jpjpjp

Hello all,

Just got my hands on a '76 Raleigh Gran Sport that has been stored in a shed for some time now. There is some light green surface rust developing on the unpainted ends of the fork and rear triangle. While I've been riding for a while, I'm new to restoring bikes, so I'm looking for any tips and tricks you have for bringing back the shine on this one. I'm also wondering about polishing/cleaning up the Weinmann center pull brakes on it. After I take them apart, what's a good solution to treat 'em with to bring some life back into them? They aren't really rusty, just overed in layers of dust and grime.

Also, is there anything I can manually apply to the frame after I've cleaned it to ensure that this rust doesn't develop again too quickly?

I can post pictures if necessary.

Thanks! Appreciate any input!

francophile 

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ike-frame.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nt-chrome.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-cleaning.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...i-get-off.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-crankset.html

Kabuki12

On alloy parts I use Mothers Polish. It will make dull alloy parts look new and has a component in it that keeps the oxidation from coming back right away . I clean my bikes frequently but only polish once or twice a year. I have also restored VERY rusty bikes with super fine steel wool and to me it works well on chrome socks (fork tips and stays) . I put Mother’s on the steel wool and give it some elbow grease. Check out my Rusty Resurection on my blog at joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress. It took a lot of hours but the end result is pretty cool. It is a wonderful bike with a patina look to it that tells a story of being left in a field in a Central California beach town . Joe

jpjpjp

Haha - thanks for the links. I knew there had to be tons of threads out there... and I appreciate the tip about mothers polish. That is probably what I’ll go with at first. Will check out the restoration project, too.

Appreciate it!