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Just got my new steel 456 frame and have been advised to oil the inside... any ideas what to oil it with?
Waxoyl?
Waxoyl is surprisingly heavy and messy too.
JP weigel frame saver is apparently the darling of the moment, although I've not used it.
I just taped up all to blow holes and slopped some engine oil round. It ran out for a few days after, but seemed to do the job.
I've just got a 456 too. Oil the inside? Never heard that before. Why and how?
How many decades do you plan to have the frame for?
There really isnt any point.
I've just done mine with ACF 50. Similar stuff to JP Weigle. Simple enough to use, just tape the little frame holes up, spray inside the tubes, rotate the frame a few times to coat the tube inners, remove the tape and leave to dry. Job done.
It will not rust and fall apart in your life-time. Stop worrying
By all means cover the insides of the frame in whatever you want, but you are pretty much wasting your time. My DN6 inbred spent the better part of a year unpainted and living outside, and as a winter SS it was covered in crap for most of that time, when I came to paint it, I spent ohhh 5 minutes with an emery cloth, and was as good as new.
i would think it could potentially do more harm than good if you then stick a carbon seatpost down the seattube or something?
A small hole drilled through the bottom of the BB shell will prevent rust better.
If you want to use something to protect the frame then whatever dry lube you use on your chain will be good enough.
been advised
by who?
I put some oil in my 456 frame when i got it, wish i hadnt bothered now as it dripped out of the holes on the end of the chain/seat stays and caused a right 'kin mess over the rear brake and wheel.
seriously: don't bother.
i see plenty of 50yr old steel frames still going strong. just don't leave in a lake over night and you'll probably be alright.
spend the money on helitape instead and do the outside of the frame.
Didn't bother with my steel frame, but isn't 853 a little less prone to rust?
Didnt bother with my Inbred. Has a bit of rust on the gusset thing on the top-tube. Not really bothered. Quite fancy the idea above of naked steel...
thanks all! My OCD tinged personality will delight in giving the innards a splash of oil - whether its really necessary or not...
the only problem I've had with steel frames has been when aluminium bits (BB, seatpost) get bonded to the steel. Takes a bit of grunt to free them
ditto the above, quick squirt of TF2 down the seat tube after cleaning is all my hardtails ever get. Didn't do it on the last one as it wasn't a QR collar, and the setpost siezed )~:
think I'll give that a miss! little squirt of oil in seat tube should do the trick!
I’ve had a few steel frames last well over a decade without waxoyl.
Unless you frequently leave it in the sea overnight it’s not going to suddenly dissolve under you as you’re trundling along your favourite bit of singletrack…
[url= http://surlybikes.com/blog/spew/spew_9_care_and_feeding_of_your_steel_frame/ ]advice from Surly [/url]
Certainly some of the information on the Surly site is not right.
About the holes in the chainstays...
They’re there to allow gasses to release when the frame is being welded,
They're not. They're there to let the "chemical water" run out when the frame has been dipped in the cleaning tank to clean it before painting.
853 is practically impervious to rust due to the magical powers of the decal - this must be applied to the seat tube for full effect though.
I have some 25 year old 531 mtbs that are still going a road one from 1947 and my mum has hers from 1953 they are still in one piece
Some older mass produced steel frames (Raleigh) were phosphate dipped before painting. This coated / treated the inside and the outside of the frame. The drain holes were there to allow the phosphate to flow in with out any air being trapped and to let it flow out without any air locks.