What's the best treatment to prevent steel frames rusting from the inside out? Waxoyl, Is there any alternatives that works just as good? Just removed my BB to discover that there is a fair bit of surface rust! I heavily sprayed the inner tubes with GT85 before building but still rusted and hasn't been used that much. Its a cove HJ if that makes any difference, it doesn't seem to have been treated in any way from the factory!

Anyone tried the aerosol cans of waxoyl?

Waxoyled inside my frame when I bought it. I sprayed a bit too much in actually so got the hair dryer and warmed the tubes up and let the excess dribble back out.
It was an aerosol can as well.

Marine Fuel Additive used a similar product on mine and it worked a treat mixed with some EP Gear oil. Plug frame, fill, rotate, leave to marinade, repeat a few times then drain.

Cheers for the replys! My plan is to Krust it and then waxoyl it, that should do the job I think/hope. There wasn't much rust just surface stuff so hopefully caught it early. Its only been used for around 200 to 300 hundred miles!

not being arsey or anything, I ride a steel bike myself, but are you serious? It never occured to me that I might need to do this, none of my bikes rusted away when I was a kid.

If your steel frame has not been treated then yes you will need to treat it in some way or it will rust like mine has began to and that was over a short period of time! Some frames are treated from the factory though, Cove steel frames are not!

Before you Waxoyl it, bear in mind that if you ever get it resprayed then the heating process used to cure the paint will cause it to melt, run out and mess up the paint, we had this a few years ago with a customers bike.

Thanks for the tip! I don't think there is much of an option though, will cross that bridge if/when I ever have to cross it.

there was a thread about this recently in which the Dude Of Sensibly Priced Steel Frames assured us he never treated any of his own personal ones. So I am trying not to worry about mine.

I don't think I'm going to chance it as I have seen the rusty flakes already on the inside of the BB. Considering that its not going to cost more than £15 to Krust and waxoyl it I'm happy to spend a little of my time treating it.

also, when you are applying the treatment be careful in case you have a drain hole just above your rear disc!

my old hack bike is a nineties steel saracen, thats never been treated and the frame is solid as a rock. Each to their own I spose but I dont think i'll bother.

You need to be careful with Waxoyl or similar. A bunch of guys did it through this paranoia on 1st generation Souls, and when they got warm in the house or in the sunshine it melted, leaked out of breather holes onto the rear discs, with predictably poor consequencies.

Having owned steel frames for years and years, I don't think you really need to put anything in steel frames. It can look a little alarming when you see the orange coloured water drops in a BB shell, but it's really nothing serious. The best thing you can do is make sure you pull the seatpost out and either hang it up or turn it upside down after every wet ride. That drains any water out of the seat tube and allows any otther moisture somewhere to evaporate through. A bit of GT85 or WD40 through the breather holes in the back end isn't a bad idea, but again, doesn't need to be very frequent at all and you need to be careful about excess draining out so don't hold the nozzle down for minutes at a time!

[blatant plug] Or you could buy a Soul which is zinc dipped prior to finishing 😉 [/blatant plug]

I've been using waxoyl professionally for 20 years http://www.peterflynnclassiccars.com , it works. If you were to buy a Independant Fabrication steel bike, they do it as a matter of course (waxoyl like product). I can't understand why the cheaper frame manufacturers Brant and Cy come on here saying it's a waste of time. It costs next to bugger all, is easy to clean up with white spirit – what's the problem, if you bought a steel frame with your hard earned money, surely you'd want to preserve it, for a few quid. I did my steel frame from new – that's all you really need, once from new then forget it. If you still own it in ten years, why not give it another application. I think Singular apply a cavity wax or frame saver too before sending the frame out, IRC.

Clear Waxoyl from halfrauds or similar, in an aresol (if you haven't a compressor) job done!

I have welded a steel frame that was rusted, before – it had no Waxoyl in it! I also repair lots of classic cars with it in the box sections, it just requires a little more effort in cleaning/prep.

Cy can you confirm if the new bfe's are zinc dipped?

Alloying with 11% chromium.

My old inbred spent an entire year unpainted, and as it was my winter hack/ss bike was mistreated pretty regularly. It was covered in surface rust, when I could be bothered a quick rub down with an emery cloth got rid of the worst of it.

I think you're wasting your time and money.

JP Weigle framesaver

riding in spain…

Fresh man-oil applied copiously

I tend to snap mine before they get chance to rust

I'd bet most people who treat a frame sell it on, snap it, have it nicked or simply stop using it before it gets chance to rust. Waste if time, IMO

So i've just ordered a shiny new P7 frame, do Orange treat their frames?

And what sort of tempertures do the wax treatments melt at, i live in Perth, pretty much 30+ every day in summer!!!

i waxoyled an old frame of mine. it was a hassle, it dripped, there is no way of making sure you have good coverage, and it was messy.

never bothered after that. there are 50 or 60 year old steel frames still going about untreated, with some surface rust – if you're planning on keeping it that long, then perhaps its worth it… i reckon you'll get rid/break it before it rusts through.

none of my later steel frames (inc one imported specially from the US, and a custom built one) have been treated.

Dinitrol (car rust proofer) – like frame saver but 5th of the cost

Of course you're all wrong, except those who agree with me! 😉

It's your frame, do what you like with it….

The rust in the BB shell was already flaking and its hardly been used! Yes steel frames from the eighties etc are still around but the tubes were no where near as thin and light weight as the new generation steel frames. The Krust has worked a treat on the BB shell, now off to my mates bike shop tomorrow to chase the BB shell threads, strip the bike, waxoyl and have some coffee & cake and a laugh at some of the roadies. Fit my new parts then off out on the bike on Sunday!

I rebuilt a crom mo frame, sandblasted, painted plastic primer and waxoly to death that it leaked in my boot on a summers day travelling to bike shop for fork fitting.

Bike still rust free and dribbling 10yrs later.

An update on my Waxoyl treatment. I have fully treated my frame with waxoyl and all seems good if a little messy. A few tips for anyone going to do so. 1) If already built, fully strip bike with exception of headset as there is no real need 2) Heat the Waxoyl in hot water not boiling if in a aerosol can so it applies easier into the tubes, sit frame next radiator to heat tubes. Spray Waxoyl in a downward motion into tubes rotating frame as you go, have something on floor to catch excess. 3) Wipe frame down with isopropyl. I left my frame sitting next to radiator and let the excess drip out, have a brew while this is going on. 4) Reassemble parts, job done and hopefully no more rusting. Now to see if it drips tomorrow!

There will still be loads of waxoil in the frame that will pee out when it gets hot in the summer if we have one! Heat the frame with a hair dryer and get it really hot , you only need a very thin coating inside to stop rust etc. All the excess will come out and you can localise the heat were you need it and really make it run into those seat stays and BB area's.