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Rust Removal Experts - Help, Please?

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  • benenglish

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    Nov 22, 2011
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    This is sorta but not quite auto-related. Apologies if anyone objects but this is where I figured I'd find the expertise.

    I'm looking for a way to remove rust where I don't want to damage the part. I may have mentioned this before, a long time ago, but I came into possession of an old Hollywood press I'd like to restore. I've put this project off for far too long. Some non-critical parts are severely rusted but the ram is only mildly corroded. I think it can be saved but I need a method that's as gentle to the remaining good metal as possible. Any mechanical process will render the tolerances between the ram and the riser (if you know how the Jr. press works, that'll make sense) too far out of spec to make the project worthwhile.

    Ideally, I need an effective liquid that's inexpensive enough to simply dunk the press into a 5 or 10 gallon bucket and leave it a while, after which I'll disassemble and do the final clean-up a piece at a time.

    TIA for any help.
    Military Camp
     

    Kuhuna

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    Feb 19, 2011
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    I have had great success using glass bead blasting at low pressure removing rust from tolerance critical parts. The glass bead turns to dust after impact unlike sand or aluminum oxide. A quick dip in Hydrochloric acid works too.
     

    Leper

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    Naval jelly comes to mind first. Paint it on with a small brush, watch it for a little bit and wash it off when the rust is gone A heavily rusted structure piece can be done using a five gallon bucket, some baking soda, some rebar and a battery charger.
     

    rsayloriii

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    Might try CLR. You wouldn't have to have that much either, as you can either spray it on, or soak some paper towels in the CLR and then rap it around what you want to clean.
     

    stdreb27

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    I use phosphoric acid to remove rust on some of the blades I tinker with and on my bbq pit.

    But read about it first because it will dry and powder up.
     

    bones_708

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    vinegar - [FONT=arial, sans-serif]acetic acid in vinegar reacts with the ferric oxide (rust) forming ferric acetate and that is water soluble. Soak for 24 hrs and then wash off. If there is any stubborn rust try it again. You can also add baking soda to form an abrasive cleaner to get really hard to remove rust. [/FONT]
     

    TX69

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    I have seen good results (not personally) with using electrolysis.

    Rust Removal Using Electrolysis



    THis.

    I have use this to remove rust from exhaust manifolds and it works awesome. I did have to stop the process and clean the water since it was pulling the rust from the interior of the manifold and making a mess. You can get Borax at Wally for $3 / Charger for $30 / BIG plastic tub or trash can / sacrificial steel and you're good to go.
     

    TX69

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    I use phosphoric acid to remove rust on some of the blades I tinker with and on my bbq pit.

    But read about it first because it will dry and powder up.

    Concrete Etcher at Home Depot works great.
     

    deemus

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    Ben, I have extensive experience with using a paint related product. I generally buy it at Sherwin Williams paint shops. Its called "rust converter" and it is a creamy looking substance.

    I typically use a wire brush (steel or brass depending on the type item I am working on) to remove any loose scale, then you paint this stuff on the object. It uses a chemical process to change the rusted metal back in to metal. It can be used on anything that is rusty. Its pretty amazing stuff, but its important to get the loose stuff off the surface before you start.

    You won't need to dunk it in a bucket, you just "paint" the converter on the object you are working on. I have been amazed by the success with this stuff. It has turned some real junk into usable items again. I suggest testing it on something that doesn't have the critical tolerances just to be sure it won't affect that. Its superior to "Ospho" and the other green liquid products out there. As that stuff treats the rust, but still leaves the potential for rust to still be there, and the surface is as it was previously. This stuff actually chemically turns the surface back into steel.
     

    Kyle

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    vinegar - [FONT=arial, sans-serif]acetic acid in vinegar reacts with the ferric oxide (rust) forming ferric acetate and that is water soluble. Soak for 24 hrs and then wash off. If there is any stubborn rust try it again. You can also add baking soda to form an abrasive cleaner to get really hard to remove rust. [/FONT]

    I second this. I use vinegar to strip off rust and bluing on rifles I refinish. A 12-24 hour submersion, wipe or brush it off, hose it down with water and give it a wd-40 bath before it dries. Then wipe it down with a cloth. Good to go!
     

    mroper

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    Electrolosis OR High Heat I put a cast iron Pan in my Oven and ran it through the Clean cycle and it removed all the rust.
     

    Larry77084

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    May 27, 2013
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    Evapo rust, have a friend that had a house fire and most of the guns in his safe got a coating of vaporized nylon from the carpet lining in the safe. We soaked them in Evapo Rust and all of the coating came off. I've used it on various items and it takes the rust right off. It's reusable and bio-degradable.
     
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    Every Day Man
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