Most effective way to remove rust

B

Bert

Active member
Along with my Eclipse which I wash weekly, wax several times a year, will clay once or twice a year etc.; I also have a 1992 Ranger with a 4 banger which gets washed a few times a year and that is it. It is nothing more than a work truck - a go to Home Depot to get building supplies and take to Habitat for Humanity on Saturday mornings. With the number of dents and scratches it has, you would think it spent the day in the middle of a play ground with hyper-active gradeschoolers.



Saying that, I don't mind the dents and scratches BUT, it does have a quite a bit of rust and I am assuing that rust will only spread if I don't get rid of it. Again, it is not the appearance of the rust I have a problem with, I am just tired of not being able to put furniture or other items in the bed of the truck without a blanket because it will get rust stains on it.



Would wet sanding get rid of the rust? I assume once I get down to the bear metal I had better put some primer on the surface or the rust will just come back, correct?



Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
 
Rust is a pain. Check out some of these products by RustOleum...



RustOleum.com



RustOleum.com



I've used the reformer stuff about 10 years ago and it worked pretty good. I can only imaging it's even better now. The problem is when you spray the rust, the edges are rusting under the paint so those don't get treated. So it ends up rusting on the edges of the spots. You might want to do a little sanding and a little rust reformer also. If you do sand down to bare metal you will need to prime it, otherwise it will start rusting as soon as it gets wet.



Good for you with the Habitat for Humanity. One of those things I always wanted to do but never seem to have the time.
 
These RustOleum products cited by BlueZero are quite good. I have used the Rust Reformer and also their Rusty Metal primers with decent results. If you plan to keep the truck for a while, you may want to go a little further and look into POR-15 coatings. And nice work in contributing your efforts to Habitat for Humanity.
 
BlueZero said:
Rust is a pain. Check out some of these products by RustOleum...



RustOleum.com



RustOleum.com



I've used the reformer stuff about 10 years ago and it worked pretty good. I can only imaging it's even better now. The problem is when you spray the rust, the edges are rusting under the paint so those don't get treated. So it ends up rusting on the edges of the spots. You might want to do a little sanding and a little rust reformer also. If you do sand down to bare metal you will need to prime it, otherwise it will start rusting as soon as it gets wet.
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Thanks BlueZero. How do you apply Rust Reformer? With a stiff brush? I assume wiping on with a towel will not be abrasive enough to remove the rust.



BlueZero said:
Good for you with the Habitat for Humanity. One of those things I always wanted to do but never seem to have the time.
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Thanks again. It is just one of those things that if you want to do it, you just have to make time for it. After a while, it just becomes a habit to know that each Saturday morning I am heading over to the Habitat warehouse to build a house somewhere in the impoverished part of Louisville. Of course it is also a habit that is easy to fall out of. When my job was requiring me to work a lot of over time, I was often working on Saturday mornings and lost the habit of going to habitat each Saturday. Once things at work calmed down, I would wake up on Saturdays and not even think about going to Habitat till around the late morning when it would be too late to head out to the construction site. Things are busy at work again so once things calm down again, I hope to get back into the habit.
 
It was about 10 years ago when I used it, so I would have to say things might have changed since then so be sure to read the bottle. When I did it I brushed away the loose rust with a paint stripper pad then applied the reformer with a paint brush. A wire brush might work to removed the loose stuff as well. If you get it on the painted areas it will discolor them so be careful. I am working on a metal shelf in my garage with some rust spots, so maybe tomorrow I will get to the store and get some as well.
 
Accumulator said:
I've had very good results with rust-related products from Eastwood Rust Treatment: Rust Removal, Prevention & Protective Gear . Worked much better for me than POR15. You can put Rustoleum Pant over top of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator...that combo works well IME.
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I've had pretty good luck with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. Remove whatever rust you can with a 60 grit sanding disc on you electric drill, then spray or brush on the Rust Encapsulator.



I have not tried the POR-15.



Do take care of the rust now before it rusts through.
 
itb76 said:
Do take care of the rust now before it rusts through.
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That is what I am worried about. I can just see one day I am driving down the road with something heavy in the rusty bed of my truck and hitting a bump it just falling right through the bed.:shocked
 
My old supervisor bought a Chevy 1/2 ton from a guy that sold farm fertilizer. Now, I could have told him that fertizer will eat a truck bed up and quick too. But - he got a "great deal" and about 3 months later - the tailgate fell right off when he hit a speed bump in the parking lot! Rust is tough to get rid of, if you don't care too much about looks, you may convince a body shop to cut and weld replacement panals in place and hit it with some heavy duty paint. When a shop doesn't have to worry about looks - the price usally slides way down.
 
JuneBug said:
My old supervisor bought a Chevy 1/2 ton from a guy that sold farm fertilizer. Now, I could have told him that fertizer will eat a truck bed up and quick too. But - he got a "great deal" and about 3 months later - the tailgate fell right off when he hit a speed bump in the parking lot! Rust is tough to get rid of, if you don't care too much about looks, you may convince a body shop to cut and weld replacement panals in place and hit it with some heavy duty paint. When a shop doesn't have to worry about looks - the price usally slides way down.
Click to expand...



Right now, the rust is not bad enough that I am worried about body damage - or parts falling of the truck for that matter. I am trying to get rid of the rust before it spreads to the point that I have to start worrying about body damage or leaving parts scattered along the highway.
 
itb76 said:
I've had pretty good luck with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator..
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Glad to hear it worked well for you.



I experimented on the Blazer, doing great/good/mediocre/poor prep before applying it. Unlike my experiences with POR-15, the Rust Encapsulator worked great with even mediocre prep. I realize that different people would define the various levels of prep differently (and I'm not careless ;) ), but yeah, the Eastwood stuff really impressed me and convinced me to switch to it for all such work.



It's been a year now, and some things I treated on the Blazer that really shoulda rerusted are still fine. A few spots have rerusted just a little, but hey, they were seriously bad to start with.



I've never heard anything bad about Rust Bullet, so that's worth checking out too.



I *have* heard, and experienced, bad results with POR-15 though (and yeah, all work was done per the directions)- e.g., a body shop I patronized had to completely redo a frame of mine after the POR-15 failed to adhere properly. While they were the innovators in this area, I truly believe you cand do better these days with other products. When it works well, it's great...I just wish it worked well more often.
 
itb76 said:
I've had pretty good luck with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. Remove whatever rust you can with a 60 grit sanding disc on you electric drill, then spray or brush on the Rust Encapsulator.



I have not tried the POR-15.



Do take care of the rust now before it rusts through.
Click to expand...



Where can you find Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator? Or does it have to be purchased online?
 
bert31 said:
Where can you find Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator? Or does it have to be purchased online?
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Gotta get it direct from Eastwood. If you don't want to order it online you can order by phone. They ship promptly.
 
Accumulator said:
Gotta get it direct from Eastwood. If you don't want to order it online you can order by phone. They ship promptly.
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I will order it online. I just like to be able to see the product before buying it and ask questions to a store employee if I have any questions. Oh well. Once it cools down and work calms down, I will take on the project of getting rid of this rust.
 
bert31 said:
I will order it online. I just like to be able to see the product before buying it and ask questions to a store employee if I have any questions..
Click to expand...



Check out their forums and consider calling them for more info. The people at Eastwood have always been friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.
 
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