Originally Posted by
sincos
And finally (for now anyway), there's a rust problem here under the paint it seems. What's the best way to deal with this?
I'd go with an oxalic acid bath, especially as it is a white bike. Not only will is get rid of the rust, but it will bleach out any rust-staining and probably a fair bit of micro-grime hiding in the paint surface. Do the forks as well to make sure they match.
Make a bag out of a folded piece of vapour barrier, arrange it on a bit of a slope (plywood sheet on bricks, your neighbour's lawn, whatever), put the frame in, pour in a gallon of that wood bleach that really is 10% oxalic acid - check the labels - and enough extra water to make sure all the frame is submerged, tape or clip the top of the bag shut and come back tomorrow; pull it out and rinse it off with the hose.
If you're Scottish I won't need to tell you to pour the liquid into a waiting pail, it'll do more than one frame.