I think I've got this down...



Aluminum: disassemble and polish with nev'r dull or mother's it will shine up pretty well.

Frame: either a "cleaning wax" which has super fine polishing abrasives, and if that fails a rubbing clay or compound. Also oxocylic acid bath, if you need to get inside the frame. OA will not harm paint, but it's too harsh for aluminum.

Chrome: a wad of aluminum foil, you can also lubricate with white vinegar which is a mild acid.

Brake hoods: Oxyclean, magic eraser, baking soda paste, all have worked for people, also Windex. Might be a little sticky after cleaningc, you can A) wait a few days or B) apply some white chalk.

After it's all cleaned up, wax the frame with car wax, and reassemble.

...Then ride through a fat mud puddle so it's clear you use your bike!😉👍

Also, is that a Super Course? I LOVE Raleighs "copper green" or whatever they called it! I here these ride really nice:

Right on. Thanks guys.

I refer back to this threads on occasion:

Best vintage part polishing procedure
How to clean, shine and protect during an overhaul

ALSO

Post your Centurion Ironman.. For the love of 80s paint jobs!
@RobbieTunes
Originally Posted by RobbieTunes (Post 18324900)Since most of the frame is pretty good, and only the R side TT decal is compromised, I think it's worth some time and tedious and trouble to rectify.
1-Wash it down good with hot soapy water, rubbing it hard. Dry it very well, blow out the frame tubes, etc.
2-Framesaver if you want, but I often just spray inside the tubes with WD40 and let it go. They'll still outlast me.
3-Liberal WD40 on a cloth, and rub hard and long on every mm of the frame. You'll be amazed at what comes off.
4-Hair dryer on the bike shop decal, until it's good and hot, then peel it off if you want to remove it.
5-Mineral spirits on a cloth, rub on some areas, but don't linger. Wipe off those areas with a clean wet cloth.
6-Another WD40 rubdown. By this time, you'll be where the frame is at it's best.

7-Go back to the decal on the R side of the TT, and rub down with mineral spirits, but not heavy, and not real wet.
--You are preparing the decal for touchup. A silver paint pen works find on the silver part of the decal. 2 coats. Let it dry 3 days.
--After the silver paint has dried 3 days, you can lightly mask along the edges of the letters with pinstripe tape.
--A black fine-point paint pen can restore the outline of the letters, just "write" up along the pinstripe tape.

8-Go to a beauty supply store and find a match for that magenta, perhaps pick up some darker and some white.
--In any case, mix it up and test it on another piece of painted metal. Feel free to do it thinly on the Ironman, and come back every couple of days.
--Don't go too thick, but if you do, a q-tip dipped in rubbing compound, about a week later, can carefully smooth it down.

9-Sure, it's tedious. Sure, it's a PITA. Sure, it is slow. But properly done, can have really good results. The key is patience, don't over-apply anything.

10-When it's done, cheap soft paste-wax it and then ride it. It will pick up more wear and tear as you do, but it will be your wear and tear.

That sounds like an awesome build plan, that's a high zoot frame to sport upright bars! Now I have another Raleigh bike to ad to the list. I've been wanting to try a Reynolds Raleigh for a while now. Something from Carlton with fancy lugs and Weinmann brakes.... I'm looking forward to see this done up!

what happened to the headset and bottom bracket?

headset was loose and bent, BB was also warped a bit, might be the crank. It won’t know until they diagnose. The old original wheels are there too getting trued and made sure they are safe to ride still.

it is a Raleigh, have the bottom bracket checked for squareness. Hopefully it is a 1.370 x 24 tpi threaded unit. The shop I worked for did not sell these for some reason.

Double check the fork steerer too ... hopefully not Raleigh 26 tpi

if you end up replacing the headset or bracket and don’t need the parts I may be interested as I too am refurbishing a ‘74 ST! The lower races on my headset are kaput but everything else serviceable. All but one chartreuse ST I’ve seen has had this rust issue with frame fork including mine. I in fact just did OA bath two weeks ago. If I did over I would grease the chrome portions as I think they were slightly etched in the process. Alternatively search he forum for full frame evaporust method; one forum member made a setup requiring 1.5 gallons. I have used simple green with park tool brush just applying , scrubbing, and immediately rinsing in sink on steel and aluminum without issue (is there only problem when you soak?) here’s a pic of my ST before, getting OA bath, and after.

So I heard back from the shop yesterday afternoon—they aren’t able to true the wheels because the majority of the spokes are rusted/frozen. They are the original wheels and aluminum spokes so I’m not too surprised. Problem now is is still like to use the 5 speed cassette on the rear wheel, and the wheels have those great Mallard hubs I don’t want to lose. They said they could order a set of new wheels for about $250 but I don’t know what build quality they’d be.
Thoughts on what to do?

Should have the frame back back this weekend after which I will start cleaning it and the rest of the components.