Rust remover...

[Bob Ritter]

I found a solution for removing rust, it is non-toxic gel that comes in a spray bottle and can be washed with soap and water. It is called  Rust Dissolver and is made by Rust-Oleum. I purchased mind from Harbor Freight, but I think most Hardware stores carry it or you can find it on line.

[Curt Lee]

Will keep an eye out for it.

[Doug&Deb]

Good tip. Thanks 

[Ivan_B]

I think I've seen that stuff at Home Depot. Did not get it, because it needs to be washed off afterwards; this is not suitable for many applications.

[Plymouthy Adams]

it is a product with phosphoric acid, alcohol wetting agent and a chromium content I cannot speak for.  As for the % of phosphoric, 20% I can get 55% with wetting agent for 15.00 a gallon and I know that stuff work like a champ and so easy to use.  I have had good results with Rustoleum products but again, there are other products for good price if you shake the bushes.  

[Los_Control]

Rust removal is a challenge on old vehicles. For me sandblasting was not a option .... no one local to do it.

I bought a sand blast pot but it is just too much for my air compressor. .... I'm not interested in a bigger compressor.

 

So I switched to acids to remove rust .... it is a horrible job. But it had to be done. I just learned a few things from it.

 

My first stab at it was using murriatic acid ... can buy it at any hardware store ... often sold to clean swimming pools.

It is very aggressive & removes rust fast .... you need to wear protective gear when using it & neutralize it when done .... it is a brute.

The fumes leaking out of the cap when opened will rust the tools in your shop hanging on the walls .... or your carburetor linkage in your truck if you use it directly on the truck  ..... I use it on fenders on saw horses in the back yard away from everything. 

 

Then there is phosphoric acid, it is more tame .... the stuff I used is 85% & $50 a gallon .... is also food grade and sold for cleaning restaurant equipment.

Oh boy does it work great though! .... @Plymouthy Adams stuff sounds like a better deal though.

 

Then there is ospho sold at any hardware store and is a rust converter.  .... You wire brush off any loose flaking rust then spray ospho and it will kill existing rust & converts it to a paintable primer.

Great for frames or things you do not care about.

 

Ospho is also great for spraying on bare metal to protect from future rusting before painting.

So you could use other acids to remove the rust .... then just wipe it with ospho to keep it from coming back .... and paint over it.

 

Acids are great for removing rust .... They are a lot of work .... it is nothing a professional car builder would use .... maybe for a small part.

 

I'm sure Rustoleum offers a product, Eastwood will have a product .... many others will offer their own version of phosphoric acid at different grades.

You can simply go to the hardware store & buy it at a lesser price & mix it yourself for whatever you are doing.

 

[Bob Ritter]

Muriatic acid is some very dangerous stuff. I use it once in a while on parts that have heavy rust. You want to use it in a ventilated area, be sure to use gloves and a mask. Never leave a part in the stuff for more than an hour. It will start to get some surface rust the minute you clean it, so you will need to clean it with baking soda. Remember your health is important...

[D35 Torpedo]

Ive always used Rustmort.....

[Bob Ritter]

The reason I like the Rust-Olema Dissolver Gel is because it is non-toxic and you don't need to wear a respirator. There may be some products out there that work even better, but most are toxic.

[Los_Control]

Muriatic acid is some fun stuff for sure. When I use it I I learned to use it in the back yard away from everything.

If the item is attached to your vehicle when you use it, the fumes will cause rust on other parts of the vehicle that you never touched.

If you use it in your garage, the fumes will rust your tools ..... btdt

 

It does work good though. My truck you can see in my avatar it had no paint and baked on solid surface rust all over it.

I cleaned all the individual body parts with it and stacked them away in the corner. The passenger fender was first in the corner so it was buried and never saw it til a year later.

 

Then when I dug it out it looked like this. Is very important to get it neutralized properly.

 

 

Now I wash thoroughly with clean water then kinda blow dry it with air then I brush on ospho and just leave it to dry & protect the fender til paint.

 

That is the drivers fenders, sadly I do not have after photo for it .... here is the passenger fender after photo ....... muriatic acid works good What is it $15 a gallon? It is pretty cheap.

 

 

 

I prefer ospho and phosphoric acids myself ..... muriatic is the big guns of acid, I use it when I need to as a last resort. And only when I can use it away from everything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TodFitch]

Way back when I used a phosphoric acid based rust remover and it worked well. But I am leery of potentially dangerous chemicals so was always keeping my eyes open for alternatives.

 

About 20 years ago I found out about removing rust via electrolysis and haven’t looked back. You already have almost everything you need to do it: A plastic container or bucket large enough to hold the piece you want to de-rust, some scrap metal you are willing to sacrifice, a battery charger, and some washing soda. If you do it indoors you will want good ventilation but everything is safe and the process is very effective. Lots of instructions and videos on the web: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=remove+rust+electrolysis&ia=web

[Marcel Backs]

I am having real good luck with KBS Blast which is a really good rust converter. KBS has a wide variety of rust inhibiting products and can be obtained at NAPA. M