Removing surface corrosion

What do you use to remove bits of minor corrosion on nuts, saddle rails, chainset etc.??

I disguise them with rust on the frame.

For small stuff that you can remove and leave to stand/soak, I’ve had surprisingly good results with both white vinegar and Coke.

M3 abrasive pads (like the green ones in your kitchen) come in lots of different grits.

To be honest though. Take them out and use stainless*

* Where appropriate not on brakes!

On the bits that matter (e.g. surfaces that bearings will run against), a little bit of wet and dry (100 grit). I also tend to find that a bit of UB-40 and a microfibre removes surface rust on bolds.

I also tend to find that a bit of UB-40 and a microfibre removes surface rust on bolds.

That’s Food For Thought. I bet you’re Wondering ‘Where Did I Go Wrong?’.

WD40? Or these guys?

If the rust is on chrome parts then some scrunched up tin foil (dull side) and some Coca Cola will remove it and you will be surprised how good it will look

Its an old trick that’s been used in the retro bmx world for years

Wire brush in a dremel

Glass fibre pencil. Also great for cleaning electrical connections.
Good for detailing work for hard to reach spots and where you don’t want to remove part.

Thanks!

some good ideas there.

Green Scotchbrite pad and metal polish

I tried the UB40 tip on my bolts but found that it only worked on 1-in-10.

Luckily it worked a treat on my Ivory Madonna

I tried the UB-40 tip, wasted some good red red wine….

Surface rust.

Rust is an iceberg. What you see at surface is just the tip. You can remove what you can see on the surface and it’ll look good briefly but the rust will be back much quicker than it appeared the first time.

Unless of course your applying a protective coating of some kind

use stainless*

* Where appropriate not on brakes!

Is this a thing ?

Which bit?

Stainless bolts do exist. I happen to have lots so just fire them in.

Replace, if i’ve left bits long enough without checking then i replace, check the bike over and apply protection where required, not many bolts on a bike rust these days with the coatings they have.

If on anything else with rust or surface corrosion, i tend to wire brush it clean, then apply some oil/lube to soak them, then reapply

(just been reminded of this on another thread, so) @joshvegas , what I thought you were saying is “don’t use stainless on brakes” – is that a thing ?

A2 stainless has about half the tensile as 8.8 hi tensile steel

More a question of I wonder why they spec hi ten bolts initially
…

interesting – do you mean “why they they don’t spec hi ten” or am I misunderstanding the tensile strength comment ?