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Removing the last rust from pitted steel

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dobson156

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Hi,

I took a door card off the car I am restoring, at the top there is a metal brace piece. At some point the car window must have been left open and it must have got wet and rusted.

I took a wire wheel and a prep disk to the stamped metal piece and remove all of the surface rust, and then I removed the paint with stripper. The piece has quite heavy pitting, and the pitting still seems to have rust in it that the prep disk has failed to remove.

So I tried using evapo-rust, the piece is too big for me to dip, so I've used the method where you wrap it paper towels, then soak that in evapo-rust. I feel like that has removed some of the rust, but clearly not all. I've repeated this and feel like I am more or less in the same place.

So what would you do at this point? Would you feel comfortable using a Rust converter, like Jenolite, on the residual rust, and then just paint and prime it - or will the rust just come back in short order? If the part is well painted, shouldn't that stop any more oxidisation from happening?

Once the door car is put back together then it won't be visible, so a scruffy finish isn't the end of the world, but if it rusts again I might not be able to find out.
 
Well I've chosen to Jenolite Rust Converter it, and will just whack 4 coats of Hammerite direct to rust over that.
 
Sorry to be late with this, but I have seen good to excellent results with Bill Hirsch Miracle Paint. The "good" results were my hack attempts back when I had no patience; "excellent" were my Dad's meticulous efforts after reading the instructions twice and following them to the letter.

It is (was) available in several colors, so you can either leave it or sand and paint over it if your chosen color isn't available.
 
No problem, it's too late for this piece, but there is PLENTY more where it came from.

Is the Miracle Paint a similar product to POR-15?
 
Looking at their websites I think the only similarity is the end result!

Hirsch claims you can paint right over rust, which may be a bit ambitious. I know that the cleanup you've done is more than necessary, but I don't believe you'd have been happy slapping the paint directly on the part as it came out. POR-15 mentions that it's a 3-step process (Cleaner, Prep, Coating). Also POR-15 mentions that you should paint over it if the area is exposed to UV light, whereas Hirsch can be the final coat.

Hirsch lists silver, black, white, or clear -- not sure why you'd want the rust to show through unless it was a rat rod! We used black on the undercarriage of an older restoration (mostly surface rust, a little paint bubbling here and there) and it looked great. Just enough gloss to look clean but not too glossy smooth.

Not sure if it's in the Hirsch instructions, but the POR-15 website shows it: WEAR GLOVES. My father had black streaks on his hands for a month. That stuff does NOT come off!
 
I've used POR-15 before, but I don't think I used it quite right.

The issue I had is that it needed two coats for best protection, but if I remember correctly there is no set time between coats - you're just supposed to recoat it when it is tacky.

The first coat went on beautifully, spreading and filling nicely on the prepped steel. But the second coat went on horribly over the first, now tacky, coat. The tacky coat just kept on grabbing the brush. Perhaps it was too tacky, I don't know.

Where possible I like finishes I can spray on, either out of a gun or can.

And yes, wear gloves and cover up any other bare skin, POR-15 did not come off for weeks.
 
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dobson156 said:
Hi,

I took a door card off the car I am restoring, at the top there is a metal brace piece. At some point the car window must have been left open and it must have got wet and rusted.

I took a wire wheel and a prep disk to the stamped metal piece and remove all of the surface rust, and then I removed the paint with stripper. The piece has quite heavy pitting, and the pitting still seems to have rust in it that the prep disk has failed to remove.

So I tried using evapo-rust, the piece is too big for me to dip, so I've used the method where you wrap it paper towels, then soak that in evapo-rust. I feel like that has removed some of the rust, but clearly not all. I've repeated this and feel like I am more or less in the same place.

So what would you do at this point? Would you feel comfortable using a Rust converter, like Jenolite, on the residual rust, and then just paint and prime it - or will the rust just come back in short order? If the part is well painted, shouldn't that stop any more oxidisation from happening?

Once the door car is put back together then it won't be visible, so a scruffy finish isn't the end of the world, but if it rusts again I might not be able to find out.
Click to expand...
Let it soak in Coca-Cola for 24 hours. I had a 50-year-old Thomas Hawkins rifle kit that I just finished putting together after 50 years. The steel barrel was completely rusted inside and out. I made a little trough for the 34 inch barrel soaked it in Coca-Cola overnight and it came out looking like new. Imagine what Coca-Cola does to our bellies.
 
The reason Coke works is because it contains some phosphoric acid. I use OSPHO because it is mostly phosphoric acid. It will get into the deep little pockets of rust and kill it. Places where a grinding wheel or sanding disc cannot get to. I would never use POR because to me it is like putting a bandage on the problem. POR stands for "paint over rust". Why would anyone want to paint over rust?
 
Citric Acid @ 20 to 30%. Buy food-grade citric acid (powder), add to water and dissolve. Then gently place in the rusted part(s) and soak 24 hrs. Remove and dip in water. Scrub parts to remove scale. Wear safety glasses / goggles / face mask and gloves with any of these rust removing procedures.
 
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