I bought this bike a bit over a year ago - tore it down to the frame and used an OA bath on it to remove the rust. Since then, I've coated it with boiled linseed oil as a rust prevention method, but the rust caught it's second wind, shifted to the big ring and is ready for the sprint to the end.

Are there any long term alternatives to a repaint? I really don't want to lose what's left of the hand painted pinstriping and then there's the problem of finding decals. These pictures show the typical damage on the bike.

Best rust preventative is cleaning and drying the bike after every foul weather ride.

Give her another OA bath and then paint it this time...multiple primer and color coats and a couple of clear coats should seal her up really good to keep the rust away for a long time....

Dude, you can ride a bare ass metal frame and not have rust problems if you would just clean and dry her up after every foul weather ride.

That's only true if there's no humidity and you don't store the bike in a garage.

Been here before!

Sand blast - Powder coat is most likely the best...

Cheap version: Strip it, sand it, rattle can engine block primer then engine block enamel then hang in the attic to dry till no smell...

Try not to cry when you loose all your pin stripping and decals...

If you store your bike in a humid area/place you're going to get rust regardless. I do agree if you have a humid garage you'll have rusty bikes. My garage is dry and cool, no problems with rust on my bikes. Maybe it helps that I clean them and dry them off after every foul weather ride?

clean up the rust and then seal the exposed metal with clear nail polish or some other clear paint

then keep your bike inside the house

On painted surfaces, I use OA first, then coat it with rust converter as a primer, then a top coat of Testors model enamel. If you leave metal bare, it is going to rust...

Exposed metal + time = rust.

+1. If you don't want to go with a full strip and OA bath, I've heard some people suggest soaking a rag in Oxalic Acid solution and then wrapping it on the trouble areas. After you've removed the rust, you can spray or brush on clearcoat followed by a wet-sand and polish.

Powder coating: I thought I had read someplace that it doesn't provide as good of seal from moisture as paint does? Can't recall where I read that however...

I don't know why I hadn't considered clear coating the whole frame after the OA bath. I was stuck in touch up paint world and there are so many trouble spots that trying to hit every spot with touch up paint would be impossible. And bonus, I get to keep the 50+ year old decals/pin stripe. I believe I now have a winter project. thanks for your help!

The OP is from North Carolina... I am thinking high humidity is a fact of life there.

Also, boiled linseed oil has very poor rust resistance. Just about useless,

I have clear coated older frames to preserve them once any rust issues have been addressed... have used clear shellac which provides an excellent moisture barrier and gives a very smooth finish.

The OP is dealing with high humidity and probably sweat. Salt on the bike is a way of life in the southeast in the summertime. I even have stainless parts of my frame trying to rust if I don't remove the salt after every summertime ride. I wipe down the bike with a wet paper towel and then dry it. Also, the clear coat idea will only work short term. Rust will appear within a year or so. It'll be little spiders of rust that will keep growing year after year.
Edit: Sixty fiver posted about shellac while I was typing, go with that rather than the other options such as lacquer based clears.

The bike is black, right. Paint with some rustoleum black, with a brush. Black is easy.

Ooops. My bad.

THIS is great advice. I've used this method successfully and I have photos to prove it. My bike had a ton of rust which resulted in a ton of exposed steel. I used oxalic acid (and naval jelly for spot treating areas), I followed that with rust converter, then 2-3 coats of clear nail polish, then car wax. I don't clean or wax my bike often and I do ride my bike in all weather, rain and snow (with salted roads in NE Ohio).

Nearly 2 years later, the frame is still looking good. Here is my thread chronicling the process: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...d-paint-damage

Here is a picture, taken nearly 2 years ago, before rust treatment.

DSC02168 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Here is a picture, taken right after rust treatment.

DSC02247 by mkeller234, on Flickr


Here are two pictures, taken literally 5 minutes ago. Still looking good.

DSC01535 by mkeller234, on Flickr



DSC01538 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Thanks for posting that thread. Great thread and beautiful bike! I'm not sure what happened to the link above but it sends me to a picture when I click it - kinda odd.

You mention in your thread that one of the products caused the metal to blacken. Do you remember which one discolored it? I think that would be perfect for my black paint.

Hijack: would you do the same for chrome that you have just de-rusted? What would you clear coat it with: shellac, urethane (like Varathane), clear nail polish, clear Krylon spray paint, or something else?

I believe the rust converter was the cause for the blackened bits. You can see a couple of black flecks on that mounting tang on the fork, I think that was remaining rust that reacted to the rust converter.

The picture thing, yeah that is really weird. That was a wreath that my wife packaged up. I fixed the link.

Yes and no....Boiled Linseed Oil is the only FAA approved method of rust prevention for the internal tubing of steel framed aircraft, according to the bible called the 43.13. BOT...the tubes have to be sealed to keep the elements out and not allow the oil to be washed off....

PLUS ONE

Shellac is about 7 times more moisture-impermeable than epoxy, and about 3 times better than your medium enamel paint.

Still and all, once the tinworm really takes hold, there's not a lot of easy fix to the problem. In the long run, you're probably going to have to bite the bullet and do a recoat.