What can/should I do about rust on the frame?
 

I recently inherited a late 70's Motobecane Grand Touring from my dad who no longer rides enough to need a dedicated road bike, much less the four he has. I'm loving the bike, but there are two, at least that I've noticed, small patches on the frame where the paint has chipped and it's started to rust. How serious a problem is this, and what options do I have for dealing with it? I assume I could repaint it, but I'd hate to alter the look of it. Also, I hate to come across as a cheapskate, but I'm not exactly rolling in disposable income here, how much would it run me to repaint the frame, and are is there any way I could solve the problem on the cheap, if only as a temporary measure?

Pictures of the area?

one thing you can use is clear nail polish, but this may require sanding the rust off first

Auto touch up paint is another option. There are a lot of colors, so you could likely find a match. Some people have used colored fingernail polish, for the same reason.

I would not use touch-up paint without removing all the rust and using a good primer, compatible with whatever you put over it. A zinc-rich primer would be ideal, but any good primer will seal better than color coat, and also provide a better substrate for the color coat.

The reason for all this is simple: rust propogates even better beneath poorly-adhered or cracked paint than it does left open -- because the moisture and oxygen at the rusting surface are protected, and the conditions for rusting are maintained longer. Once rust becomes scaly, the scale acts in the same way, begetting more rust all the easier.

If you don't want to go to the removal, prime and paint route, I would simply keep the rusty areas oiled as part of your regular maintenance of the bike. The frame will last longer that way, than if you do a halfways job of touching up.

Alright thanks guys, I'll see what I can do about getting pictures of the rust spots later tonight

I have some pretty bad rust on my new frame. I'm concerned. Do take into account that it is going to take a long harsh abuse to fully kill a steel bicycle frame. I wouldn't worry too much. You probably have some minor surface rust. If it is bubbled then you will need to be more abrasive, don't worry too much about frame rust or you will never enjoy riding a steel bike.