So I'm in the process of replacing my leaky fork seals and I think I found the cause of the leaks.  After taking the forks apart, I noticed there are some sharp specs of rust on the fork tubes.  I'm guessing the rust wore away at the seals, which caused them to eventually leak.  

Whats the best way to remove the rust without damaging the fork?

To remove rust from forks, replace the forks.

Quote from: romulux on August 15, 2010, 03:39:42 PM
To remove rust from forks, replace the forks.

It's not a whole lot of rust, maybe about a dozen places, each about the size of a pinhead, the largest are about the size of a dot from a ball point pen.

I couldn't find any emory cloth.  I ended up using a sanding sponge, which worked really well.  Nice, smooth forks now.

let us know when the seals start leaking again, maybe they wont for awhile, but likely they will.  problem with sanding out the rust is that now the fork legs are covered with lots of tiny scratches

Can they be polished with a progressively finer grit?  I know some things can be brought back to pretty nice condition by polishing.  Example, sealed headlights on a car that are hazed like mad.... the restoration kit makes them look like new.  I don't know if this will work for your forks but it might be worth a try.

Maybe someone else has been in your situation before.

Good luck to you.

Scott

You could try a cloth buffer with some metal polish.

Quote from: jeremy_nash on August 16, 2010, 06:44:08 AM
let us know when the seals start leaking again, maybe they wont for awhile, but likely they will.  problem with sanding out the rust is that now the fork legs are covered with lots of tiny scratches

If they leak, at least the seals won't be shredded by rust.  Maybe try offering some insight next time. 

Quote from: Firewalker on August 16, 2010, 08:20:41 AM
Can they be polished with a progressively finer grit?  I know some things can be brought back to pretty nice condition by polishing.  Example, sealed headlights on a car that are hazed like mad.... the restoration kit makes them look like new.  I don't know if this will work for your forks but it might be worth a try.

Maybe someone else has been in your situation before.

Good luck to you.

Scott

Thanks, this sounds like a good idea.  There's a few other areas of my bike that could probably use a good polishing.

Quote from: 007brendan on August 16, 2010, 10:19:36 AM

Quote from: jeremy_nash on August 16, 2010, 06:44:08 AM
let us know when the seals start leaking again, maybe they wont for awhile, but likely they will.  problem with sanding out the rust is that now the fork legs are covered with lots of tiny scratches

If they leak, at least the seals won't be shredded by rust.  Maybe try offering some insight next time. 

I wasn't being a dillhole, as your response would indicate you thought I was.  let us know when they start leaking again.  all forks leak eventually, if this turns out to last years, then it would be a considerable option for someone who doesnt have the money to drop on new fork legs