Chrome, rust and steel?

[Roll on]

Hi

I've just bought an old steel road frame for my commuter bike. Lovely geometry.

It's had a bad DIY respray at some point.

Only piece of rust is on one chainstay and it looks superficial - when I scratch it I get shiny metal underneath. http://picasaweb.goo...112485642967986

But what's the very shiny metal around the rust and where I've flaked off all the paint on the bottom-bracket? Is that steel? http://picasaweb.goo...112479575576754

I expected the exposed frame to be dark/dull. This shiny metal is bright like the chrome elsewhere. http://picasaweb.goo...112500973281410

If it IS the bare steel, what should I do with it? I'm not going to fork out for a full proper paint job. But before taking some metal paint to it, is there a treatment you advise? Is Kurust (or suchlike) OK for the rusty bit on the chainstay?

Have I strangely discovered that underneath two layers of paint, I've got a fully chromed frame?! Or is this what bike frame steel looks like?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[battered]

I suspect they really have chromed the entire bike, or most of it. To be fair this is probably easier, at the plating works you just habg it up and dip it in the electro bath, ensuring the bits you will expose are immersed. If any other bits get chromed, so be it. Then you fish it out, rinse it and paint the bits you want painted, whether they are chromed or not.

I got a frame shotblasted and powder coated for £30. Seriously. Forks, dunno, another tenner or so. That's a good price but even Darn Sarf you should get it done for £50ish. It looks fabtastic, and it's durable. That's my route when I next recondition a frame. You can add metallic or pearl lacquers later.

I thought of cleaning up a frame and giving it a go with aerosols, but it's a waste of time and money when you can get a proper job done for £30..

 

[Roll on]

Ah, so I'm not going bananas - it really could be chromed all over! If I got it powder coated, would the blasting remove the chroming, and wouldn't that be a bad move? Again, I'm showing my ignorance.

Thanks for your insight.