Rust on paint.

[Morgart]

I'm looking for techniques to removes rust specks and staining from original paint without doing any more damage to the paint than is necessary. This is for a Ladies Firestone Speed Chief and photos are posted under that heading under Classic Balloon Tire Section. There are lots of suggestions here for removing rust from chrome - How about from original paint? Thanks in advance.

 

[Duck]

WD- 40, # 0000 steel wool, patience, a light touch & being attentive.

 

[Rear Facing Drop Out]

Wood bleach. Ocsalic acid

 

[Pantmaker]

Ditto on the WD 40 and 0000 wool. You will find lots of wonderful opinions on this subject. I think it comes down to the finish look of the bike that you prefer and the level of rust you are dealing with. On old bike paint I find the OA sometimes cleans up too much rust and often leaves paint that was heavily involved with rust in a very strange state.

 

[bikesnbuses]

I agree..I tried to do a BMX chain with white and chrome links in citric acid...The white didnt fare too well as the rust crept under the paint and when it came off ,so did then paint underneath..BUT I knew that might happen,I did do something else(I cant remember right this second)and that piece came out great!..Im NOT saying dont try it,just if you do,do it with something you dont care about to test the waters...
Ive been using the WD-40/0000 steel wool approach as well.. with pretty good results..You always have to expect the worst and hope for the best when trying to bring back old paint..trial and error and patience...

 

[Duck]

I've been following up the WD-40/ steel wool with Meguier's Scratch X , and getting excellent results...

 

[OhioJones]

Going to try this combination today. Trying to remove rust from 80 year old paint. Want to see the white paint. Not orange. ha!
Thank you for the tip(s).

 

[SirMike1983]

This is a timely thread. I've had an article comparing Oxalic Acid to WD40/0000 Steel Wool sitting incomplete on my computer. I finally decided to finish it up:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2015/08/removing-rust-from-fenders-oxalic-acid.html

 

[GTs58]

This is a timely thread. I've had an article comparing Oxalic Acid to WD40/0000 Steel Wool sitting incomplete on my computer. I finally decided to finish it up:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2015/08/removing-rust-from-fenders-oxalic-acid.html

Thanks for posting your comparison SirMike! Have you done anything to further preserve the bare metal spots?

 

[SirMike1983]

Nothing so far- they have been sitting a couple of weeks in my garage and look as they do in the picture. They came from a 1938 CWC Cadillac. Given the results, I ultimately did WD 40 plus 0000 Steel Wool on the rest of the bike because I think the relic results are more consistent with this project than the Oxalic Acid. Which method you use depends on what you want out of the project- a more complete "cleaning up" or a "relic" type look with signs of age largely present.