Hi,
I was just wandering, if I bought a brand new frame that was raw in colour, would it rust more then the same frame with a paint job?
Obviously if it was rawed by sandblasting or whatever at home it would rust easier, but if bought new are they treated with some sort of coating to prevent rusting?

Many thanks

Is it made of steel?

If made from iron or (some grades of) steel.

It’s alu

It won’t rust then.

Won’t rust then.

Thanks – just checking!

I’ll tell you what druidh, you take it from here.
You’re clearly quicker than me today.

It could still oxidise, no?

Unless it’s anodised apparently. I would assume a brand new frame would have been anodised.

It’s alu

Some bright folk on here today… 🙄

ive had alu frames rawed up and have an old klein been riding past couple days, it did go bit white under some flaking paint but just rubbed off whilst removing all paint, all i do is spray with can of lacquer once rubbed down, no problems here and first one i did was a dale 20 years ago…………..

Aluminium does oxidise but how much depends on the grade of alloy and type of surface finish.
I’ve had four “raw” aluminium frames and they still look mint, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it, clean it regularly and just be careful using high pH (10-11+)cleaning chemical.

@b r
Aluminium can still corrode in the rain – it wasn’t a stupid question.

The trick is to make sure it doesn’t stay wet. Lotus dropped the ball when they made the Elise chassis from anodised aluminium then stuck in rubber mats which would trap moisture. Lots with corroded & even holed floors.