Maintaining a Steel Frame / Preventing Rust
 

So I have a matt painted steel frame and I do messaging throughout new york city.
I've noticed that the steel frame has been scuffed up from locking up so often and rubbing against other bikes, poles etc...

How can I prevent the erosion of my paint, lock it better to protect the frame, and retouch the areas that are exposed.

Thanks!

the only paint that id say would stand a chance to that kind of abuse would be a bed liner/under liner type paint. Id say its only surface rust you dont have too much to worry about.

another option would be that ive heard is that power companies are now using a chemical on the large poles that hold their high transmission lines that rusts the metal soon after application but it does so in way that prevents it from further rusting. Maybe that is available to the public and you could try that, even though thats probably not what you were looking for.

I'll be nice and tell you this, give up on not getting it messed up. It's gonna happen. I tried desperately to protect my bike, it still has spots that got scratched or nicked. As a messenger, is almost impossible. Good luck!

Your right that its impossible but can I retouch my own paint? Or wait till its bad enough then repaint the whole bike? Also thinking in getting a top tube, doesn't do much but it sure does something for cheap.

If I was a messenger, I would ride a bike I didn't give a **** about since it's going to get thrashed anyways.

Does it make any sense to spray clearcoat over scratches to prevent them from rusting further, if you don't care about the appearance?

i don't think he cares too much about how the bike looks...he is thinking about getting a top tube pad, afterall :)

Are you sure? According to this post, you're a "designer".

As a messenger, your bike is going to get cosmetically destroyed, at the very least. The way to deal with this is using a work bike for work.

edit- this post is now irrelevant.

designer + messenger = hipster barista.

yup, i'm a designer, your right. I design 9-5, then do deliveries after hours / weekends. As a designer I care about 2 things. Form & Function. I care about the form, the look of my bike. However I care equally about the function. Which is why I want to make sure it doesn't get scratched up. I don't have the money to buy a beater frame, nor do I care to. I like my bike, just want to keep it maintained. **** it if a top tube is the way to go then that'll be it. Not sure about spray coats. you guys haven't tried it have you?

I've heard that nail polish makes reasonably good touch-up paint.
If your main concern is rust in the places where the paint gets banged up, nail polish (start with a clean, dry surface though) will help. But the biggest dangers from rust are not necessarily from surface scratches on the top tube, because those places will get wet but will dry quickly when you bring the bike inside at night. Rust is more of a hidden structural problem in places you can't see when water pools inside the frame. You can treat the inside of the frame with various concoctions to help with that, too.
As far as paint goes, powder coat is better for this kind of thing because the surface is a little bit more "plastic" than with paint so it doesn't chip easily. A good powder coat can withstand a lot of abuse.
But if it's a reasonably sturdy frame (i.e, the kind of frame that would be a good choice for a beater/messenger/commuter bike), you should be able to do a fair amount of ignoring and not have it rust out from under you. You don't use a vintage lightweight frame with thin-walled double-butted tubing as a beater bike because it will not last.

lol, can I get you a mocha soy almond skinny latte?

I'll look into nail polish. From what your saying I should look into places for rust like my bottom bracket.
Powder coat is an interesting option though my frame is not at the condition where it needs to be fully repainted, but I like that idea. My bike is certainly sturdy enough to take the abuse, but I just wanted to minimize that abuse. (its not vintage). Thanks for the tip.

God just ride your bike. If you want a museum piece, buy another bike and hang it. The ****'s meant to be ridden.

I've pulled 30 year old schwinns out of junkyard piles that are fully intact and fully serviceable, aside from the scratches. You have to actually work to kill a steel frame.

carbon doesn't rust

Neither does wood.

But carbon doesn't rot.

But it spontaneously assplodes

I hope my carbon fork doesn't assplode.

Eco friendly bro. You just compost your frame and grow a new one.

I've used nail polish and these days, you should be able to match your frame colour pretty easily. I took my frame into a pharmacist and asked the middled aged lady behind the counter if she could help me match the colour. She had a lovely time messing about matching the colour and told me as I left that I'd made her day, she'd certainly never had that request before.

As others have suggested, you're probably chasing your tail a bit but if you touch things up regularly, you'll probably find you can keep on top of it. Personally, I wouldn't bother, battle scars can be worn honourably.

so overall what I'm taking away is that a few scratches on the paint and even a little surface rust arent as bad as they seem. And can always be taken care of later.
Thanks guys.

1. Disassemble your bike, spray Frame Saver inside and let it dry thoroughly (at least 2-3 months).
2. Cut your frame apart with a hacksaw, turn all the tubes inside-out and JB Weld it back together.
3. Profit!

Selectively ignoring Scrod is a good idea too ;)