The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Rust Removal

Tried to do search here, no avail.
Looking for tips and tricks on rust removal on several parts of the truck such as air cleaner filter, door parts, small parts, etc. I don't want to do it wrong and screw it all up. Thought about sandblasting but was told it could heat, warp, put holes in it and damage the parts. Have some small parts to practice on, but while I cannot work on the truck itself I figure spend the indoor shop time cleaning and painting the small stuff. What type of sanding tools, pads, discs, etc. is good to have?
Also looking for suggestions on using rattle can paint and primer.

Evap-O-Rust works great on smaller parts.

For parts small enough to put in a container or tray I have had good luck with the vinegar method. Soak the parts for a few days in vinegar. When you pull the part out it looks like it has done nothing but if you wipe the part under running water the rust wipes right off down to the bare metal.

I am using the vinegar method for my nuts and bolts. It works pretty good, but still needs wire wheeling and elbow grease to get it all off.

I have a small sand blaster I will be using for small parts. if you stay in one place you can cause problems. Just keep moving and you will be fine.

The really large stuff I hire out.

I'll blast anything I can. My whole Model A went through the blast cabinet. A piece at a time, of course!

x2 on the Evaporust. For heavily rusted stuff, it may take a soak, wire-brushing and resoak. I usually do 24 hour soaks.

On rattle cans, Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer, and their line of colors. You can put the finish coat on within an hour of applying the primer. I use the Semi-Gloss Black for lots of stuff.

A blast cabinet would be nice to have. Small parts like nuts and bolts or things with meat to them you don't have to worry about damaging, but sheet metal stuff can get warped if you get too aggressive.

Funny the day I posted this was the day someone mentioned a sandblasting cabinet for sale, picked it up the next day.
I do have a question though, what is the best media for light duty or all around sandblasting? I'm going to start with the engine parts and maybe some interior parts. Only local media I can find is coal slag fine and medium and 80 mesh garnet. Unsure of what to use for what, etc. Don't want to make a bigger mess of the parts.

When i get to the frame and heavier parts, I'll be using a pot blaster I'm building or get a pressure washer sand blaster.

On heavy stuff you can use the medium grit. For sheet metal, the fine garnet would be more appropriate. You can't really hurt metal that's 1/8" or more thickness, but too aggressive media can warp sheet metal pretty quickly.

I use 60 grit garnet on everything. But everything I blast is going to get a coat of paint. It leaves the perfect finish for the paint to grip.

I use a 30-60 crushed glass in my cabinet. I tried a 20-50 for heavier stuff, but it didn’t play well with my cabinet’s siphoning ability. I have a dust cyclone attached to my shop vac and a hose going outside so dust is down. Works great. You’ll use it. A LOT.

If you use the vinegar method you do have to be patient. I sometimes allow stuff to soak several days or even a week. This will reduce the amount of additional clean up you need to do. I usually just have to wash the parts when I take them out.

Just cleaned out the bottom of the blast cabinet, has steel shot rusted together in it. Was fun breaking and removing it. Need to replace the pick-up tube, glass and door seals. Might replace the light as well, old style florescent to a brighter LED light. Ordered a cyclone to hook up to cabinet with either shop vac or car wash vac which is stronger (2 motors). Thinking of building a rolling platform to move around and raise the cabinet a little higher instead of bending down to use.
Will probably use glass or garnet if I can find locally (1 store, small town), will need to order some aluminum oxide media to etch glass and ceramics for the wife's crafting stuff. Long story short, had to mention crafting to actually get the blast cabinet, LOL. Will ask some blasting companies if they are willing to sell me a bag or two.

Also citric acid powder mixed with water works .

McMaster will ship it to you. Doesn't make the UPS guy happy.

Makes UPS itself happy though. All that weight is $$ to them.

......should be someone locally mixing concrete and selling block for construction. In my town these places also carry blasting sand that is "sized' for sand blasting. I've been using mainly "45" which is fine blasting sand in my blasting cabinet.....and of course I have a bag of Black Diamon, glass beads and some platic....but rarely use any of it.
...as for dust, I'm sure most of you know that you can't use the same stuff forever. As soon as it gets dusty I drop it out and put in new. I only put in 1/2 bag at a time. At $5 a lb bag its the way to go. It last a good while if you clean the parts before blasting......I've had my cabinet for 20 years and still looks like new. Keep your lens protectors changed, use carbide tips and it'll last forever.