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Looking for advice on Wards Hawthorne project

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This one screams for and OA bath. The difference will be night and day. A lot of people get scared by the word "acid". An orange probably has more acid in it than this stuff. Get a $10 kiddy pool from Walmart and put about a cup of OA in it with warm water, throw the parts in, and let it sit overnight. Pull them out and rinse with thoroughly with soapy water. Use compressed air to make sure everything is dry. a light coat of a quality wax and your done. I've never been a fan of the linseed oil as it won't bring out the color like OA will. V/r Shawn

Amen to that, and get rid of those knobby tires, they ride terribly (in my opinion).
 
Nice original bike there young lady....see all of the above. You MUST take it all apart carefully and put all the painted/rusty pieces in an OA bath...(see OA bath in search pane for how-to) Patience and care will provide good results bringing the paint color back. After the OA bath, I would wipe it down lightly with Linseed Oil to seal and protect the newly-revealed OA-bath paint. Just make sure that when using this naturally sticky substance(LO), wiping it all off afterwards to a nearly dry-to-the-touch feel is critical. Also, since the bike is now blown apart, clean and rebuild the drivetrain. FYI, your fork may be put together wrong. They are weird ones...:oops: Great survivor..
 
Make sure you rinse the OA off very well, and dry it off good. I'd OA it and linseed oil it. Wax, no matter the quality of it, will seal this up. The protective qualities of wax lasts only about 9 months or so. (I used to work as quality control in a car chemical plant. We made car wax and other products for Simoniz, Turtle wax, Prestone, Motor Honey, etc. etc.) Linseed oil, properly applied will do it good and preserve it in the condition. Put the first coat on light, wait 10-15 minutes and wipe it off. Put 2 more coats on it, rubbing it in well, and wiping it all off each time, and you're done. Use it on the chrome pieces, painted stuff, all of it. Service the hubs and the stem, put some good tires on her and enjoy the heck out of her! Nice bike! (If you ever want to sell her, let me know.)
Deb
 
Here is one I did for my wife

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I suppose it depends on where you keep your bikes. I keep mine in a climate controlled environment with no sunlight and if I put nothing on them it would likely be years before any corrosion occurred. Wax is designed to withstand the elements so unless you are storing your bikes outside, in a damp place, outside your beach house or some other place open to the elements I don't think linseed oil is necessary. To me it gives the surface an unnatural look. Jus my 2c. V/r Shawn
 
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