Rusted Forks??

RubenS
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:24 pm
Location: Brisbane Southside

Rusted Forks??

Postby RubenS » Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:57 pm

Hi Folks,

I am repainting an old steel frame bike. The forks have a small drainage holes on the tubes. When washing the paint stripper off some water got in, and when draining it, out came some rust flakes along with rusty water. I have had them soaking vinegar to remove the rust, and have then sprayed in some WD40 to try and stop anything reoccurring.

my questions are... How do I know how structurally sound the forks are? assuming they are good, what can I do to ensure stays that way???

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superub/95 ... otostream/

Thanks
Ruben

User avatar
Dragster1
Posts: 1540
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:46 pm
Location: Eluding motorist

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby Dragster1 » Thu Aug 22, 2013 10:16 pm

you can do a ultrasonic thickness measurement test not cheap and also tap them with a solid screw driver end all the way along and listen for irregular rings. The first is a better option

mick243
Posts: 396
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:44 am

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby mick243 » Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:08 pm

Wd40 won't stop the rust recurring long term. Make sure you wash all the vinegar out too, as acids generally promote rusting

RubenS
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:24 pm
Location: Brisbane Southside

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby RubenS » Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:50 am

Thanks guys, yeah vinegar is out... i did the screwdriver test and they sound pretty uniform. the rest of the frame is in pretty good condition so I pretty confident about the forks as well.

User avatar
WyvernRH
Posts: 3179
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:41 pm
Location: Newcastle NSW

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby WyvernRH » Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:27 am

Also, when you are happy that all is dry inside the forks, block up the holes with filler, Araldite, whatever. This stops more crap getting in and limits the amount of Oxygen available for rust formation to the small amount in the sealed tube (assuming the builder did his job properly at the fork crown..)

User avatar
OnTrackZeD
Posts: 351
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:35 pm

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby OnTrackZeD » Fri Aug 23, 2013 7:52 pm

You spray the inside with 'Fish Oil' this will stop rusting and when dry can be painted over. Any good auto shop has it.

RubenS
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:24 pm
Location: Brisbane Southside

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby RubenS » Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:21 pm

Thanks for all the help.

Think I will go the fish oil and then seal it all up. Pretty confident rust is sorted now.

here are some more pics if anyone is interested.... how it looked when I got it and a few of the frame as a work in progress...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superub/se ... 198693454/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks again

Ruben

RubenS
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:24 pm
Location: Brisbane Southside

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby RubenS » Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:23 pm

Oh and if anyone has any information on the frame that would be appreciated as well. Dont really know much about it, as it was bought as a present off gumtree.

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby Mulger bill » Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:26 pm

Columbus dropouts, doubt she's a junker. Nice score. :)
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

cooperplace
Posts: 405
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:42 pm
Location: Adelaide

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby cooperplace » Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:02 am

WyvernRH wrote:Also, when you are happy that all is dry inside the forks, block up the holes with filler, Araldite, whatever. This stops more crap getting in and limits the amount of Oxygen available for rust formation to the small amount in the sealed tube (assuming the builder did his job properly at the fork crown..)
limits the amount of oxygen? doubtful.
Please be nice to me, I'm not very bright.

User avatar
WyvernRH
Posts: 3179
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:41 pm
Location: Newcastle NSW

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby WyvernRH » Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:04 am

cooperplace wrote:
WyvernRH wrote:Also, when you are happy that all is dry inside the forks, block up the holes with filler, Araldite, whatever. This stops more crap getting in and limits the amount of Oxygen available for rust formation to the small amount in the sealed tube (assuming the builder did his job properly at the fork crown..)
limits the amount of oxygen? doubtful.
Why? The tube is (should be) sealed at both ends with brazing metal, steel and bronze aren't permeable to air.

User avatar
Duck!
Expert
Posts: 9858
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Location: On The Tools

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby Duck! » Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:33 am

Not so. Many forks have a small breather hole near the tip of each blade on the inner side.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

rkelsen
Posts: 5131
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:41 pm

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby rkelsen » Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:42 am

^ FYI, the guy you just corrected is a frame builder.

User avatar
WyvernRH
Posts: 3179
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:41 pm
Location: Newcastle NSW

Re: Rusted Forks??

Postby WyvernRH » Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:21 pm

Duck! wrote:Not so. Many forks have a small breather hole near the tip of each blade on the inner side.
That's why I suggested the chap 'block up the little holes' in my original post.. :wink:
Actually, if you are good you can do without breather holes and those that use them often seal them up.

Cheers
Richard

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot]