that's really not a bad idea considering a rusted out broken retrospec frame gives me just as much pleasure as a painted one

also look at the grass and palm trees, it seems that is a place that never sees salted roads or moisture.

Good point cc700. You are correct. This bike is my "cruise around the block" bike. I can only speak from my personal experience. Besides, I'm still brushing paint off this this stupid thing.

haha same deal with my rims two years ago.

but yeah, that bike would already have rust on it had it ridden around my block once a week ago.

Awesome

You got it right!

Great looking bike. Inspires me to press on with my raw project. I've got hours in it and have barely started.

furyus

Here's a little bike porn in the "nude".
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...n/24f3c66d.jpg

OP. You might want to look into some chemical paint stripper, which should speed things up considerably. Check the paint dept at Home Depot. The paint stripper is brushed or sprayed on, let it soak for a while and all of the paint turns into a gooey nasty mess. Wire brush/scrape/sand the gooey nasty mess off. Then rinse the bike off with either water or mineral spirits (depending on the type of stripper). Abrading an entire bike with sand paper and brushes to remove the paint is a nightmare from hell.

Or, take it to a metal-finisher or autobody shop and have them sandblast it.

LOL. That looks quite sexy, I'd say. My bike... I bought on impulse, knowing nothing about bicycles. Now that weather was mentioned, I live in Southern California, where the weather pretty much always cooperates. I don't ride daily, so I don't think the rusting would be the same, in say, Seattle. Also, I would be determined and have the patience to sand all the paint off. I just need to find a place to put it if I do get frustrated with it. I might not apply stickers after all, and just keep it raw.

Use aircraft remover. You can get it at any auto parts store. It works better than paint stripper. Also like someone else said a wire brush and maybe pick up a scotch brite pad or two.

once stripped and cleaned you could blue it like a gun. Van's instant gun blue

Here's what I did:
To strip, I used aircraft stripper from a local auto parts store. Brushed it on good and thick (wear gloves and eye protection... stuff is potent.) Wiped it all down. Used a nylon bristle brush for the nooks and crannies.
Washed it all down really good, then dried it, then let it sit for a couple of days to make sure it was really dry.
Next, I hustled down to the local hardware store and bought a can of Rustoleum clearcoat. Sprayed the bike with it all over and with a decent amount of spray, careful not to get to the run point. Let it dry for a few days. Sprayed it again. Let it dry for about a week.
Then I reassembled the bike and rode it. Fun.
It has been this way for a little over a year, and no signs of rust, or discoloration.
The funniest thing is, this was a cheap-o project, SS conversion. I have about $20.00 in this bike including the stripper and clearcoat (the bike was traded for a chair) and I figured if it got tweaked, no big deal. And it has remained awesome looking. If I would have really cared about the end product, and really been going for a spectacular job, it would have ended up looking like doo-doo.

Another thing that will depend on results if you don't choose to clear it are where you live. I used to use raw steel wedges when I played golf. Here in Tennessee they never rusted. But 1 week in Myrtle Beach and they were beginning to rust.