hughwp

Picked this bike up locally for £35 it is in original condition with 2 new tyres having been owned and stored unused in shed for last 25yrs before original owner sold it to the guy I bought it off during lockdown. It has a lot of surface dusty type rust but rides OK but needs lubrication and adjustments.

I would like to keep it as a working bike with a sympathetic restoration rather than a total strip spray and rebuilt which I can't justify in time and money.

Was thinking lubricating and adjusting bearings polishing chrome and using some rust inhibiter on the frame to turn the rust black and then wax the frame to blend with the remaining paint.

I know it will never be worth a fortune but would like to preserve a piece of history and use it occasionally.

I'll attached some pics once I get to 10 posts any advise on restore appreciated

cudak888 

If you don't mind reading for the next two days, my restoration log of a '52 Sports ought to give you a good idea of what's possible and the workflow for it: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...gh-sports.html

-Kurt

hughwp

Thanks for reply yours looks a similar vintage to mine it has rod brakes and a top chain cover and is more rusty!

cudak888 

Definitely check out this one I'm doing right now then. I dare say it's likely rustier than yours: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-princess.html

-Kurt

juvela

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maybe itsa thissa wunnuh...

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RustyJames 

Welcome to the forum and great Raleigh to preserve!

If it’s not obvious, my screen name indicates a fondness for neglected gems. If I’m understanding you correctly, you plan on using a rust converter that will turn the rusty sections black, yes? I’m not a fan of those products since they will turn the metal black forever. Many here like to use Oxalic Acid to manage/treat the rust. I have had excellent results with Evaporust and recommend it. A quick coat of black spray paint afterwards and you will be good for a few years.

The rest of the plan to do a full service is sound and I encourage it. The old Raleighs are almost indestructible and I’m sure we all look forward to seeing the results.

hughwp

Update on the old boneshaker have rubbed of the surface rust and treated it with some rayhong rust converter I got of Temu for under a fiver. I have copiously oiled all the moving parts as you can from pics.

I Plan to get some rubbers for one of the pedals and some grips .

Next step is to maybe touch up some of the bare metal areas and put a coat of was on the frame as I want to keep it as original as possible and I think keeping the patina is more in keeping with a sympathetic restoration.

Does anyone know what the best type of wax to use or any other advice?

Regards

pastorbobnlnh 

Thanks for coming back to update us on your progress. Well done so far!

As far as wax/polish, any quality automotive product should work well for you. We each have our favorites and I prefer Meguiar's products. But with that said, use what you have on hand.

May I also suggest that your Brooks leather saddle should be treated with either Brooks Proofide or another quality leather care dressing. Your saddle appears to be long overdue for an application.

clubman 

I've used Kiwi black boot polish to even out of colour. Do two coats, using a buffing wheel or pad to burnish it well, then put a final clear coat of neutral car wax. Again, polish the bejeezus out of it so there's no bleeding in the sun.

John E

I have zero experience with rod-operated brakes, but if KoolStop makes pads for them, you definitely want to do this upgrade.
Aluminum rims would also greatly enhance stopping performance, but that's probably not an option here.

Side note: My Schwinn mountain bike (see signature) has a chainstay-mounted rear brake, just as your Raleigh does. Some people curse them, but it is not difficult to work on a chainstay-mounted brake if you have a good workstand. They do tend to accumulate all sorts of road grime on short order.

PhilFo 

Ryde makes aluminum 635 rims, but I'm not sure about 590s. There has got to be a way to shoehorn in a set of Kool Stop inserts into the original brake shoes.
Finally, add a set of Col De La Vie tires (tyres) and that bike will liven up quite a bit. Great find!

PlymouthJLA

I restored a 1951 Raleigh Lenton Sports awhile back, and after reading quite a bit on waxes I was directed to this wax: Renaissance Wax Polish. The reason to use this particular wax is that it does not eventually break down and change it's pH like some automotive waxes, and thus the product info says it can be used on a great many things besides paintwork. Pastorbobnlnh's thread on his Sports restoration is a great resource as well. I used this wax on a wide variety of things outside of the bike world.

I also really encourage you to strip the bike down and clean, inspect, and relube everything and inspect/replace all the bearings if you're going to use the bike at all. Depending on its life, there is probably a good amount of grit/corrosion in the bearing surfaces, and that corrosion and oil will just grind into all the bearing surfaces and cause damage. That includes getting a good cotter press to work on the cottered crank if you don't have one (https://www.bikesmithdesign.com/). I've never had any success using anything but a cotter press in getting the crank cottered unseated or installed properly. The pre-machined Raleigh crank cotters from Bikesmith are great.

If you're mechanically inclined at all, pull apart the Sturmey hub and go through everything. They're actually not that bad at all to work on. There are some good videos on the you-tubes on how to work with Sturmey AW's. The dust seals & loose bearings can use a good grade of grease (but this will eventually dissolve from the oil), but do not use anything thicker than 30 weight motor oil. I learned this the hard way by using too thick of an oil during my rebuild, and had to clean it all back out and use a lighter oil after finding it kept certain things from moving properly at colder temperatures/created a larger amount of drag. The first thing I rebuilt on my Lenton was that front generating hub, and I do remember getting the bearings set right was a challenge (could have just been me though). There looks to be more videos on servicing the GH6 since I rebuilt mine.

And I definitely second the use of Kool-stop brake pads!

Good luck and have fun! This generation of Raleigh's is a ton of fun, and yours is already starting to take shape!