Rat Bikes! Pub Bikes Beaters! Frankenbikes!

Current thought is bright zinc plate the whole frame then mask lugs and all or part of the rear triangle & forks and spray white - repro. decals and then clear coat everything....

Good or bad idea? (probably not the thread to ask this question.....)

The white stays thing sounds like it will be horrible. Or do you mean leave the stays and fork sink plated.? I'd wonder if zinc plating might be quite heavy(?).

The only thing that's certain is that I need to deal with the fork crown rust...

If you're worried about areas of rust then it might be worth removing - say soaking in coke for 48hrs and then lightly sanding. Then you can use something like Jenolite to prevent further rusting. It will discour the steel - it sort of blackens it. But it should save the forks being damaged further.