# Slight rust on cassette



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

I decided to clean one of my cassettes by soaking it in soapy water. Unfortunately I did not dry it properly and a little rust appeared on some of the sprockets. Is there a way to clean these? Does any typical steel de-rusting solution from Ace work?


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

Let me understand this. You took your cassette off & soaked the individual cogs & carriers in soapy water. Correct? Is your cassette just plain steel or does it have plating on it? 

Either way I would not use any of those de-rusting solutions. If its just plain steel, you can use steel wool to buff out the rust. Or you can use a good metal polish like mothers to buff out the surface rust. Rubbing compound I'm sure would work just as well.

BTW, I've never cleaned my cassette like that. In fact I've never taken it off the hub to clean it. I've always sprayed some wd-40 onto a rag & then "flossed" it.


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

gamara said:


> Let me understand this. You took your cassette off & soaked the individual cogs & carriers in soapy water. Correct?


Yes



> Is your cassette just plain steel or does it have plating on it?


Not sure, it's an Ultegra 6700 11-28 cassette if that helps.




> I've always sprayed some wd-40 onto a rag & then "flossed" it.


I always thought WD40 + bicycle = no no.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

gamara said:


> BTW, I've never cleaned my cassette like that. In fact I've never taken it off the hub to clean it. I've always sprayed some wd-40 onto a rag & then "flossed" it.


you've never really done a good job cleaning your cassette.


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## FBinNY (Jan 24, 2009)

Why do you care? The chain will polish off any rust in the areas that count, and excess chain lube will coat the rest of the cassette preventing more rust everywhere else.

Think about railroad tracks. They sit around in all kinds of weather and rust. Then the train comes by and polishes the part where the wheels actually touch.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

FBinNY said:


> Why do you care? The chain will polish off any rust in the areas that count, and excess chain lube will coat the rest of the cassette preventing more rust everywhere else.


Was just going to say something like this.

It's shocking how much rust a drivetrain can have on it and still return to good function.


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## medimond (Apr 26, 2009)

This is a known design flaw in the Shimano 10-speed cassette's and it is only affected on a few batches. It's very unfortunately you've got a flawed one as there were so few manufactured. Shimano recommends that you replace it immediately and send me the flawed one. PM for shipping address, I'll cover the shipping charges.


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

cxwrench said:


> you've never really done a good job cleaning your cassette.


Why would I have to take it off if I clean it on a regular basis. The key is not to ride it till it gets totally mucked up & then you're forced to clean it. 

As for the OP, I too at first was thinking along the same lines as FB when I first read your post. But since you didn't specify exactly where the rust is, I assumed that it could be on a part of the cogs that doesn't come into contact with the chain. That is why I gave those suggestions. 

WD-40 is a no, no if you use it as a lube. I use it as its intended: for displacing water & for cleaning parts. I usually wash my bike every month regardless. In between I just wipe it down after a ride. But when I do wash it, afterwards I spray wd-40 on all the pivot points & chain to displace the water from the washing. 

After wiping everything down, I then wax & then lube the bike. For waxing I use Meguire's & for lubing I use Pro Gold. I've got this down to 15 minutes.


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## triathlonandy (Feb 25, 2012)

No pics ?


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

My Centaur (all individual cogs) cassettes rust, at the end of the season I disassemble them, scrub them with degreaser solvent, leave them in rust remover overnight and they look almost brand new the next morning. I replace them after about 3 years of riding so it isn't a major issue. The only other cassettes I had rust were American Classic conversion cassettes, and I've replaced those with Ambrosio conversion cassettes which seem of better quality and are much lighter.


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

There's a caveat for using rust removers & is the reason why I don't recommend it. There are lots of products out there for rust removal & if you're not careful you could do more harm than good. Some contain acids, specifically phosphoric acid. Yeah an acid, who would have thought.

It could etch the metal thereby weakening the teeth of your cogs. I had an older set of wheels that I used for winter training & because I ride all winter, sometimes I ended up washing that bike everyday. Well the degreaser that I used then was not an acid but a base. Perhaps I left it on for too long or maybe being washed too often, I ended up with chain failure & the teeth on the cogs actually breaking. A base like an acid can etch metal.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

Modern rust removers use a chelating agent, not acid. You could soak your hand in the stuff for hours without issue. It will not break down the steel on metal parts.


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

gamara said:


> As for the OP, I too at first was thinking along the same lines as FB when I first read your post. But since you didn't specify exactly where the rust is, I assumed that it could be on a part of the cogs that doesn't come into contact with the chain. That is why I gave those suggestions.


Yes, part of where it is slightly rusted doesn't come in contact with the chain.



medimond said:


> This is a known design flaw in the Shimano 10-speed cassette's and it is only affected on a few batches. It's very unfortunately you've got a flawed one as there were so few manufactured. Shimano recommends that you replace it immediately and send me the flawed one. PM for shipping address, I'll cover the shipping charges.


There seems to be a known design flaw with your brain. You should jump off a bridge immediately in order to get warranty replaced. Or you can report to the Soylent Green processing facility, your choice.




DrSmile said:


> My Centaur (all individual cogs) cassettes rust, at the end of the season I disassemble them, scrub them with degreaser solvent, leave them in rust remover overnight and they look almost brand new the next morning. I replace them after about 3 years of riding so it isn't a major issue. The only other cassettes I had rust were American Classic conversion cassettes, and I've replaced those with Ambrosio conversion cassettes which seem of better quality and are much lighter.


What rust remover do you use?


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I use Evapo-rust. It works very well and won't damage rubber or aluminum parts.


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