I know this is likely to involve some really rubbery argument, but what are users take on frames that are "too far gone"?

The ride in question is an Australian built 531 frame, possibly by a known maker, but I'm checking that further for now. Came with a 27.2 post, and weighed in at 2.8kg frame + fork + headset. It was a basket case parts-wise, after being stored with little or no care for an indeterminate length of time. I always find flash photos make rust look absolutely hideous, but I didnt have a chance to take daylight shots of this before I stripped it back.

All I've done is stripped the paint off with gel chem and a scraper, and hit it with 400 grit paper to take off a few remnants. I will still give it a once over with 240 grit, and 400 again if its worth saving, before painting it.

BB from behind, before:


After:


TT before:



After (without flash):


DT/ST junction before:


After:


Underside DT after:


Its the spidering on the upper side of the DT (does this have a proper name??) that worries me most, I think.

HT before:


HT after (opposite from above, this side was worse):


For interest, the RD and FD looked like this:


The BB lockring was much the same, but the cups were fine.

I'm actually leaning towards binning it, to be honest. There's a few more pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/slartyb...eat=directlink

Jim

Looks like a decent frame. I'd probably spend a few bucks to get it blasted, then decide.

I have saved frames that looked like that and they ended up riding fine. I soaked them in an OA bath and frame saved the inside of the tubes. It will never look perfect as the rust will leave some pitting but I think structurally it will be ok.

How do the inside of the tubes and bottom bracket shell look?

If it were me, I would probably knock back as much of the rust as I could (OA), coat the frame with a rust inhibitor and build it up as a beater/commuter.

I would not invest in a proper paint job.

Bin it? Not hardly - that's just surface rust. However, if you don't get it all off, it's just going to come back from under your new paint. You need to hit it again with some coarse grit and continue until it's completely gone.

Look at it this way: there's not a whole lot of pitting going on, so that's a good thing. Check out the couple of photos below. Pitting all over this Guerciotti frame, but it's not a goner by a long shot - I've just got a crapload of Bondo work ahead of me





Good luck!

DD

Hmmm, maybe I've been thinking about this negatively, huh? There's no rust blooms inside the tubes or BB shell, and nothing that feels like its eating away at the tubing. Whoever owned it appears to have lubed the headset and seat tube with some sort of black sludge, so maybe thats helped.

Even though its 531 and well made, it was only ever going to get a home rattle can job.

Jim

Since this is a nice 531 frame with only surface rust it is far frome being to gone. With a OA bath and litte sanding that frame should be just fine to paint and build up with a little work. If your just looking to do a rattle can job you could clean it up spray it with rust converter and just paint it just use some good quality etching primer.

Life is too short to deal with these things. If you really like it, have it blasted and powdercoated for $80 and be done with it.

+1 to this unless you're the type who can't leave well enough alone like me

I like it, but I also like my face firmly attached to my...face. I dont want to go eating tarmac for the sake of a $50 chance pickup, if you get me.

240, 400, etch primer, rattle can. I think I have my weekend planned.

Jim

Cool - please post some after pics for us

DD

Rust pits can be filled with a skim coat of plastic filler after all of the rust has been removed with acid.

I got some time on the weekend to get some sanding done. The rusty bits cleared up nicely, without no pitting aside from one minor spot on the DT. I didn't bother to fill it in, the primer did a decent job of it, and it is only destined to be a beater for a while.

Sanded:



I did a little more around the cable guides after this, these were the worst areas showing surface rust:



Superbe Pro dropouts under the paint (and fork tips):


Detail sanding...what fun...


Primed:


Rattled fork:



Should be able to start the frame next weekend, and clear the fork at the same time.

Jim

Lookin' good, Jim - and I love the pics of the bare frame details. Wish there was a way to ensure a clearcoat over bare metal would endure through the years!

Eagerly anticipating the finished/built-up bike

DD

Looking good! If they're not rare specimens, I love bikes in this condition. Very fun projects that turn out good riders for cheap -- and you don't need to beat yourself up if you do an imperfect job.

And imperfect it will be...








The blue looks darker in the flesh, nowhere near this pale.

Jim

You're doing a great job familyguy. I agree, it looks like a real fun project and I look forward to the next instalment. I really like the blue even though it is a little darker in the flesh as you point out. I think this colour opens up all sorts of possibilities regarding the final aesthetics. Well done.

Looks good, I would have a it sand blasted. I like the color looks like my 1972 Carlton Professional I'll be building up soon.

frame color is very fresh!

+1

It's just surface rust with what doesn't look like very much pitting. 99.9% of the metal is still there and hasn't been compromised.

I don't sand anything unless the paint is really flaking. I just brush it off and clean it really well with Dawn blue dish soap to get the oils out of the rust which will inhibit the OA from getting in and doing its job.

Let it soak and do the work for you. OA will turn the rust into a salt which will either float away on its own or be easily brushed off with a scrubby pad or a brass brush. You will be amazed at what is just surface rust or blooming scabs that will pop right off and leave a pretty good surface behind.

With a little surface-filling bondo the pitting can be made smooth for painting. Either rattle-can or spring for a $100 powder-coat. I'd say that just about any 531 or other higher-end steel tubing deserves a $100 powder coat but that is just me. Rattle-can just chips too easily and is too soft.

But that blue looks nice. Put it out in the hot sun to cook for a few days or a week and get a chance of hardening up.

Great looking frame.

Finished painting it, cleared it, got the Primax needle bearing headset put back into it:



Missing the top nut from the headset, so I'll have to locate something suitable to replace it. This is going to be a fixed-gear-road conversion for starters, which may turn into "a while", I think.

Parked it behind my '79 Fuji Finest II for a comparison. Geometry is markedly different.



Jim

Great project! Thanks for keeping us posted.....

looks great- I am itching to paint a bike, have not done one myself for a few years.

you should be proud.

mike

Beautiful job, good work saving it!