Bike Bodywork Protection?

[John Latter]

Hi,

Are there any recommendations for bike 'bodywork
protection'?

Argos have just replaced my bike cos of a bottom bracket
problem & in the four months I had the first one a number of
fittings began to rust etc..

Are there any products which will apply a protective film?
Is 'polishing' the frame with some kind of wax polish a
good idea?

Any thoughts (or weblinks) would be welcome!

Thanks in advance,

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

[Zog The Undenia]

John Latter wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Are there any recommendations for bike 'bodywork
> protection'?
>
> Argos have just replaced my bike cos of a bottom bracket
> problem & in the four months I had the first one a number
> of fittings began to rust etc..

Keep it somewhere dry! Wax protects the paint from dulling
but isn't much good for serious rust protection. That
depends on how goo the paint is in the first place.

Even if it's unsightly, bike frames very rarely fail
due to rust.

[Zog The Undenia]

Doki wrote:

> How on earth do bikes rust under paint? Even my old crap
> Halfords bike that's been lying around for years hasn't
> rusted. I'd expect the mechanical bits to rust a bit if
> they don't have any oil on them, but the painted frame
> shouldn't be rusting unless you've chipped it. Unless of
> course, argos make their bikes from recycled Fiats...

They can look a mess under the BB and chainstays after a few
years, but nothing that sandblasting and re-enamelling won't
cure. Reynolds 531 tube may be thin at 0.7mm, but that's a
lot more than a car body panel!

[Simon Daw]

"Doki" <doki@spamtroNspidar.com> wrote in message
news:1079286108.18602.0@eunomia.uk.clara.net...
> the painted frame shouldn't be rusting unless you've
> chipped it. Unless of course, argos
make
> their bikes from recycled Fiats...

...which they probably do.

> I reckon the best bet is to oil / grease the mechanical
> bits, and avoid
WD40
> as it's not a lubricant and is too thin to hold onto
> anything.

WD40 *is* light, *isn't* a brilliant lube, but *does*
inhibit corrosion. If you don't mind using it by the
gallon, spraying your bike all over (not too much on the
brake tracks!!) will help prevent damage from salt, which
is the killer at this time of year. Better is to clean (and
re lube) your bike thoroughly - but that tends to slip
after a while...

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[Richard Bates]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:22:33 +0000, in <4054b0ff.0@entanet>, Zog The
Undeniable <hrothgar19@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Doki wrote:
>
>> How on earth do bikes rust under paint? Even my old crap
>> Halfords bike that's been lying around for years hasn't
>> rusted. I'd expect the mechanical bits to rust a bit if
>> they don't have any oil on them, but the painted frame
>> shouldn't be rusting unless you've chipped it. Unless of
>> course, argos make their bikes from recycled Fiats...
>
>They can look a mess under the BB and chainstays after a
>few years, but nothing that sandblasting and re-enamelling
>won't cure. Reynolds 531 tube may be thin at 0.7mm, but
>that's a lot more than a car body panel!

OMG, bike tubing can be that thin? I'm glad I ride bikes
made from scaffolding then - I'd be scared of crushing
Reynolds when I picked it up!

--
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desire, form a legal and binding contract.

[Simon Daw]

"Richard Bates" <mail.sent.here.gets.deleted@cuddle.clara.co.uk> wrote in
message news:7bc950pl0h6jfjrdp2ohffv55op0304sc3@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:22:33 +0000, in
> <4054b0ff.0@entanet>, Zog The Undeniable
> <hrothgar19@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Doki wrote:
> >
> >> How on earth do bikes rust under paint? Even my old
> >> crap Halfords bike that's been lying around for years
> >> hasn't rusted. I'd expect the
mechanical
> >> bits to rust a bit if they don't have any oil on them,
> >> but the painted
frame
> >> shouldn't be rusting unless you've chipped it. Unless
> >> of course, argos
make
> >> their bikes from recycled Fiats...
> >
> >They can look a mess under the BB and chainstays after a
> >few years, but nothing that sandblasting and re-
> >enamelling won't cure. Reynolds 531 tube may be thin at
> >0.7mm, but that's a lot more than a car body panel!
>
> OMG, bike tubing can be that thin? I'm glad I ride bikes
> made from scaffolding then - I'd be scared of crushing
> Reynolds when I picked it up!

R.753 used to be 0.3mm at the centre, from memory. Harder to
bend than your "scaffolding", probably - but very easy to
dent! (And not very fond of being allowed to rust, either
- one of my very pampered road bikes rusted right through
a chainstay a few years back.)

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[Zog The Undenia]

Simon Daw wrote:

> WD40 *is* light, *isn't* a brilliant lube, but *does*
> inhibit corrosion.

Yeah - used to be "Rocket WD-40" because it was used to
rustproof Atlas rockets!

[Mark Van Gorkom]

Silicon polish. Don't clean my bikes all that often (to put
it mildly) but with a good coat of silicon polish most grime
just falls of again, and what does adhere is much easier to
remove (eventually).

Mark van Gorkom.

[John Latter]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 13:43:07 +0000, John Latter <jorolat@msn.com>
wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Are there any recommendations for bike 'bodywork
>protection'?
>
>Argos have just replaced my bike cos of a bottom bracket
>problem & in the four months I had the first one a number
>of fittings began to rust etc..
>
>Are there any products which will apply a protective film?
>Is 'polishing' the frame with some kind of wax polish a
>good idea?
>
>Any thoughts (or weblinks) would be welcome!
>
>Thanks in advance,

Just remembered that when I used to drive a car (a long time
ago) there was a product called "Damp Start" which put a
'thickish' film over the distributor & spark plugs - I'll
pop into Halfords tomorrow & see if it (or something
similar) is available.

From the comments people have made there doesn't seem to be
much need to use a car-type wax on the bodywork (although it
was the 'fittings'
- eg bottle cage nuts/twistgrip nuts - that I was also
interested in).

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

[John Latter]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:54:02 +0100, Mark van Gorkom <mvang@xs4all.nl>
wrote:

>Silicon polish. Don't clean my bikes all that often (to put
>it mildly) but with a good coat of silicon polish most
>grime just falls of again, and what does adhere is much
>easier to remove (eventually).
>
>Mark van Gorkom.

Thanks Mark!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

[Doki]

Mark van Gorkom wrote:
> Silicon polish. Don't clean my bikes all that often (to
> put it mildly) but with a good coat of silicon polish most
> grime just falls of again, and what does adhere is much
> easier to remove (eventually).

Are there any problems if you need to get it re-enamelled /
painted like there are on cars?

[John Latter]

On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 00:25:53 -0000, "Doki" <doki@spamtroNspidar.com>
wrote:

>
>
>John Latter wrote:
>
>> Just remembered that when I used to drive a car (a long
>> time ago) there was a product called "Damp Start" which
>> put a 'thickish' film over the distributor & spark plugs
>> - I'll pop into Halfords tomorrow & see if it (or
>> something similar) is available.
>>
>> From the comments people have made there doesn't seem to
>> be much need to use a car-type wax on the bodywork
>> (although it was the 'fittings'
>> - eg bottle cage nuts/twistgrip nuts - that I was also
>> interested in).
>
>I just stuck copper grease on my quick releases that were
>looking a bit rusty. It'll do the job and I had some
>lying around.
>

Thanks Doki - it may be worth my while indulging in some
form of preventive maintenance then (it's not exavtly an
expensive bike - £128.99 - so I guess economies had to be
made somewhere!).

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

[Pete Biggs]

John Latter wrote:
> Just remembered that when I used to drive a car (a long
> time ago) there was a product called "Damp Start" which
> put a 'thickish' film over the distributor & spark plugs -
> I'll pop into Halfords tomorrow & see if it (or something
> similar) is available.

I don't think that kind of stuff is necessary or good on a
bicycle that is to be ridden as dirt will stick to it
horribly. Might be good to coat certain parts if bike is to
be left unused in shed for ages, etc - but then vaseline
would do for that.

> From the comments people have made there doesn't seem to
> be much need to use a car-type wax on the bodywork
> (although it was the 'fittings'
> - eg bottle cage nuts/twistgrip nuts - that I was also
> interested in).

Most bolts can be replaced with stainless steel types if you
like, which obviously won't rust. Alternatively, try and
keep all vulnerable metal surfaces as clean and dry as
possible. Wiping nuts & bolt heads with an oily rag or
cotton bud can clean/prevent rust there - although any
slight corrosion that does appear probably won't do any
harm. Many of the larger metal components won't rust or
corrode as they'll be coated (most modern aluminium parts
are anodised, for instance).

Bearings should serviced every so often; all bolt threads,
seatpost and quill stem shaft should be kept greased.

~PB

[John Latter]

On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 06:59:40 -0000, "Pete Biggs"
<ptangerine{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:

>John Latter wrote:
>> Just remembered that when I used to drive a car (a long
>> time ago) there was a product called "Damp Start" which
>> put a 'thickish' film over the distributor & spark plugs
>> - I'll pop into Halfords tomorrow & see if it (or
>> something similar) is available.
>
>I don't think that kind of stuff is necessary or good on a
>bicycle that is to be ridden as dirt will stick to it
>horribly. Might be good to coat certain parts if bike is to
>be left unused in shed for ages, etc - but then vaseline
>would do for that.
>
>> From the comments people have made there doesn't seem to
>> be much need to use a car-type wax on the bodywork
>> (although it was the 'fittings'
>> - eg bottle cage nuts/twistgrip nuts - that I was also
>> interested in).
>
>Most bolts can be replaced with stainless steel types if
>you like, which obviously won't rust. Alternatively, try
>and keep all vulnerable metal surfaces as clean and dry as
>possible. Wiping nuts & bolt heads with an oily rag or
>cotton bud can clean/prevent rust there - although any
>slight corrosion that does appear probably won't do any
>harm. Many of the larger metal components won't rust or
>corrode as they'll be coated (most modern aluminium parts
>are anodised, for instance).
>
>Bearings should serviced every so often; all bolt threads,
>seatpost and quill stem shaft should be kept greased.
>
>~PB
>
Thanks for the advice Pete, along with the other comments
that have been made I think I've got a better idea how to
look after my bike this time!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

[Marc]

In article <i2o850he5pm35mncc79rk1qcark1oo0juc@4ax.com>,
jorolat@msn.com says...
> Are there any products which will apply a protective film?
>
Money!