# Schwinn Chainstay Drainage Holes



## Motown07 (Apr 11, 2016)

I'm working on period resto 79 Schwinn Spitfire. The bike was badly rusted and I dipped the entire thing in citric acid. Lucky for me all the rust and the paint came right off. Unfortunately I have rust pits to deal with now. To make a long story short I sprayed the inside of the frame tubes with WD-40 to prevent future rust. Three months later the bike is in filler primer and I am getting WD-40 leaching at the chainstay drainage holes and a few other areas. Can someone advise what I can do to clean up WD-40 from inside of the tubes?

I heard that mineral spirits (MS) removes WD-40. Maybe I can spray MS inside the tubes and have them drain out.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## GTs58 (Apr 11, 2016)

Mineral Spirits should do it. I use Klean Heat kerosene at work to clean up messes like that. That stuff even kills 90wt. gear lube in a heartbeat.


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## frankster41 (Apr 12, 2016)

I wouldn't put anymore stuff in there. MS doesn't evaporate and I think you will have the same problem for a bit longer. Hang the frame up with the holes facing down wait a year and finish your resto. Try blowing some compressed air in there to try to dry it up a little.


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## Dale Alan (Apr 12, 2016)

I had that problem once,a real pain. I used boiling hot soap and water to get the bulk of the the WD40 out .I then used ,alcohol in the holes . Still had some residue and ended up hitting the holes with a torch to burn things out .Not enough to damage the steel,just enough to burn the crap out.Of course had to do more priming .Still did not feel safe enough for final paint so I plugged the holes with epoxy before paint. After the paint was cured I drilled out the epoxy and put linseed oil in the tubes.I think if you get a good initial bond with paint/primer to the steel you will be safe.


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## bairdco (Apr 12, 2016)

Easy solution. Carb cleaner. 

Stick the little red straw into the drainage hole, spray a liberal amount in, hang or stand it up till it drains/drys, which takes a coupla minutes.

Obviously this should be done before paint, and since yours is primered, you can re-coat it after a little bit of sanding.


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## fattyre (Apr 12, 2016)

Thats a mistake you only make once!  

  I've had oil leak out long after coating the insides as well.  The insides of the tubes are not nice and smooth. So I kinda figure thats the problem.  Oil gets stuck in some spots and drains out later.

I always coat frames after I'm done doing cleaning, waxing or painting.

Frame saver is good stuff.  When it dries it ends up sticky and kinda wax like.  It can be messy, so be carful.  I usually let most of the excess drain out right after application, and tape over the vent holes, roll the frame around to try and get even distribution and than let it dry for a few days.  Never had any leak out afterward.

http://www.amazon.com/Weigles-Bicycle-Frame-Saver-Inhibitor/dp/B0012GO58Y?scrlybrkr=9fc23b43


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## Motown07 (Apr 12, 2016)

How about brake cleaner? I use that stuff to clean out hubs and bearings. Seems to break down grease and oil then it evaporates.

Thanks for all the replies. I've attached a couple photos of the issue.


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## bricycle (Apr 12, 2016)

Clean it and paint quickly, before it has a chance to ooze back out...


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## the tinker (Apr 12, 2016)

This problem reminds me of the 1970 Buick that I undercoated myself with a 5 gallon bucket of roofing tar. I poured tar in the 1/4 panels, filled 'em  and every place I could get into. That car did not rust but every year when summer rolled around it leaked tar on those hot days. 
I guess I like the torch idea or the brake clean.
I have always wondered about the fellows that wipe down an entire bike with W D 40....How  do you apply any touch up paint ? Will the paint stick to areas the the oil has been on.  ?  Sometimes when painting I have noticed a little "fisheye".
I have always wondered if that was caused by a tiny amount of oil left from a finger print or whatever.


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## bricycle (Apr 12, 2016)

the tinker said:


> This problem reminds me of the 1970 Buick that I undercoated myself with a 5 gallon bucket of roofing tar. I poured tar in the 1/4 panels, filled 'em  and every place I could get into. That car did not rust but every year when summer rolled around it leaked tar on those hot days.
> I guess I like the torch idea or the brake clean.
> I have always wondered about the fellows that wipe down an entire bike with W D 40....How  do you apply any touch up paint ? Will the paint stick to areas the the oil has been on.  ?  Sometimes when painting I have noticed a little "fisheye".
> I have always wondered if that was caused by a tiny amount of oil left from a finger print or whatever.




fingers will leave oil, unless you just washed them well. One should always use a surface cleaner/de-glosser before painting as a minimum, sanding is better, and wipe with a dust free clean rag.


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## bairdco (Apr 12, 2016)

Brake cleaner and carb cleaner are basically the same thing. Both get rid of grease, oil and dirt.

I've used carb cleaner for the same problem you're having. It washes out and dries up wd40, oil, etc.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 12, 2016)

If you use brake or carb cleaner, let them evaporate. Do not apply heat to them to hasten drying.


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## bairdco (Apr 12, 2016)

Not unless you want a neat flame job. Carb cleaner evaporates in a few seconds.

I love the stuff. I use it for degreasing bearings, cleaning everything that's not painted, spray it on a rag and it cleans and softens blackwall tires, cleans whitewall tires, and it works great on carburetors, too.


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## GTs58 (Apr 12, 2016)

Try a complete bath of the old timers solution of TSP.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 12, 2016)

bairdco said:


> Not unless you want a neat flame job. Carb cleaner evaporates in a few seconds.
> 
> I love the stuff. I use it for degreasing bearings, cleaning everything that's not painted, spray it on a rag and it cleans and softens blackwall tires, cleans whitewall tires, and it works great on carburetors, too.




It can produce Phosgene when heated.


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## Motown07 (Apr 12, 2016)

GTs58 said:


> Try a complete bath of the old timers solution of TSP.



Sorry what's "TSP" ?


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## bairdco (Apr 12, 2016)

Yikes! I just read up on that. Seems to be brake cleaners, as most, if not all carb cleaners are reformulated, but I weld stuff all the time, and have used carb cleaner a ton of times to clean metals beforehand. Pretty scary. Thanks for the heads up.


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## GTs58 (Apr 12, 2016)

Motown07 said:


> Sorry what's "TSP" ?




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisodium_phosphate

*TSP is The Most Powerful Oil Degreaser*
The most useful quality of TSP is its ability to reduce grease and oils. When combined with surfa ctants, TSP cleaners are the best aid to clean both soft and hard surfaces

Read more: http://www.homeservicesengine.com/articles/tips_cleaning_tsp.html#ixzz45fyj5Rgd


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## the tinker (Apr 12, 2016)

Tinker likes to soak greasy parts in Gasoline.


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## bairdco (Apr 13, 2016)

Is there some kind of defect in all of us old bike guys that makes us, uhh, not that safety conscious?

Nice water heater ya got there, tinker, two feet away from a pan of gasoline.


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## Motown07 (Apr 13, 2016)

What I'm going to do it is spray some brake cleaner and then let it dry. Then spray hot soapy water and then drain it out. The only thing that worries me about the water is potential rust in the future but that could be just me being paranoid.


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## bairdco (Apr 13, 2016)

You'll be long dead before it rusts out.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 13, 2016)

I agree with Bairdco. I have indeed seen frames rust from the inside, but these were almost always frames where they had been immersed in water for a considerable time, or had water trapped inside long-term (usually missing or plugged drain holes repeatedly trapping water). I've seen them at the ocean as well, where salt water has gotten into frames repeatedly. We're talking a lot of water exposure here.

What usually gets a frame outside of those conditions, in my experience, is an unseen pot hole/crash/collision. Other than that, thick-walled, steel frames last a very long time if not heavily abused.

If you're still worried, spray a little Frame Saver inside when you're done.


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## dougfisk (Apr 20, 2016)

bairdco said:


> Is there some kind of defect in all of us old bike guys that makes us, uhh, not that safety conscious?
> 
> Nice water heater ya got there, tinker, two feet away from a pan of gasoline.




Does the tinker smoke a cigar while doing this as well?   :eek:


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