I had a hard call to make on how to approach cleaning up the chain guard and I rolled the dice. In the end, I decided to place it face down in the OA bath and closely monitor the progress. However, after the first half hour, I took it out to check things and quickly realized that the graphics were breaking down faster than the rust. So as gently as possible I rinsed it clean of the acid, dried it, and set it aside while I finished the other parts.
Hindsight now tells me that it would have been better to have preserved the graphics at all costs, but that option was gone. So to salvage what I could, I masked off the area and locked in what was left with clear paint. I wasn't sure if that would even work either because the decal was so deteriorated that it would literally rub off just by touching it. The clear did seal what was left but there was a good bit lost.
After it was safe to handle it again I worked on removing as much of the rust as I could from the surrounding chrome and backside with Navel Jelly. Afterwards, the whole thing got a rub with linseed oil and sadly that's as far as I could take it.
The chain guard is a big part of the personality of these bikes so I would be lying if I didn't admit my disappointment in the result. I'm hoping that when all of the parts are reunited it will at least blend into the whole picture and will not stand out too much.
