Restoring Vintage Bike advice

[Kitsune06]

I have another question. I noticed the mafac racer centerpulls - the springs are rusty. Is tehre a way to replace them? It seems like a simple enough part (part 458 shown in the first diagram here http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/mafac.html)

I have a junk bike (rusty motobecane mirage from the same time) and the Weinnman 999 centerpulls are in nicer shape so I suppose I could try that - but I'd rather restore the original parts if possible.

Try using WD-40 and a welder's toothbrush on it before you pitch it. Sometimes things can come back pretty well, especially something like that... after using the welder's toothbrush, if you really really want it to shine for some reason, hit it with the 2000#grit sandpaper and you should be good to go.

oh and don't use steel wool on aluminum EVER. The fibers tend to embed themselves in the aluminum and cause electrolysis marring/pitting/nastiness after a while. Sandpaper is always the way to go, unless you're working on electronics, but that's a whoooole different ball of wax.