Removing rust
 

My "new to me" bike has some rusty parts such as crank/chainring bolts, seatpost bolt, qr skewer levers, and some other similar parts.

What is the best way to "rub" off or otherwise remove the rust?

There are numerous threads in the forum about rust removal.

Many here, me included, have had much success with Oxalic acid.

Would I find Oxalic acid in a hardware store? Does it go by any other brand names?

It is normally sold as wood bleach (crystals). Ace Hardware (US) has it, as well as apparently Sherwin Williams paint stores. Savogran is the normal brand name. The kitche cleaner BarKeepers Friend also contains OA and is useful for small parts, etc.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...32-170673780-2

Brass brushes work well and so does a Dremel tool.

Barkeepers works great in surface rust on frames if you can't find a pool to dunk your frame in. Just don't be too aggressive.

Savogram Wood BleachOA is about $9 for a small tub at Ace, but can make gallons of solution. Great for soaking chrome parts in. Don't put non chrome parts in it though, it will turn it black.

I've been happy with Evapo-Rust:

http://www.evaporust.com/evaporust.html

My local True Value ordered it for me. It's between $20-25 a gallon. Works quite well, doesn't damage chrome or aluminum, reusable.

Try balling up some aluminum foil, getting it a little wet and scrubbing any chrome parts. Takes the rust off and doesn't scratch the metal. Works in other metal too, just have to be more careful about scratching.

Do NOT use naval jelly- it will destroy any chrome finish. (how do I know that?)

Google is your friend. Around here, hardware stores do not carry it.

Generic white vinegar does a decent job as well.

Agreed - although I would add that cider vinegar (sometimes called apple cider vinegar) was recently pimped by Rick Dale on 'American Restorations' as a way to remove rust and tarnish from metal. 30 minutes or so in cider vinegar can do wonders on some parts.

Try filling a bath for a frameset (30 to 40 gallons). Price gets way out at that point. OA is reusable as well. Eventually, the solution gets gunked up, but I will treat half a dozen frames, then siphon off a few gallons for small parts.

Sorry, but this is a myth. It doesn't remove the rust. It just deposits the aluminum foil over the rust, making it look like it's been removed. The rust is till there, under the aluminum foil, propogating. Aliuminum foil is nothing but a minimum effort cover-up, favoured by bicycle flippers.