Addressing a Rusty Peugeot St. Laurent

Motivated by an upcoming transportation-cycling adventure with my son, and feeling bad about his neglected Peugeot, which had become rusted, I set out to give his frame some TLC. The main goal was to sand what I suspected was surface rust - he doesn't use a rear fender - and preserve the bike for a few more years. I concentrated on the seat tube, rear fender support, and chain stays as primary areas in need of help.

Tools of the trade: Windex to clean frame. clear, white, teal, and sparkling nail polish - just because, steel wool, and  anniebikes's patience enhancer: beer of choice.

With a quick search, I followed a simple tutorial on Girls Biking to Work which made the process sound easy, though to be fair, I believe I first heard about using clear nail polish from Ryan at Ryan's Rebuilds.  I hadn't set out to use multi-colored nail polish, but white and teal were easy to locate.

Bike Nashbar's 50.00 tool kit - a bargain!

Both my and my son's Peugeot St. Laurents don't have rear quick release and so, to ease working on his frame, I removed the rear wheel nuts with our youngest son's handy Nashbar tool set. I found a brilliant rubber-handled wrench (left collection, tool on right). I might have to get my own set!

Upper right: rust, left: sanded, lower right: 3 coats of polish.

I used steel wool (my husband says I bought a life-time supply, and who knew there were so many grades to choose from?) to lightly sand major rust spots, then apply polish. I put 3 coats on the fender bracket, while other areas required one coat with a second coat of clear polish.

To be expected: the teal is not a perfect match and, as the pictures indicate, painted areas will show. If you're picky, as the tutorial stipulates, apply polish, using a finer brush than supplied applicator. Since the teal polish was slightly lighter than frame color, I painted a light coat so the teal blended and darkened slightly on top of rust/bare steel, then went back with a second coat of clear polish for double measure.

Before and after photos.

The finished product is a cleaner looking and rust-free bike! I had originally promised my son a new set of gumwall tires, but his front wheel sported a nearly new flat-proof Continental Ride tire so I swapped tires and put a new Panaracer Pasela on the front. You can bet I'll be paying more attention to wiping and oiling his frame during the next bout of wet weather riding!