Ziay!

Uni

I have acquired Raleigh Tourist that has been neglected for years. The chrome is rusted & pitted. There is a greenish type rust on the chrome wheels as well. The chrome handle bars have a brownish rust. Some of the steel parts have a brownish rust. The bike frame has rust in some spots.
What is the best way to clean this bike and remove the rust while keeping the bike as original as possible? How can I prevent further rust? Thanks in advance for your help.

phoster

once started rust will want to return. the best way is to keep it polished and waxed. the exterior rust is less of a concern for me than what you can't see. the inside of the tubes isnt painted. if the outside is rusted, the inside may be worse, though chromoly doesnt rust like conventional steele. i guess it depends on what your intentions are. to keep the bike as something of a collectors type thing, it doesnt matter. riding it might be another story. brazed joints that corode can fail and cause a nasty wreck. just be aware, you have a very old steele frame, and it doesnt improve with age.

i ride a 1983 raleigh technium. i have updated the parts so i have indexing and such, but the frame is still the same old raleigh. raleigh built a good bike, and it is likely still okay, just be careful until you know it.

Sophie B

The rust can be removed with an application of Naval Jelly, followed by chrome polish and elbow grease...

The rust on the chrome parts means water has gotten under the chrome plating, and under the paint on the painted surfaces...
About all you can do is scrub as best you can, and coat the surface with clear lacquer, if you want the original finish....