Rust Removal

[CTripps]

I spent a couple of hours today doing rust removal on the cruiser I'm starting. I thought it was going to be worse. I used a combination of #0000 steel wool and a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and lemon juice. Dip the steel wool, work the metal, wipe with a wet cloth, wipe with a dry and keep going. When I finished each one I covered them in Turtle Wax, and then polished it off.

Here are some of the pics from the job. The back fender, left side had rust all the way up, I started taking pics when I saw how easily the clean up was going. The order is Before/After/Polished.

 

[CTripps]

More pics... Underside of the rear fender, before and after.

 

[CTripps]

Front fender this time.. Before/after/polished, and inside the fender before and after.

 

[yodar]

Front fender this time.. Before/after/polished, and inside the fender before and after.

I am involves in serious military firearms collections and restoration.

Your strategy is correct, albeit not highly evolved.

Canned waxes contain darn little REAL Carnauba wax (Very expensive) and the waxes IN these canned and bottled waxes are paraffins (or silicones which AREN'T waxes) and a dash of carnauba so they can SAY it is IN there.

A pure carnauba wax needs good prep-work, is hard to apply and buff off, but is is very weather-hardy and not need to be reapplied.

These canned waxes enjoy the benefits from the genius who wrote the first labels for a shampoo product. Apply , scrub, rinse, "REPEAT" !

I use Ballistol with the steel wool, let it stand wet with a thin coating overnight, wipe, and the thin film that remains will prevent corrosion for a looong time.

All the tools in my Truck Toolbox were treated with Ballsitol this way (cheap Harbour Freight Chinese tools that needed a steel wool ballistol treatment right after they were put in the truck.

4 hurricanes hit the area, the tools remained under 2 " of water for weeks and suffered no corrosion


Another product to use in place of Ballistol (some object to its smell - it IS nasty - like ripe baby diaper-) is CorrosionX which is an aerosol or spray liquid,and accomplishes the same thing.

I also use CorrosionX and then apply their product RejeX which is like an anti-static coating that repels dirt. Both these products are used on aircraft in The Navy for corrosion prevention and prevent soot from Jet Fuel; exhaust form messing up the fuselage skins of the planes.


Either of these products can be used for de-rusting sheet metal and tubular or stamped steel and will leave an anti-rust film

Furthermore for quick and dirty DE-rusting where you want to apply an anti-rust product afterward, merely using the 0000 steel wool with kerosene will work well too.

Yodar

 

[CTripps]

Thanks for the advice, I do appreciate it and I'll add some things to my list of products/stuff to keep an eye out for. I'm still somewhat new to the area I live in now, until 5 years ago I'd have known exactly where to go to get everything.
Right now I'm working on a shoestring budget and making do with the materials I can get easily. The joy of being laid off and called back for a few weeks here and there. Anyway, it's going to be a couple of weeks before the bike comes together, the motor and exhaust will be here tomorrow but i don't have much free time until sometime in November. Until I'm ready for them the light wax should help keep them clean in my damp garage. Before I put things back together they'll be cleaned up again.

 

[yodar]

C.Tripps

I forgot to comment on your use of vinegar or acetic acid. My father was a chemist in metallurgy and before metal is to be plated or painted they run it into a "pickling bath" which was mild Hydrochloric acid. I much prefer your weaker acid and safer approach.

But before final treatment a good cleaning with Simple Green and a rinse will help the rust proof product you apply be more effective.

And one other bit of trivia. Since I am INTO guns, few know that gun bluing is just a form of RUST (black iron oxide) i have always wondered weather my parts might survive the weather better if they were "blued." ;.)

yodar

 

[rohmell]

As a B.A.T.F.-Licensed C & R firearms collector, I don't have a long skinny vessel to electrolytically de-rust an ancient Mauser...

How about using a long piece of PCV pipe with a cap on one end? Some of the larger diameter pipes will take a rifle easily.

 

[GearNut]

You also could use a section of PVC rain gutter. Cap it on both ends and you have a trough as long as you wish.
I like doing electrolytic rust removal. It works sooo wonderfully. Just don't do it on plated (read chrome, ect) parts. The leftover water bath will contain hexavalent chromium which is a horribly nasty bio-hazardous chemical waste. It can kill you.

 

[FarRider]

I still like good old naval jelly, I coat the part well and wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it moist. This method works very well if you have heavy rust and want to leave it over night.
Then I use a combination of wire wheels and steel wool in various grades.
To reach those hard to get at spots I use a length of cotton clothesline rope thats been wrapped in a thin layer of steel wool and wrap it around the part
(like a bike frame) and pull it back and forth a few times.

Wear safety goggles, a breath mask, thick rubber gloves and protective clothing at all times, naval jelly is acid based and will harm your eyes and exposed skin.
Keep the garden hose handy to wash off any that gets on your skin fast.
Happy de rusting
Hmmmm... a gun blued steel bike frame....I LIKE IT!
FR

 

[CTripps]

C.Tripps

I forgot to comment on your use of vinegar or acetic acid. My father was a chemist in metallurgy and before metal is to be plated or painted they run it into a "pickling bath" which was mild Hydrochloric acid. I much prefer your weaker acid and safer approach.

My thanks go to FunDreamer for that mixture, it is very effective at the task, and I had the makings handy.

But before final treatment a good cleaning with Simple Green and a rinse will help the rust proof product you apply be more effective.

Good to know, I'll grab some this weekend.

And one other bit of trivia. Since I am INTO guns, few know that gun bluing is just a form of RUST (black iron oxide) i have always wondered weather my parts might survive the weather better if they were "blued." ;.)

Yep, the black oxide's actually a good thing. A blued bike and motor would be interesting.. could look really good on the right build.

 

[diceman2004]

all this talk of lemon and viniger is makin me hungry for some fish and chips

 

[GearNut]

The 50/50 solution of lemon juice and vinegar works very well. I have used it for years when doing restoration projects which require using the original factory hardware.
Try it, you'll like it.
Soak the parts for 24 to 36 hours. Do not leave them soaking for much longer than that though or it can do damage. I have experimented with it on junk parts and have completely dissolved small brackets and screws. After a month, nothing but brown mush at the bottom of the glass jar.

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

I've not had too many good results with naval jelly, but I have some left from years ago and may try it again.

The used of weaker acids, like vinegar and additionally with electrolysis I have interest in that too.

Years ago I had some of this orsene solution for gold plating. It would not be good on a motor bike since it would wear off with the extreme uses we put them through, but might be an expensive way to store and have a stationary motor bike

The mention of the gases that are coming off the anode and the cathode I know at least from just salt water and electrolysis is one side H1 and the other O2 from water H2O. Inverted test tubes over the bubbling and you can capture the gases separately. You may put them back together and have liquid water again with a spark to get it going. Quite a bit of energy is released be so advised!

Even with being reminded about the easier ways aside from the mention of a combination with 0000 steel wool and your own elbow grease, I will probably use course 60 grit on the frame tubes and get it finished with 600 fine.

Power tools I have a few, but for sanding I have what I think is referred to as the half sheet sander. The vibrating tool I have from craftsmen is great. I got a pad that sticks on the bottom and then has some kind of vinyl smooth surface. That has been there for over a decade now. All I do when changing the sticky one side and sand paper on the other, is peel off easy and stick on another. Cheaper by the roll and I just cut the length I need.

The thing is that it is really for flat surfaces. I saw the vibrating multi tools that will sand and cut (even plunge cut) and so I have this thought of just adapting my sander with a narrow piece of strong flat metal to the bottom of the tool so I can reach areas of the frame tubes better.

I have seen HF discount from $60 to $20, but I have not seen the options on this kind of tool to get to such narrow areas. One other thing I saw was this 3/8 inch belt sander that is hand held. It has a 5 amp motor, but I have seen review saying that the belts come apart at the seam.

I know I would be pressing hard to get the difficult rust off and the cost of the belts seems pricy so I am thinking how I will make the mod to my sander and see what it can do then.

Measure Twice

 

[Blakenstein]

I just did some of that last night. -Winter motor mounting plate. I used coarse sanding disks on a drill -for hard to get places, I used a wire brush wheel on a drill. Now I know what your thinkin......wire wheels do not work for heavy rust, and I found that out years ago..but that's on an angle grinder that revs at 10,000 rpm. It heats up quickly and instead of removing the rust all it does is polish it.
However, ive got one that fits a drill and my Dewalt cord drill revs at only 2500 rpms and the wires really dig in and remove the rust. It seems that when the wheel is moving slower, it gives a chance for the wires to dig in, and also less heat.
Anyway, today the plate is looking beautifull -gave it one coat of primmer and 2 coats of paint.
P.S. ALways wear SAFETY EYE PROTECTION WHEN USING WIRE WHEELS FULL FACE MASK AND SAFETY GOGGLES.

 

[Joe_Knesek]

In my experience media blasting is by far the best method for removing rust. However this is just the first stage of the pretreatment process. Once the rust is removed the part needs to be phosphatized & sealed prior to coating.

 

[Blakenstein]

In my experience media blasting is by far the best method for removing rust. However this is just the first stage of the pretreatment process. Once the rust is removed the part needs to be phosphatized & sealed prior to coating.

Your right about that Joe, Many years ago, I was restoring a full body frame from a 67 Chevelle sedan(2 door post) for some sections I could not get to with the disks and I had to sand blast.
I then treated the frame with a solution from an autobody supplyer-a type of rust mort that had phosfuric acid in it but had to rinse it right away before it was sealed.
Also worked in a machining plant that made couplings for the oil rig pipe tubbing and cassing after they were made, they were phosphated .
Also worked in a plant that coated big inch pipe for the pipe line companies and before the pipe was coated, it would run through a wheelabraider that blasted the pipe with steel particles called shot. It was very easy to get mad working at it or near it when the seals were bad cause shot would fly out of it and it was like getting repeatedly hit over and over with a bb gun.

 

[Joe_Knesek]

Here is a photo of my media blaster & wash system. The wash system uses a liquid iron phosphate solution called Paint Lok 550-HT-F which cleans & phosphatizes parts prior to coating.