Low-tech minor restoration advice

[Lisa Holman]

I recently bought a Raleigh mixte I found on the local Craigslist, and would like to polish her up a bit. Overall, it's in pretty good shape, and the mechanical issues (chain, cables, tires) have been fixed by my LBS. While the frame looks ok, some of the spokes, nuts and bolts are rusty.

I got a book on bicycle restoration, but it leans toward the "take the entire thing apart, replace all the nuts and bolts, sandblast the frame and start over," school of thinking. I'm not quite that enthusiastic, I'd just like to de-rust the rusty parts. I've got 00 steel wool, and naval jelly, but wondered if anyone had any thoughts on the best stuff to use. The problem is, I'm not sure what type of metal the rusty parts are, and I don't want to ruin anything.

Any suggestions?

[Biciclista]

if the rust is well, rust colored, it's steel. Aluminum gets greyish. Copper turns green. (never saw a copper bike) Titanium doesn't do anything. Gold doesn't either. :D:cool:

[OakLeaf]

Rusty fasteners are probably best replaced. You can clean them up cosmetically, but if rust has begun in the threads, they could rust in place. Then you could have to drill them out, which is a PITA at best, and risks damaging whatever they're threaded into. There's a good possibility you can find equivalent fasteners very cheaply at a local hardware store or Lowe's, if you don't need them to look bike-worthy.

Rusty spokes... depends on how rusty. Some little spots shouldn't be any problem to buff out. But again, if they're rusted enough to be weakened, you could be at risk for breakage. How much of a problem it is for you to break a spoke depends mostly on where you ride, somewhat on your skills and what tools and parts you carry.

Scotch-Brite pads are usually your best bet for cleaning up metal while removing as little good metal as possible.

[Owlie]

Yes--if it rusts, it's steel. Aluminum oxide is a dull gray.

[newfsmith]

Here is a link to a clean your bike blog post http://ridingpretty.blogspot.com/2009/10/green-clean-your-bicycle.html

and another http://oldbikeblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/green-clean-in-action.html

and here is a cleaning kit for old bikes http://oldroads.com/clean_kit.html