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Ok, I have had a pair of Vespa 400s for.. uh... over 4 years. It is hard to believe that it has been so long. In that time, I moved three times, quit my job as my wife pursued her career, became a father and full time stay at home dad.

Things are starting to look up in terms of money and time, so I am starting this thread to document my progress. It might take months or years, but it has to start somewhere.
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My shop/garage has a problem with moisture. I have found that anything I have put in it has rusted. Living on the warm and moist gulf coast, it isn't too surprising.

Therefore, my first step will be to keep the rust at bay on the already rusty Vespas. My ally is Gibbs oil. My first target are the door hinges that are frozen with rust.
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⚠️ Last edited by HonestlyLincoln on UTC; edited 1 time
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Ossessionato
I have a few scooters....
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I have a few scooters....
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Very cool. I would LOVE to have one of those.
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Rusty
I applied some of the penetrating oil to the hinges and decided to test it out on some surface rust. I think that it is looking much better, although that may just be because some of the dirt has finally been removed.

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I have never heard of Gibbs oil. I know what you mean about moist air and rust having lived in south Florida most of my life. I just used Ospho on projects that I had to stop the rust that was there, always worked good for me. Good luck on the 400s, they look like a nice long term project.
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Tierney wrote:
I have never heard of Gibbs oil. I know what you mean about moist air and rust having lived in south Florida most of my life. I just used Ospho on projects that I had to stop the rust that was there, always worked good for me.
I found Gibbs searching for a way to preserve patina on a car. It is an all purpose penetrating oil and lubricant that some people seem to swear by, so I thought I would give it a try.

Looking into it, Ospho is a phosphric acid product that is usually used to remove rust and prepare for painting. Right now I need to loosen parts that are rusted together and keep the rust at bay, which is why I think that the penetrating oil might be better.
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Alright, I did some work on the front that was dented in. Here is the before shot.
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A few gentle taps with a mallet and it is looking much better!
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vespa lx50 2006
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can't wait...
To see this project through the stages 8)

Russ
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1970 vespa douglas gtr 125
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Very cool. Lookin forward to seeing this progress

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