Disassembly and clean up questions

[Cliff]

I have just begun stripping down a 1952 BF Goodrich Schwinn Hornet. There is a fair bit of corrosion on every bolt and nut, so I sprayed PB Blaster on everything a few days ago and started taking the socket wrench to it earlier today. Everything seems to have freed up nicely except the quill stem bolt. I haven't given up on the idea that it will bust loose with the penetrating solvent and I've re-bathed it in PBB, but I'd like to know some tricks in case I can't break it loose with a socket wrench and elbow grease a few more times.

Another item... The saddle from this bike is the type on which the cover is sandwiched between an upper and lower pan that are bolted together. I will take it apart, clean it up, and re-cover it. Once I get the springs off the assembly, what is the best way to clean and refinish them? I am set up to sandblast with silicon carbide grit (I sandblast glass with it), but I've never sandblasted metal so I'm not sure whether SiC is suitable for this application.

Any advice appreciated.

Cliff

 

[ratina]

turn the bike upside down and spray pb blaster down the fork,it should have a hole in the bottom. let it soak

 

[scrumblero]

like Ratina said on the stem, and i think pretty much any blasting media works on steel, just some faster than others.. :roll:

 

[texasbigjon]

turn the bike upside down and spray pb blaster down the fork,it should have a hole in the bottom. let it soak

like he said! sometimes you gotta smack the stem bolt with a hammer to loosen the crud buildup.

 

[yoothgeye]

If you can sandblast, then that's a good way to go. Another way is to immerse (yeah, I'm Baptist) the springs in vinegar and let sit for a few days, the rust will come off, then I clean with a solvent to remove the vinegar and residue and go from there.

Hijack: What kind of grease does everyone use on their bikes, I've been using just automotive bearing grease and white lithium grease. Am I bad?

 

[twomorestrokes]

If PBB isn't doing the trick, squirt oxalic acid (wood bleach solution) into the hole in the bottom of the fork and let it sit a day or two. Eats rust, not steel. I had to do that on a Breeze stem that was seized.

 

[CCR]

that black grit will do fine on most bike parts, but it can pit the metal on chainguards and fenders pretty easily (the sheetmetal parts).

 

[Cliff]

that black grit will do fine on most bike parts, but it can pit the metal on chainguards and fenders pretty easily (the sheetmetal parts).

Thanks Jeremy. I figured the sheet metal was off limits but anything steel would hold up to the beating .

Cliff