to breathe the dust if you sand it, even cured it has a little toxicity.

haha! thats a cool idea! if you can see rust flakes or if there is any buildup in your BB area, I would dip it. Its its just lightish surface rust, I would just frame saver it. I have a frame (the windsor in my sig) that has super nice paint that i didn't dip, just in fear of it wrecking the paint. I frame savered it instead. My Davidson, I also just frame savered.

fyi, my deck bleach was only like 7$ i think. I used about 3/4 of it to dip 4 columbus brain tubesets, and a whole bunch of lugs/brazeons/dropouts etc that I just bought that had light surface rust. Turned out great. Be sure to wash your hands after having them in the acid. Starts to sting after a while.

-jerry

Years ago in the '70's a brilliant friend of mine wanted to strip his Claud Butler frame for repainting. Took it to an engine rebuiler and had them tank it in the stuff they soak engine blocks in. They gave him back a bag full of tubes, lugs, drop outs, etc. Turns out that caustic engine cleaning solution disolves brazing material. BTW, he's the same dude who forgot he had his brand new, never riden, beautiful red Roberts on his VW roof rack. He remembered just as he drove into his garage. And then there was the time he didn't realize his shoe string was caught between the chain and chain wheel at the start of a criterium race. He owned a bike shop and bought a new pnematic frame holding fixture that clamped on the seat tube. Do you know how thin the seat tube on a super light English criterium bike is? Apparently he didn't either. Since he bought a slew of Roberts frames they took pity on him and replaced the tube for free. It never ended with that guy.

BTW, great bike. I wish I still had mine.