# Paint restoring



## Real1 (Nov 27, 2022)

I thought I'd ask this here because of all the old bike restorations. I have a British bike(Raleigh) that has original paint. It's very complete but has tiny rust speckles poking through. I've tried clay bar and different polishing compounds in an unnoticeable place, but other than making it shinier and removing some paint, I'm not getting any traction with removing the speckles.

Saw an article about making your own bike waterbed so you can lay the frame in there and just add enough Evaporust to cover the frame. Not sure I really wanna go that far with it and risk decals/stickers. I've heard Evaporust is safe on paint, but if you read enough feedback, some say it really isn't....makes you wonder.

As they say, the paint is only original _once_....if nothing can be done about the tiny rust speckles, I can just super wax the whole frame and live with it.

Kevin


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Nov 27, 2022)

Oxalic acid (wood bleach) is better for frames than Evaporust. evaporust is very expensive if youwere to need enough to cover a frame.

WD 40 and 000 steel wool is another possibility. I've used that on a few bikes with good results


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## GTs58 (Nov 27, 2022)

Let's use chrome for an example. Once the finish is compromised the metal starts to rust in the chip, pore or flaked off area and the rust will eventually bleed and stain the finish on the surrounding chrome. You can clean the rust staining fairly easy but in that pit, chip or scratch there is still rust. You can treat it with various things like OA, citric acid, vinegar, Evaporust etc. but the pitting or loss of the finish will still be there. After thoroughly cleaning the rust there is no product that will make the loss of the finish any better on that chrome. With a painted item you can touch up a paint chip or scratch with a matching paint or just seal it with a good wax or seal coat of some sort to keep the rust from reoccurring.


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## SirMike1983 (Nov 27, 2022)

I would try WD40 and 0000 steel wool (the really fine stuff). Larger areas of paint loss can then been cleaned and filled with matching paint as needed.

I don't recommend a full soak in Evaporust because it can soften and turn frame decals to goo with on-going exposure. It's also kind of expensive. It also can make a sticky mess inside the frame tubes.

Oxalic acid on a British frame usually will not damage the black paint, but it can bleach the gold pinstripes on British bikes. It also can bleach bronze green to some extent. Gold pin stripes will turn a silver color when this happens. If this happens and you get to it fast enough, you can polish the paint back down to gold, but it's easy to lose the pinstripes.

I'd stick with WD40 and 0000 (very fine) steel wool, followed by de-grease, polish, and then paint fill. I recommend paint fill last because you want to match your final paint shine and color as closely as possible. If you're lucky, you may not need to fill. Waxing is an option after all is done if you want to preserve without paint fill.


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## Real1 (Dec 3, 2022)

I posted a reply but it somehow disappeared. I can get fine bronze wool which doesn't leave the rusting fibers.....window guys apparently use it a lot. 

The waterbed you make just encapsulates the frame itself. Would take about a gallon and a half of Evaporust....I already have a gallon on hand. But I'm leery of the stickers/decals.....they're only original once. Most of these models are black....this is like an ivory pearl finish. I bought the bike because it had e everything originally on it. And there's the good point about Evaporust going inside the frame and staying in there like goo. I'd have to make sure the whole frame is plugged somehow. 

When I get to it, I'll strip everything off it and see what works best after I string the frame....doubtful I'll soak it. Just playing with wax and polishing compound, I saw the paint coming off on the rags.....I doubt that paint is very thick from the factory. Thanks for all the tips! 

Kevin


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## SirMike1983 (Dec 3, 2022)

Ultra fine bronze wool is a good choice as well. The main thing is that it not be coarse enough to scratch up the paint. I think you're on the right track using mechanical rather than chemical methods on that frame. Go carefully and you should do fine.


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