paint scratched steel frame

tom said:

hi all,

Looking for some advice. A friend is trying to offload a good quality
steel-framed road bike to me, the only problem is that the steel frame has
been scratched and lost some paint, quite large areas around the chain
stays and forks.

Now, my question is - is it really bad to not get a respray? I live in a
relatively wet area (scotland!) and I want to cycle through the winter, so
no doubt the bike will get quite wet.

How quickly will the frame rust in the rain? Any advice?

Depends what it is made of. If it is a good quality frame then it will
be an alloy steel that is a bit more resistant to rust than cheap
hi-ten steel. Depending on how bad the paintwork is, it should be
possible to give it a rub down on the worn bits and paint it with
whatever is to hand.

Alternatively a shotblast and powder coat will cost about 40 quid.

If it has manufacturers lables on it indicating the grade of steel
used, photograph them and note the manufacturer and frame number. You
may need this to get replacements after a respray.

...d

Quoted message said:

Depends what it is made of. If it is a good quality frame then it will be
an alloy steel that is a bit more resistant to rust than cheap hi-ten
steel. Depending on how bad the paintwork is, it should be possible to
give it a rub down on the worn bits and paint it with whatever is to hand.

It's reynolds 501.

Quoted message said:

Alternatively a shotblast and powder coat will cost about 40 quid.

Any idea of people who would do it that cheap? I might be tempted at that
price. The only problem for me is I guess it requires deconstructing the
cycle (ie removal of all the components), which I'd have to pay someone to
do!

Tom

David Martin said:

Alternatively a shotblast and powder coat will cost about 40 quid.

Beadblast please!

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Tony Raven said:

David Martin said:

Alternatively a shotblast and powder coat will cost about 40 quid.

Quoted message said:

Beadblast please!

It is still a bead whether of lead or plastic. Modern shotblasting uses
plastic beads becasue they are nicer, except when steel is used for
peening the surface in certain treatments.

Where are you Tom? then reccomendations can be made for painters.
Alternatively just splash some car touch up paint on the worst bits and
ride off into the sunset. It won't be as good but it'll look less
nickable and provide reasonable protection against rust if done well.
501 won't rust terribly quickly anyway so you should be all right for a
few years.

...d

Quoted message said:

Where are you Tom? then reccomendations can be made for painters.

I'm in either Bristol or Edinburgh - the bike will initially be in
Bristol, then it will move to Edinburgh next month!

Quoted message said:

Alternatively just splash some car touch up paint on the worst bits and
ride off into the sunset. It won't be as good but it'll look less nickable
and provide reasonable protection against rust if done well. 501 won't
rust terribly quickly anyway so you should be all right for a few years.

Thanks for the advice David!

tom said:

Quoted message said:

Where are you Tom? then reccomendations can be made for painters.

I'm in either Bristol or Edinburgh - the bike will initially be in
Bristol, then it will move to Edinburgh next month!

Quoted message said:

Alternatively just splash some car touch up paint on the worst bits and
ride off into the sunset. It won't be as good but it'll look less nickable
and provide reasonable protection against rust if done well. 501 won't
rust terribly quickly anyway so you should be all right for a few years.

Thanks for the advice David!

Edinburgh is about as damp as Bristol, if not a little drier. There are
several powder coating places in Dalkieth which is pretty close to
Edinburgh. Though my first option depending on condition would be to
take off the appropriate parts, clean well, sand with emery paper or
similar on the metal bits anbd use a car touch up kit to tidy up the
bits that really need doing. Alternatively just leave it, or use
something like hammerite in small doses.

...d

in message <[email hidden]>, tom

(') said:

hi all,

Looking for some advice. A friend is trying to offload a good quality
steel-framed road bike to me, the only problem is that the steel frame
has been scratched and lost some paint, quite large areas around the
chain stays and forks.

Now, my question is - is it really bad to not get a respray? I live in
a relatively wet area (scotland!) and I want to cycle through the
winter, so no doubt the bike will get quite wet.

How quickly will the frame rust in the rain? Any advice?

The better the frame, the thinner the metal, and the quicker corrosion
will become safety critical. A respray is not expensive.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
/-\ You have discovered a security flaw in a Microsoft product. You
|-| can report this issue to our security tesm. Would you like to
| | * Be completely ignored (default)?
| | * Receive a form email full of platitudes about how much we care?
\_/ * Spend hours helping us fix this problem for free?

Simon Brooke said:

Quoted message said:

How quickly will the frame rust in the rain? Any advice?

The better the frame, the thinner the metal, and the quicker corrosion
will become safety critical. A respray is not expensive.

But there is rust and there is rust. A 501 frame will generate a
surface layer of rust but this will take some time and will be easy to
deal with. The frame is also likely to be plain gauge tube of 1 or
1.2mm wall thickness, so plenty of material there to go.

The point to start worrying about needing to do something rather than
just wanting to is when the rust starts to flake off. Compared to the
steel used to make car bodies, 501 and better are very rustproof
(though not as good as stainless steel, but that has other properties
that are not necessarily so desirable.)

Which reminds me, I really should do something about my commuter frame
at some point. That is in need of some TLC, and possibly a new pair of
forks.

...d

in message <[email hidden]>, David

Martin (') said:

Simon Brooke said:

Quoted message said:

How quickly will the frame rust in the rain? Any advice?

The better the frame, the thinner the metal, and the quicker corrosion
will become safety critical. A respray is not expensive.

But there is rust and there is rust. A 501 frame will generate a
surface layer of rust but this will take some time and will be easy to
deal with. The frame is also likely to be plain gauge tube of 1 or
1.2mm wall thickness, so plenty of material there to go.

Yup. But at the time I wrote that the frame hadn't been identified as
501. If it were 531c, there is very little metal there, and it doesn't
take much visible rust around the bottom bracket of a 531 frame to be
serious.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; when in the [censored], the wise man plants courgettes

In message <[email hidden]>

tom said:

Quoted message said:

Where are you Tom? then reccomendations can be made for painters.

I'm in either Bristol or Edinburgh - the bike will initially be in
Bristol, then it will move to Edinburgh next month!

Argos Cycles - in an industrial estate St Annes Bristol did a good job on
my frame a few years ago. Taking all the components off is an interesting
experience.

Paul

--
CTC Right to Ride Representative for Richmond upon Thames