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Thanks for the compliments everyone. Updates will be sporadic but I'll try and keep it moving.
What did I do to reveal the original finish? Well I hung the head in a old ice cream tub full of white vinegar. Now that vinegar was already a week or so old, and had been used to clean the pedals and cranks and such, so was now a very dark brown, not clear. I think that does not help. Anyway after two days I took the frame out and the vinegar had hardly touched the rust, I could see little difference. So then I used a pretty worn out Scotch brite kitchen scourer, dipped in the vinegar, and very gently rubbed the rust in small areas, very lightly. I was just impatient to see what was underneath. The rust slowly rubbed away to reveal the celeste paint underneath. I also used this method on the transfer areas too, but not without much trepidation, as I was pretty sure I'd do irrevocable damage. Basically it's like picking a scab, it's difficult to stop once you start.
I'm not sure if it's done any damage to the paint, but it's an aggressive treatment and not one I'm totally happy about. Through posting on facebook I've had advice about leaving the frame in for a couple of weeks, not a couple of days. Also on using Oxalic Acid. Big-Block has also given good advice on how to make a frame shaped bath. Although scrubbing has quick results, I'd really like to try the full bath method for a much longer period.

Cheers Jeff, that's nice to know. I did have my doubts when we detoured on the way home from the old folks to pick it up. I was chuffed to own a Rotrax of course, but really? This was a pup. It's takes a lot of imagination to see through the rust and at it's potential. As nice as it is to say you own a Rotrax, a rusty frame hanging from the rafters is hardly a bicycle. Fingers crossed we can get this machine rolling again. Despite the corrosion, it's a lovely thing to handle. Light as a feather.

That point seems a long way ahead at the moment @baguette! The chrome fork ends and drop outs are pretty poor condition, I don't think the chrome is even saveable. I'm not sure at the moment what direction this restoration will go in, but for the moment I'm happy to put the hours in to try and recover what's left of the original finish.

Slow progress cleaning the surface rust off the frame, gently using a scotch brite kitchen scourer. The head stock had been hung in a tub full of vinegar for a couple of days, with little effect. It's reassuring to see there is something under all that surface rust. It's coming to life ...

Superb! Thanks so much for sharing this! I shall be comparing the Raceweight description to my '46 model tomorrow!!

Posted by Philip on another forum. An excellent link! Holdsworths Aids to Happy Cycling, 1949 so bang on this bikes era. The Alumlite advert caught my eye especially but it's all gold.

http://threespeedhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Holdsworth-Aids-to-Happy-Cycling-1949-UK.pdf

Transfer spotted on a 1948 Rotrax I've recently acquired

If I decide to part with it, it's yours Jeff. It is a girder type, single bolt, quite short reach, maybe 2 inches. I should have taken a photo, I will if I remember tomorrow morning! I need some GB Hiduminium brake calipers so it makes sense to raise some funds for them.

While tinkering with the Rotrax briefly tonight I found this under the 531 transfer. Anyone know of Ken Ryall, and his cycle shop in Hounslow?

I've just bought a few litres of white venegar so we'll see how that brings the frame up. I'll do a test first. There is hardly any paint showing, but what is there looks not unlike Bianchi celeste. As much as I like to preserve any original finish, it would look lovely restored ... That would definitely prolong the restoration though!

Thanks Philip. First job is to try and pull the old wheels apart. Sounds brutal but I think the spokes will need cutting, the nipples are all seized on.

Jeff80, I do have a spare Reynolds stem I was saving for a project I've yet to own. I can't remember what type it is though, I'll need to dig it out. It is one of the two piece jobbies though...

*edit - bleeding Nora ... is this the going rate for these puppies?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-rare-ultra-lightweight-vintage-Reynolds-twin-bolt-stem-/291723036696?hash=item43ec0c4818:g:MH8AAOSwdU1W-lpF

**edit
This seems more reasonable
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302261560180?clk_rvr_id=1209786726949&rmvSB=true

You're right Phil, there is very little out there on the web about these rims.

Here is what I plan to rebuild for the Rotrax. Bought from the local dump in 2014 for a fiver. They are rough, and rebuilding them won't be straightforward I'm sure. These are 27's.

And there is conflicting information out there about the name, but this photo by Mark Stevens clearly shows the stamp, saying ALUMLITE

I'll strip everything down and give it a vinegar bath first, see how it comes up.

As those who followed my Jim Guard https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/250997/ build on here know, I've been after an early Rotrax for a long time. Not an uncommon machine by any means. For a small lightweight maker Rotrax were churning out a lot of frames and there's usually at least a couple on ebay at any one time. They are held in high regard though, with prices that reflect their popularity. And usually outside of my very tight budget. (Oh, for the good old days of picking frames out of skips!)

Hot on the heels of my incredibly rusty '56 BSA Tour if Britain build, and with a few quid in my paypal pocket after selling a few cycling relics on ebay, I spotted what most people would class as a 'basket case' ... I have no idea what made me pull the trigger, (it was cheap!) but something clicked and I fancied the challenge. I worked out what some of the components still attached were worth, and bid accordingly, knowing if the frame was even worse than it looked I could possibly make some money back parting it's rotting carcass out.

Well, here it is, a celebration of corrosion and neglect at the moment, but I can see a spark of life in it still, and hopefully it will be back on the road in the not too distant.

Frame number 48037. Williams chainset date stamped AG - 1944. Early 46-48 GB brake levers. Chater-Lea 'tommy bar' pedals. Oppy toe clips. Reynolds stem, and alloy handlebars, Strata Maes?

Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

1948 Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

Rotrax project by Mike, on Flickr

Thanks Jimbonic, that's lovely to hear. It's very much an ongoing project! We took advantage of the weather yesterday to put a few miles on it.

I'm pretty sure you'll have to register with this local history forum to see this Penny, but a little thread on the Southampton Wheelers here that will interest you, with recollections from the 70s and 80s.
http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11097.0

Thanks Penny. If only my frame could talk! It's such a shame the link with the original owner is lost. It was probably just a rusty bike hanging in a garage or shed and found in a house clearance.

Thanks for correcting me Penny! Good to meet you at the weekend and chat. Lots of conversations going on around the table in the cafe, so not surprised I got some facts muddled! I'll definitely bring a pen and paper next time ...

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/fred-dean-builders.html

"Fred worked for Claud Butler and was manager of the Clapham Manor Road branch. For two years from 1955 one of our members Eric Hall worked for Fred on Saturdays. He paid a good wage of 30 shillings and Eric remembers him as being extremely knowledgeable and a good employer.
After Claud Butler went bankrupt Fred set up on his own, the shop opening in 1958. He had a number of addresses in York Road: 356 and 535 then finally appropriately 531. It is thought that frames were built by Bill Gray or another frame builder who had worked for Claud. Sporting Cyclist suggested Fred was also a frame builder but this is unconfirmed. It has also been suggested that his lugless frames were built by Ray Cooke who built for Allins."

Penny also was pretty sure Jim had his frames made by Witcomb Lightweight Cycles. They also had connections with Rotrax.

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/witcomb.html

Had a great chat with a local cyclist on a VCC ride with the Hampshire Lightweight Section on Sunday. She was a club cyclist back in the day - and remembers Jim well. I described this photo to her, and she instantly said they would have been racing in a local club - the Antelope Racing Club. Linked with Dibbens, the large Southampton builders' merchants, who were registered at Antelope Buildings in St Mary's. Penny said this distinctive jersey was their team colours.

I've recently picked up correspondance with Jim Guards son. He informed me his mother, Olive, died very recently at the ripe old age of 92. They met when Olive joined the Southampton Wheelers in 1948, and Jim was the president. They married 1st January 1949.

Just spotted this, a recent ebay listing.

"This Touring Cycle has RIK VAN MILESE printed along the cross bar.
12 Speed Campag gears.
23" Frame.
Stored for 35+years in a bedroom.
Winning bid: £123.77
Item Location - Southampton"

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JIM-GUARD-Touring-Cycle-/272555076849?rmvSB=true&clk_rvr_id=1178741479305&nma=true&si=xsbanNxLPYKjGr74OzETvra1Y3g%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Off topic ... Need a vintage 40's / 50's rear pannier rack if anyone has a spare about? Got another vintage cycle touring trip planned with Ben, to the Somme ...

Eric, I've just googled the So'ton Wheelers, and their archive ('25 - '65) is handily held at the Civic Centre. I shall try and get half a day off when quiet at work and see what I can find there ...