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  • Thanks for the compliments everyone. Updates will be sporadic but I'll try and keep it moving.
    What did I do to reveal the original finish? Well I hung the head in a old ice cream tub full of white vinegar. Now that vinegar was already a week or so old, and had been used to clean the pedals and cranks and such, so was now a very dark brown, not clear. I think that does not help. Anyway after two days I took the frame out and the vinegar had hardly touched the rust, I could see little difference. So then I used a pretty worn out Scotch brite kitchen scourer, dipped in the vinegar, and very gently rubbed the rust in small areas, very lightly. I was just impatient to see what was underneath. The rust slowly rubbed away to reveal the celeste paint underneath. I also used this method on the transfer areas too, but not without much trepidation, as I was pretty sure I'd do irrevocable damage. Basically it's like picking a scab, it's difficult to stop once you start.
    I'm not sure if it's done any damage to the paint, but it's an aggressive treatment and not one I'm totally happy about. Through posting on facebook I've had advice about leaving the frame in for a couple of weeks, not a couple of days. Also on using Oxalic Acid. Big-Block has also given good advice on how to make a frame shaped bath. Although scrubbing has quick results, I'd really like to try the full bath method for a much longer period.

  • Looks great so far! Love the details on the parts!
    You should give a citric acid bath a go for removing the rust, I recently used it on some well rusted forks and it worked much better than my previous vinegar efforts.

    Easy to get hold of and no vinegar smell so can be done indoors : )

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