Fat restorations

Fitting a new b/b to the Vit T I was amazed by the quantity of dirty water that poured out of the bottom bracket when I removed the old one.

This got me thinking that I was glad that it's Ti and then onto the reputation of Fats for seat tube rust (I understand that tubes were sealed and lack of a drain hole means that water that gets in has no where to go). I take it that when restoring (or indeed anyway) it makes sense to drill a small hole from inside the bottom bracket shell up into the seat tube?

Apart from Waxoyl or similar treatment, are there other preventative measures that can be/should be taken?

Alright Mr. Edwards...I was working on your request but had not yet finished it. So here is an abreviated version;

If you want to protect your Fat FOREVER, here is what I would suggest...

Strip the frame of parts and generously wrap all frame tubes with newspaper and electrical tape so that all finished surfaces are covered. Take your lovely frame to a framebuilder/painter/some dude in a back alley, anyone who has the capabilities of fine media bead blasting and have them shoot the inside of the seat tube (should take 5 minutes and cost you about 10 bucks).

Blow the seat tube clean with filtered pressurized air and then coat the inside of the seat tube with JP Framesaver/LPS Rust Inhibitor, etc... Allow to dry before unwrapping the frame and building it back up. If the seat post is a bit sticky, wrap a dowel rod with 400 grit sand paper and lightly sand the interior two or three strokes at a time until it slides easily.

This process will protect the seat tube from interior rust as long as you don't leave your bike submerged in a lake over holiday .

Additionally, if you've taken it to a framebuilder, you can have a small vent/drain hole drilled from the interior of the bottom bracket into the lowest point of the seat tube...DANGER, not for the home tool junkie. While not necessary if the above process is followed, it can allow for further air flow to prevent moisture buildup in a regularly maintained bicycle.

cheers,

rody
Groovy Cycleworks[/i]

Thanks Rody, that's great.

Apologies that I pre-empted your response, not my intention at all!