Is my steel frame trashed?

Hey All,

Looking for a bit of advice from the forum as am fairly stuck on next best steps on this one.

Bit of background, purchased a hand built steel frame in 2016 from a reputable frame maker. Have put around 3500 dry miles into it and the bike has always been stored inside. Frame was made with Columbus Zona tubing.

Was in the process of having the frame resprayed and the paint shop noticed small pin holes throughout the frame and welds which they think is the frame rusting all over from the inside and not worthwhile to repair as would involve essentially replacing all the tubes and relwelding.

Still awaiting a response from the original frame maker but in my opinion doesn't seem normal based on other steel frames i've had in the past.

Guess i'm after peoples opinions on.

• Is the frame ruined / repairable?
  
• Is it normal for a frame to corrode like this based on usage?
  
• Should this be covered under the frame builders "Lifetime Warranty"?
  
• Should I just accept i've got reasonable usage from the frame and let it go?
  
  

Have included images for reference.

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I could maybe see the one near the dropout being a breather hole - they're kinda normal. But what's with the one on the seatstay above the bridge? That doesn't look right.

Hey @hippy cheers for the quick reply... Should have mentioned the one by the dropout is for drainage (I think) and has always been there it's the those other almost like pin prick ones that are of concern and the ones that look like they're forming in the first image but not yet come through.

Yeah, they look sketchy to me. Has this thing been sanded or sandblasted or something?

Does it look like it has rust in it? ie. in the BB shell or seat tube?

I mean the second photo looks full of pin holes like it's rusted/blasted to fuckery

@hippy currently it's been blasted and prepped for a respray with a base coat...That was when the paint shop spotted these holes.

It’s seams odd they get to the point of putting a base coat on a frame they think is screwed. If they were rust holes it would be really obvious before they put the base coast on.

you'll need to strip it to see for sure, ideally with something very gentle so it doesn't make it worse

Should I just accept i've got reasonable usage from the frame and let it go?

3.5k miles isn’t reasonable usage, my steamroller has nearly 50k miles on it in all the shit weather, but it’s made from gas pipes etc

Which reputable frame maker?

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Hey All,

Thanks for your input so far.

@hippy didn't see any rust in the bb shell etc when I disassembled the frame or have an difficulty removing parts etc.

@HousecatHST that's my opinion i've got an ancient Fuji i've commuted on for a lot longer and has been left locked outside in the rain for weeks on end that is seemingly fine.

In terms of the spray shop noticing it they said it was hard to see when it was the raw metal and only when there was the white for contrast was it visible which I kind of get.

@dubtap not really interested in naming until i've had a reply from the frame maker. Currently been chasing them for over a week and not had a reply as of yet.

Was the frame shotblasted to remove the original paint?

That's what I was inferring with "rusted/blasted to fuckery"

It could be rust but it could've also been blasted or sanded way too much - so it might be no fault of the builder, but the painter/prepper

Mmm. I have recollections of someone on here taking a nice frame to the refinishers and having it fucked because they shot blasted it badly. Zona tubing is .5mm thick in the centre of the tubes, 0.7mm at the butted ends, so it wouldn't take much to put a hole in it.

Yeah, that's why I didn't lay any blame on the builder initially. Because it could've been overdone with some kind of blasting.

This is why I didn't want to name the frame maker or the spray shop as wouldn't want to unnecessarily point the finger, especially in an open forum.

@hippy frame has been shot blasted by the spray shop working on the frame. It's hard because they are are well known spray shop so would like to assume the error wouldn't be their end but I guess no way to be sure.

@Howard don't happen to remember the refinishers from the previous post, would be interesting if it happened to be the same place.

Do you have the frame? Presumably easy enough to inspect the holes and see if there's evidence of rust. If there's no rust, it looks like the stripping was too aggressive. I'm no expert on this stuff though.

Do you know what material they used to shot blast? Are they a known paint shop for bikes?Bbecause some stuff is too abrasive for thin metal.

Good point @hippy the frame is currently still with the sprayshop. I didnt want to pay for return shipping until i'd heard back from the frame builder so id only have to pay one set of shipping.

@Sumo will check on the material used in the shotblaster. The sprayshop that did it are part of well established steel bike brand that also specialise in refurbishment so would like to think suitable material was used. Will double check though.

That's good, probably not them the cause then. Can you get them to peep down some tubes to see if there's rust inside? inside the downtube from the hole to the head tube etc.

Is the frame ruined / repairable?

Probably/probably not worthwhile

Is it normal for a frame to corrode like this based on usage?

Steel will show rust in 24 hours from just having been touched with a human hand. If you have done no preventative maintenance then yes.

Should this be covered under the frame builders "Lifetime Warranty"?

Warranties cover craftsmanship and material defects. This is neither, you just haven't done any rust prevention on a corrosion prone material.

Should I just accept i've got reasonable usage from the frame and let it go?

I suspect so

Warranties cover craftsmanship and material defects. This is neither, you just haven't done any rust prevention on a corrosion prone material

If it's a custom frame from an established brand I'd expect them to be spraying frame saver inside. If it's just a dude making frames then yeah ok.

Me too but it's not a one and done product. It needs reapplying and this frame is 7 years old

Can you remember if there were breather holes if you look down the headtube and seattube?

Are there external breathers in the stays? Highly doubt the hole in pic 3 is a breather, it's out of place for that, should be on the inside of the stay and further from the joint to the dropout. I've forgotten to drill them until the rear end was all brazed up and still managed to do a better job of getting them where they should be than that.

If it was a builder that 'doesn't do breathers' I'd be less surprised if it was fucked this quickly.

Do wonder why its us telling you this and not something the restoration place have discussed with you?

Also wonder why is the paint that they have done so shite? It all looks rough as a badgers arse, what the hell is going on with it in that 3rd pic?

I take it the white is paint? It looks to me like it's been primed grey and then that's a first coat of white paint? You'd maybe miss pinholes (not the hole in the stay, Stevie Wonder could spot that one) in bare metal but primer would have shown them up as much as paint I think.

Generally a frame that's that badly rusted inside will be obvious without looking inside, the seatpin will be minging or stuck, it'll rattle, bits will fall out the tubes. Ie I think you would have noticed.

You're making me think about if my 853 one ever had any sprayed inside. I can't remember. Good thing it never goes outside now.

Good thing it never goes outside now.

Never?

Just because there is a theory that indoor storage (as in, in a flat, as opposed to a shed/garage) of steel bicycles is pretty bad for them. The air inside the tubes heats up and expands and then contracts when you go out into the cold. The contraction sucks moist air in from the environment. That moisture then condenses on the walls of the tubes when you take it back in to the warmth and the heat is a catalyst for corrosion.