I am brand new to this whole world (coming from 12mi/day of bike commuting, but never raced). I just got a “new” 1995 Quintana Roo USA Special Edition, and I am completely in love with it.
It has a few chips in the paint (which is white), and a couple of spots that look like extremely mild rust bubbles (CroMoly frame, obviously). The chainstay has the most missing paint, but no rust. This is really extremely minor, but I’d like to keep it that way.
Am I correct that the best way to go about rectifying this for aesthetics & rust prevention is to lightly sand/steel wool the affected areas, then go over them with white enamel automotive touch-up paint or model car paint? Does QR sell its own touchup paint, or is that just a Bianchi thing? (my other bike is a Boardwalk)
I’m also thinking about putting a layer of thick packing tape (or maybe a bumper sticker) over the chainstay once the touchup is done to protect it in the future (I did this to my entire commuter bike frame with good results…), any reason why this might be a bad idea? Money is absolutely a giant factor.
I use touchup paint on my wife’s QR USA Special Edition. Seems to work fine. Now that the multisport season is over, the plan is to do a complete tear down and rebuild and will probably sand and touchup. Do you have any pictures of this beauty you can share?
Does anyone know where I can get the geometry chart for the 96’ Quintana Roo USA Special Edition? I’ve tried the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and searched Slowtwitch.
It is a steel frame, and that intrigues me. Any other general comments on the frame are appreciated.
There are some tips for caring for your steel frame on the Surly site. I think it is www.surlybikes.com . They recommend treating the inside with boiled linseed oil or a frame saver product. The outside is usually not a big rust problem since it dries off. If you want to touch it up your suggested approach should work but I recommend cleaning it with acetone before priming and again before painting. You can buy acetone from a hardware store if your local meth cooker hasn’t stolen it all.
