At 6:10 PM -0700 10/27/06, Bob Freitas wrote:
>I had asked him if he tried to remove the rust with steel wool and
>he basically said no but it "should clean up",
Steel wool would scratch the chrome. When trying to remove surface rust, use brass wool. It will take off all the rust that you can take off... without scratching the chrome underneath.
I agree with your assessment of the bike, although I'd clean it up as well as possible and then wax it. It's got a bit more patina than ideal, but it could be quite attractive nonetheless. -- Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly 140 Lakeside Ave #C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.bikequarterly.com