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@Sano
Originally my plan with the rustbucket was to strip it, then clearcoat it so it had the raw look, like some BMX's do. I used nitromors and an old wallpaper scraper. It took a few hours of buggering around, but in the end it ended up gleaming metal. I rode it home in the rain and just left it for the night. By the next morning there was a light tarnish of rust and I thought 'oooh....' So I left it some more.
I was definitely inspired by the Rat Rod thing in hot rods. I was going to lacquer it, but I never actually got round to it. Every now and then I'd rub the top coat of rust off. The clear metal part on the top tube was a result of carrying the bike up the stairs to my flat. Here's a picture Edscoble took of it, which I think makes it look awesome.
Noodle Doodles is now the proud owner of the rustbucket, his build is the first one of the two above.
I'm really not sure if leaving it unlacquered is good in the long term. Most of the people who do it that way in the US live in Cali where there's bugger all precipitation or humidity, so the rust never really gets hold. I think that lacquering it stops oxygen getting to the metal, so it can't rust - I'm not sure of the details though!