I'm working on 90s steel Dawes Street Cruiser that has a deep chip on the top tube exposing the frame beneath. Moisture and corrosion has made its way beneath the paint causing bumps (shown in the picture) in a 20mm patch. I'd like to either get these out or reduce their height and seal the rust spot. I'm reluctant to expose the steel in such a large area but will do if it solves the problem. What's are my options? Thanks
How attached are you to this colour? There are companies out there that will blast off the old paint down to the bare metal and powder coat the frame Powder coating. This cost me around £100. This is a good, fairly long lasting finish. I had my rusty old 531 frame blasted and powder coated (in postbox red) a few years back and the coating seems to be wearing well. Note: You would need to remove top set / bottom set bearings, bottom bracket and seat post as the powder coat is applied at very high temperatures! Replacement frame decals can also be purchased! (Bike decal link)
All the paint that has gone textured and bumpy around the chip is finished: it is no longer bonded to the steel and is not protecting it. It is merely providing a slightly more attractive finish thanthe rust, but will flake off soon.
To get the steel protected again properly, you need to remove the paint all around the chip until you find the edge of the clean steel ( grey not brown). Then you can treat the rust with wire brush, rust convertor, etc, then use a protective primer, then a filler primer to bring the level up, sand flat, then spray a few coats of the most similar colour you can find, then blend it in with fine wet/dry paper and finally polish with cutting paste, t-cut then protective wax polish. No one will ever know.
