I have a condor fratello that I was due to sell. But in prepping it for sale I noticed a couple of spots of rust on the underside of the top tube where the rear brake cable has hit it while being ridden. I got the bike serviced at condor prior to the proposed sale and asked them to rub the rust down and prime it and I would then apply the tiny amount of paint needed. They did this. I have then not had time to deal with selling or the paint. I looked at it again at the weekend and noticed the rust coming back through the primer (bike not having been ridden and it has been kept indoors).

How much of an issue is rust on a steel frame? Would it be fully dealt with if I rubbed, primed and painted? Or is the frame effectively worthless?

If small spots of rust are an issue I certainly cannot bring myself to cover it and flog it. Very irritating as the bike has been meticulously maintained, is a popular model and is a great ride.

Cheers

You can buy rust converter primer. It chemically changes the rust to slow/stop further rusting and primes the surface for paint

Unless its flaking off it’ll be totally fine.

You should see my fixed gear.

It’ll be fine for years. Just touch up as best you can. Kurust works pretty well at converting the rust. Although i find rubbing down the first coat and reapplying works best. The inside of the tubes will likely have rust already. It’s a fact of life with any steel bike.

Primer isn’t good enough to cover over paint permanently, it’s hygroscopic and needs a top coat to prevent the rust coming back through.

If it were mine I’d find a paint that matches in the stone chip touch up paints at somewhere like Halfords and tidy it up with that.

all good stuff – cheers. Will give this a go and just fess up about it when selling.