How to.......remove rust from panels

[iain]

I am thinking of purchasing a TR4A that has been in kit form for 31 years.

 

It had four lovely new Stanpart wings, I say had, they are now a fetching shade of brown.....rust. Its not heavy but all over

 

What would be the most effective way to salvage these parts?

 

Cheers

 

Iain

 

 

 

 

[Guest ntc]

DA and 80 grit.

[iain]

Cheers Neil

 

That I can do, any other suggestions?

 

Iain

[Alec Pringle]

Talk to Stuart about molasses . . . . .

 

Milkstone remover will also remove most of the rust . . . .

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[Guest ntc]

Cheers Neil

 

That I can do, any other suggestions?

 

Iain

Tis the only way, then Bondarust and 2k primer

[stillp]

If you can find a non-metal container big enough, DIP from Hammerite will remove the rust from the places you can't access by sanding. There are other substances that are apparently similar, which I haven't tried - dilute about 1-:1 with water and leave until clean, then rinse and dry. Tip - seal a small magnet in a polythene bag and suspend it in the liquid. It will collect the minute particles of iron that were the rust. The poly bag allows you to remove the magnet so the iron powder falls off.

 

Pete

[john.r.davies]

 

Obviously far too costly to buy for a one-off restoration job, but the UK distributors are: http://www.rustremover.eu/

They would know if a workshop in your area has one.

 

Alec suggests "Milkstone Remover", which is Phosphoric acid, used by diary farmers to clean out milking machines.

It reacts with iron oxides to make iron phosphate, which is insoluble, so that it remains attached to the surface where it acts as a good substrate for priming and painting.

It's the basis for most "rust treatments", and turns the surface the same deep black as they do when successful.

 

Other acids will all dissolve iron oxide, and leave the surface bare steel and subject to flash rust. 'Strong' acids, hydrochloric, sulphuric will attack the native metal, but weaker, organic acids, like acetic (vinegar), oxalic (poisonous!) are less aggressive. But all have soluble products, and the flash rust problem remainsd

 

If rust is thick, then it needs mechanical removal, wire brushing by hand or power tool first.

Good luck!

John

[iain]

Seems so far to be the usual, DA and course grit plus Milkstone Remover which I have plenty of. Lots of elbow grease in other words.......blast that is what I wanted to avoid

 

I am also a big fan of Bondaprimer, I use it on the 3A 37 years ago and its still there doing its thing...a great product

 

Iain

[Guest]

Search for 'dry ice blasting' on the internet.

[Guest ntc]

Seems so far to be the usual, DA and course grit plus Milkstone Remover which I have plenty of. Lots of elbow grease in other words.......blast that is what I wanted to avoid

 

I am also a big fan of Bondaprimer, I use it on the 3A 37 years ago and its still there doing its thing...a great product

 

Iain

There you go no pain no gain

[RogerH]

Hi Iain,

the Bilt Hamber DeOxC works very well. Similar to the Hammerite DIP but anything up to 20:1 dilution.

24 Hour saok removes everything - except the parent metal.

Reasonably cheap also.

 

Roger

Edited March 5, 2017 by RogerH

[littlejim]

I garnet blasted mine at home.

[pfenlon]

Roger is on the money as is Mr Pringle.

 

Phosphoric acid works exceptionally well also, surface rust can be properly removed without physical effort with todays products.

 

or send them to Ribble technology for a stint in their oven, thats a perfect way to do it.

[john.r.davies]

thank you, Pete, a firm local to me that have professionalised the process. http://www.paint-strip.co.uk/how-we-do-it/

 

John

[littlejim]

How to keep harping on.

 

With all the chemical treatments my guess is you have to wash it off with something.

No likum if the something is water.

With the grit blasting you just have to blow a bit of stuff away with air, wipe with one of the prepaint volatiles if you so wish, then get the base coating on.

[Willie Felger]

G'day Little Jim,

 

I had the same with a bare metal TR3A. Anything mechanical made clouds of dust and a hell of a mess. I bit the proverbial bullet and used Blit-Hamber Deox C Gell. Being jelly it sticks to vertical surfaces and works well on the rust overnight - the downside is that the process of wiping off the resultant brown goo is messy but soaked up caught OK by newspapers on the floor. I then had to wet and dry the body with a thinned second coat.

 

Messy and time consuming but cheap and easy and the resulting shiny metal and rust-proofed body shell was worth the effort. You do need good rubber gloves though - try Ansells Touch 'n Tough - they are the best!

 

Good luck,

 

Willie

[john.r.davies]

Jim, the point of phosphoric acid is the insoluble iron phosphate. Washing after treatment does not remove it, and it remains to prevent flash rust. Drying well obviously necessary see the link above, but then paint with primer at your leisure.

John

[RogerH]

Hi Folks,

the problem with all these processes is that they effectively work on the surface.

 

Any folded edges or double skins etc can't be attacked as best as you would wish.

 

See the recent post of a wing trailing/leading edge.

 

The acid/wet processes appear to have the problem that if the solution gets into a double skin area will it keep eating away at the metal forever - NO it will not.

It will eventually be used up and die. But you may still have your rust trapped in there.

 

As mentioned by John - washing down with water is not a problem as the removal medium protects the surface (the majority do)

 

Horses for courses

 

Roger