surface rust

[bob fell]

Hi z team,
Have recently bought a Dremel and have been cleaning and polishing in all the nooks and crany`s of my bike. Any advice on surface rust ie i have very light rust on the kick start shaft if I clean this off and was to spray it with the type of clear laquer / varnish that you can get from Halfords would this protect it from rusting again or delay the rust ? I know its not a very professional way of treaing rust but better than nothing ? Also can alloy be sprayed with a clear laquer ? Any advice appreciated
Bob

[mick znone]

personally, i always clean off the surface rust first, then brush on a rust converter to hold back future rust, being careful not to spread it around to much as it can stain. then after a day or so, cover it in something to protect it , ie laquer or if its to be painted i have never found anything that holds rust back like red oxide paint. the times ive been at work and seen rust everywhere except where red oxide has been applied are many.

well thats my bit Bob.

[m1ks]

Any type of covering will protect it, surface prep is the key thing with any paint type covering though, make sure all rust is removed then use some thinners on a clean rag to clean down the area and allow it to evaporate before spraying.
If you have a local paint supplier or large auto store you can buy 5L tins of Gunwash for peanuts, (cheap less refined thinners specifically for blowing through sprayguns to keep them clean), have used this back when I used to work at the garage and do bits of bodywork when we were out of panelwipe.
Yes you can lacquer aluminium too, like the steel make sure it's stripped of corrosion, Stays as a protective whitish powder on aluminium so less obvious, same prep, clean and panelwipe then lacquer once evaporated.
Perfectly good for a DIY job and barring stone chips it'll keep things protected.
(some lacquers discolour to a yellow sheen over time, some more suickly than others)