I suppose I shall try out this new forum . . . I used to keep my bicycle indoors, which kept it looking almost like new, but for the last few months I have had to keep it outside. I kept it under a covered place but it still got rusty, especially all the gears and chain. I've tried WD-40 and steel wool, but it's still rusty and the front and rear derailleurs are still stiff and not working as well as I would like. Anything else I can do?
Be careful doing this as if you overdo it you can mess up your stuff. What me and bro used to do in our BMX days with similar stuff was to take it off the bike and drop it in a bucket of caustic soda for a few mins. As long as the soda isnt too strong, and as long as you only leave it in long enough to remove the rust the parts should come out looking like new. Be careful though, too long and the parts will look like they have been eaten by acid
The Marine Corps (probably the whole military) has a gun cleaning product--"Break-free CLP" (Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant). It may give you some success. I have a friend who loves how it got on top of some rust he was seeing on a gun that had been a bit neglected, but I just haven't seen those kinds of results on non-gun products I've tried it on. You can get it in gun shops and probably many sporting goods stores.
I think similar stuff is sold in auto-stores, I used a product that sounded something like this when cleaning the brakes on my car. The rust essentially melted away.
