Best way to remove surface rust

Hudsonrules

:)Someone wants to buy my '37 terraplane and I have not done much to it this winter because of the weather. Steel buildings can get mighty cold. If the deal goeas through, I would like to get my '41 road worthy and decent looking. However it has a lot of surface rust, but the metal is good. How best to remove the surface rust? I was told naval jelly just keeps eating into thwe metal. Should I get a sander and just sand and sand untill it is down to bare metal? Thanks in advance. Arnie in Nevada.

[Deleted User]

I happened to get an Eastwood catalog yesterday. Looks like they have a great rust removing gel. I'd use something like that.

Unknown

I have seen several Hudsons that were soda blasted as initial prep for restoration of the metal surfaces. This method seems to do a good job. Added benefits include... disassembly of the car is not required, the soda does not harm glass, clean up is as easy as washing away the results. Previous to seeing this method I would have broke out the grinder with a 36 grit disc and had at it... ugh dirty and lots of work. Good luck.

hudsonsplasher1

I agree, soda blasting is a good option. It won't warp the metal.

Browniepetersen

I guess I am old school. I like the sandblasting (glass bead for thin metal parts) and then prime them as the come out of the booth before they can get started rusting again. I like the two part primers. I have not had that good of luck with frames, fenders and bodies with the soda and it always seems that I miss judge what is surface rust and imbeded rust or rust through. I like the chemical dip, but no tanks out here in the farm lands....

RL Chilton

Really depends on how deep the surface rust is. If it is light enough, then soda blasting is a good way to go, as mentioned. It cleans up easily and is fast. More expensive than sanding, if you don't count your time. If it's too deep for the soda, a light media will work better (sandblasting), but it needs to be done carefully so as to not warp any panels. Usually not too much of a problem with the thicker gauge Hudsons.

Got the Eastwood catalog as well, and as Niels Mentioned, they have a new gel rust dis-solver. Haven't tried it, but, I like their other Rust products they have had out for a while. Used some of them on the latest restoration with good results.

Geoff

There's rust, and theres RUST. If it's just powder rust formed by condensation on bare metal, then a going over with a rotary wire brush in your drill maybe enough to clean it off, and you can then paint over with any a propietry preparation, there are any number of them around, which will neutralise it. Most are phosphoric acid based, some need neutralising afterwards, some don't. And there is a product called "Rustroy" which is meths based, and doesn't need neutralising, and can be used as a base coat for undercoating and painting. Be warned though, this is particularly strong smelling.

Geoff.

35 Terraplane

I work in a stainless steel / carbon steel fabricating shop. We use a product, OXOUT 526. It is an acid based liquid used to remove surface rust from carbon steels and free iron oxide from the surface of 300 series stainless steels. It is works very well. Being an acid care must be employed in its use. You can google it by the name above for very complete data.

Tom

[Deleted User]

There are several approaches to dealing with rust... chemical strip, blast, sand or convert. It really depends on the level of rust, what your objectives are, cost and your "threshold of pain."



Some folks insist on getting metal stripped down bare looking like new... while that's great, sometimes it's next to impossible. Deeply pitted metal will require dipping or sand blasting. Some home products such as naval jellies do an OK job, but in my opinion are messy and take way too much effort. If there's paint in places these products usually make even more of a mess.



Sanding works well with surface rust... sand, clean, prep and paint. Keeping in mind that bare metal needs some prep (metal condition, etching primer) or a primer that is designed for direct to metal (DTM) finishing.



Soda blasting is great... it will take off paint and surface rust and even some heavier rust. It won't hurt you glass or trim and you can simply rinse or blow of the residue. Someone in your area may have a mobile unit and they can come out to your place and blast away... easy clean up and environmentally friendly. You could pick up a home unit and try it yourself, but I think you would be happier with a professional doing it.



Sand blasting can used but care must be taken on thin spots. The '41 should not be too much of a problem the sheet metal is pretty thick. Glass, trim, etc has to be removed to avoid damage.



Converting (or neutralizing)... if your rust is light (or even heavily pitted) converting is a good option... you can get these products in spray cans, pump bottles, jugs and cans. Some are spray on wipe off, some are spray and let it sit and others are spray on followed by a neutralizing rinse.



The benefit of converters is that you can usually go straight to primer once they set up. No additional metal conditioning is required.



"Picklex" is a product that I have used that is spray on, wait a few seconds and wipe off. Park the car or parts off to the side and paint them when you're ready. Kept indoors they shouldn't rust up. Great if you still have body work to take care of before priming.



http://www.picklex.com/



Craig

tigermoth

hey fellas, i thought i just read an article recently talking about soda blasting where they said it will not remove rust..it was just used for paint removal...not harming glass and all of that it also said. i'll have to see where i saw that...or dreamed it up...regards, tom before hitting post to this response i just googled and there are several references to articles that say soda blasting won't cut rust. try googling and see what you find, tp

[Deleted User]

The articles may proclaim soda blasting does not remove rust, but for the record, it does. The media will not remove scale rust, but surface corrosion including iron oxide (aka rust) and other types of metal oxidation to the base metal surface. Adding small plastic filler to the soda will improve the cutting while allowing most of the advantages of soda alone. When the plastic media is used, blasting should be done in a captive environment where the plastic media is captured for reuse. Over the years the military has perfected this process for use on aircraft and vehicles. By using this process the cost of maintenance and repair is dramatically reduced.