Greetings.

I am restoring a Schwinn Varsity. The components need polishing, so I'm looking for recommendations on how to go about that. I've tried the aluminum foil technique, and I'm not too fond of it. I've seen suggestions for WD-40 and steel wool, but I'm wondering if there's a polish, something that can be used with a soft brush. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Don't use steel wool on chrome - use dilute Oxalic Acid (wood bleach from your Sherwin Williams store) or vinegar instead.
For alloy bits, it's Mothers' mag polish or Blue Magic.

WD-40 is great and is a good clean up agent but should not be used with steel wool. Try a milder dish washing pad and some strait vinegar. Steel wool should be your last resort option.

I had good results with fine steel wool and lots of WD40.

Steel wool removes rust AND chrome, it can't tell the difference. And it does nothing to remove the rust you can't see visually (but will be back in bloom in a month or two). OA is your friend. Rust removal has been discussed close to 1000 times, so search is your friend, lots of opinions and comments out there. I've been using OA for many years, on hundreds of bikes. Stopped using anything abrasive about 5 years ago when I destroyed the chrome on a set of forks.

Rustoleum Rust Remover at Walmart, about $6
Works well with a toothbrush.
Elbow grease. Do not use it on aluminum, or let it sit.
If it turns alloy or aluminum black, it can be polished, but that's more work.

Chrome polish works once the rust is removed, but it's mildly abrasive, that's how it polishes.
If the metal under the rust has no chrome on it any more, you'll have to deal with that.
I use Testor's silver paint on some flips, just to hide the rust spots. It's not permanent.

OA is the best, but it's got its own procedures. They are here somewhere.

Chrome is treated by abrasives or chemicals. You have to decide which is best based on what's on/in/under the chrome.

I'm new to OA, but also favor it over steel wool, I think you have the right idea with a more gentle approach to these things. wrk101 makes a good point, there are lots of threads on technique. Sometimes it helps you to decide your involvement in the future of a bike gone wrong. The question- is this bike worth a kiddie swimming pool of OA? has helped me get off the fence a lot of times in the past.

Never steel wool, instead use fine brass wool it cost more but won't scratch the chrome. I use OA when I have a lot of stuff to do but the results have been mixed as of late, so if I can I use Navel Jelly to remove rust, it is a little more work and can make a mess but the results have always been good. I use a plastic storage container to work in and I use a old paint brush to apply it, you need to be careful of painted surfaces as it will remove paint. As with anything like this you need to wear rubber gloves and eye protection to be safe it will burn your skin if you get it on you but it can be washed off with water( I keep a damp clean rag when I am working with it with a T shirt on to wipe my arms if it splashes on me).

Bronze wool / bronze wire brush / bronze wire brush on a Dremel / bronze wire brush on an electric drill. Most rust will come off with no chemical help.

However, if you want to help the process along, you can soak the small parts in vinegar. For bigger stuff, especially rims, I cut paper towels into long 3" strips, soak them in vinegar, wrap them around the part, and seal it in a trash bag for a couple of days. Most of the rust will then wipe off easily. It doesn't work quite as well as oxalic, but it works (and it doesn't present the toxic disposal problems that oxalic does).

Small batch OA jobs are easy to do, lots of cheap containers at the $1 store For rims just stand them up and give them a rotation once a day, much easier than applying "elbow grease" and the AO gets all the rust not just what's visible to the naked eye.

Based on my experience, I think there may be some wrong assumptions about using steel wool on chrome.

Since I've used it so many times, even on fine chrome, with great results, I don't think the steel wool itself can scratch chrome, although it obviously can remove loose chrome flakes.

The problem with fine scratching, as I see it, turns out to be the presence of abrasive material (sand, silica dust) that in on the surface before cleaning with steel wool. Never use any scouring pad, metal or otherwise, on dirty chrome, and never use any scouring pad such as ScotchBrite that contains relatively coarse abrasives.

I might add that a very coarse steel wool or very heavy rubbing could possibly impress the thin chrome layer into the softer copper layer below, and appear as scratches, but steel and rust itself don't seem to be hard enough to actually scratch the chrome, again based on my experience.

So, before using wool pads to remove rust specks and coloration, I advise to scrub first with soap and water.

And, for the totally shot chrome on bolts and hardware, I have a deburring wheel (think compressed ScotchBrite) on my grinder that will polish the surface bare in preparation for some metal polish and regular waxing or oiling to prevent rust. This gets them on the road looking sharp, and I can get new hardware or re-chroming at a later time. I did this with my 1962 Continental's front derailer cage, and have since found a NOS Huret cage on Ebay.

I think I'll try a couple of the suggested methods on another old bike, one I'm not too concerned about, before I go to work on polishing the Varsity. It looks like this bike was stored in a garage for the last 30 years because the rust on it is not so bad. Fortunately, I'm in New Mexico where there's no humidity, so whatever rust I do rub off will take a long, long, long time to return.

I appreciate all the advice.

Sprayman

Best of luck, sprayman. Let us know how it all turns out.

I'll +1 the chemical rust removal techniques for chrome. Oxalic is a wonderful thing. It can turn this:




...into this:




Not a single bit of rubbing or scrubbing here except a light toothbrush a couple times during the OA soak to expose more untreated rust.

OA: This:




To this:





This:




To This:






From This:




To this:




The chrome frame parts came together to this:

Oxalic Acid is the bees knees, no rubbing required. Just fill a plastic tub or something partway and throw all the rusty bits in it for 24 hrs and you're golden.

Nice work, and sweeeeeeeet looking bike. Thanks. I'm now sold on OA.

Good choice, it really does work well.

Totally agree, it does work well -- however, you really should look at this thread and pay attention to what Panthers007, who knows what he's talking about:

https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-611932.html


It's pretty poisonous stuff, even after being neutralized with baking soda. Disposal is a problem. Just be aware of what you're working with and be responsible, ok?

I found this thread a few weeks ago when I was searching for info about Aluminum polishing. It's a darn good tutorial, but wanders a bit. Read through the whole thread:

https://www.vintagebmx.com/community/...wtopic=4005471

Oxalic acid (and other acids) is the primary active agent in deck and driveway wash so I doubt it can be all that bad if the EPA allows it to be sold with the primary intention being to spray it on your deck or driveway and rinse it into the ground or down the storm sewer.

The acid bath I use is sold to remove rust stains from driveways and such, works great.

BTW-Naval jelly works wonders on Scwhinn chrome rims but it does take a little scrubbing, I don't have a bath big enough for wheels and frames.