Hello all. I am repairing an old raleigh 3-speed that had a fair amount of rust on its originally chromed pieces. I used a wire brush and synthetic wool to buff out all of the rust and pitting. Everything looks really good now. Of course, the first time it gets rained on it's going to rust even more worse than before. Without looking into it, I was thinking there was some affordable, reasonably simple way to rustproof raw steel. I haven't been able to find much info on the subject- other than spending a heck load of cash on having all of the pieces re-chromed.
Taking the task into my own Jerry-rigging hands, I bought some clear spray paint. After washing a few peices to get rid of any oil, I sprayed several coats with 15 minute intervals between applications. Unfortunately, this didn't work. In the hands it's okay. If I was to hang the bike on the wall I'd be fine. Other than that, using spray paint is ineffective. It's too easy to scrape off the paint.
My second thought was- NAIL POLISH. That stuff has to be perfect for this! It's made to go on a smooth surface. Spray paint needs a porous surface to anchor itself. I took the bottle of clear nail polish I had lying around for touching up the paint nicks on my bike and applied the strong smelling stuff to a piece. SAME THING! Although I only gave the piece a single application, it could easily be scratched off.
MY QUESTION: Is there an affordable, effective way of rustproofing these pieces while still letting them appear steel colored? Perhaps some kind of varnish or poly-dip? Your input is greatly appreciated! Lais, FTU
Taking the task into my own Jerry-rigging hands, I bought some clear spray paint. After washing a few peices to get rid of any oil, I sprayed several coats with 15 minute intervals between applications. Unfortunately, this didn't work. In the hands it's okay. If I was to hang the bike on the wall I'd be fine. Other than that, using spray paint is ineffective. It's too easy to scrape off the paint.
My second thought was- NAIL POLISH. That stuff has to be perfect for this! It's made to go on a smooth surface. Spray paint needs a porous surface to anchor itself. I took the bottle of clear nail polish I had lying around for touching up the paint nicks on my bike and applied the strong smelling stuff to a piece. SAME THING! Although I only gave the piece a single application, it could easily be scratched off.
MY QUESTION: Is there an affordable, effective way of rustproofing these pieces while still letting them appear steel colored? Perhaps some kind of varnish or poly-dip? Your input is greatly appreciated! Lais, FTU
