The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors Inside bottom rusted out

Hey i need help deciding which way to go, the botom of both door inside are rusted out from the bottom about 3 1/2 inches up, they make a patch for this, but im not the best welder in the world, so which is easier (mainly cheaper) by patches and try it myself, by patches and take it to a classic auto shop, and let them do it,or by a door shell? thanks!

buy patches, put the doors on the truck and take it somewhere, it will cost ya a little more, but you know you are going to get good results. Thats what I would do. Good luck

Where do you get that patch at? My 51 has same problem.

Prior to welding in patches, ensure the rust is gone both inside and out. The following link may be helpful. Especially where rust is hard to reach.

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=31;t=000108

How long should it take to remove light surface rust on a body panel using the straight concentrate and/or with the dilute solution (10:1) sprayed/swabbed on it. Not much instruction with the Gallon that I got?
I have left small sheet metal panels partially submerged in the concentrate over night (24hr) and is etched pretty deep into the clean metal, that is, I can feel a step between where the part was in the de-rust-it and out of it. I thought it was only supposed to attack the iron oxide, and not affect the clean solid steel! You need more instruction on how to use the product. If you have detailed instructions I would appreciate it if you could email me a copy.
Also, if you were to treat the bottom of a good door that had a light to moderate rust problem what would happen if you still had a little of the de-rust-it trapped between the door frame and the bottom fold of the outer skin. Given a few months for this to completely dry out would it become reactivated when it got wet again, say from rain?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

I am pleased that you have witnessed the results. We just need to help 'fine tune' your process. I will try to answer your questions in order.

Light surface rust should be removed much quicker than 24 hours. Depending upon strength of the mixture and the ambient temperature, usually a matter of a few hours @ the most. This would be only w/ the concentrate diluted 10:1. This formulation depends on the distilled or softened water to work efficiently. This is another example of 'more is not better', meaning a more concentrated mixture. The larger quantity of water will help to hold more of the derusted by-products in solution, thus keeping the solution active instead of becoming saturated, and thus, useless. So be sure to use the water and mix 10:1!
I mentioned distilled or softened water. These are ideal as it allows the solution to absorb the most derusted by-product. It will work w/ tap water, however it is the quantity of minerals that matters, the fewer minerals, the better it works.

Concerning the small sheet metal panels. The mixture has to be 10:1. At that mixture, there should not be fresh metal removal unless the part is left in way too long. The benefit to your experimentation is that now you can see how fast and effective the D-Rust-It is! Just try shorter times in the proper mix, and continue to monitor their progress. Every real world situation is different. One person's interpretation of light surface rust, may not be the same as another's.

Regarding D-Rust-It trapped in the door frame where the outer skin folds around it. The best approach is to rinse the part thoroughly for a longer period of time, as opposed to a completely exposed surface. There will be a very thin protective layer built up on the surface of the metal after treatment w/ D-Rust-It. This allows you to rinse the part for a very long time before any flash rusting would occur. This way you can remove vitually all of the D-Rust-It solution. Obviously, it is best to rinse the part immediately after treatment to prevent the solution from drying on to the part first. On our website you will find a picture of the PTO pulley on my 1928 case Model 'L' tractor. After D-Rusting, we intentionally left it outside in the elements to find out when it would begin to flash rust. After three days w/ dew overnight and rain another night, and part of the day, there has been no flash rusting. Worst case, is that a small, highly diluted mixture could dry inside the fold, but it will be virtually inactive when dry. If by chance it does re-emulsify w/ some rain water, the very weak mixture may actually prevent further rusting due to the protective layer formed afterward.

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me or Howard.

Regards, Lee

Thanks Lee,
Ya got something, going here, If its removing base metal like I've seen then it's pretty strong stuff. I'm gonna do some more experimenting before I commit to flooding the inside of my doors with it. Light surface rust=light surface rust! Can almost be wiped off with a rag and very easily remove with a fine wire brush and leaves no visible pitting.
I make a solution that takes a week or so with white vinagar by desolving a fine steel wool pad in a quart of it. I've never tried it on rusted metal. I have tried lye solution and your castings will come out clean as a new part.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

It is certainly meant to work fast. It will also remove the thickest, most stubborn rust. This is really where it shines, no pun intended! Keeping in mind that this is a non-toxic, non-hazardous fluid that does not depend on strong acids or bases to do it's job!

By all means, experiment w/it first, wherever possible, as every situation will vary. I do believe that it will greatly benefit anyone wanting to derust doors or any other surface that is relatively inaccessible.

Have you visited our website to look @ the pictures?

If you need any other advice, We will be glad to help.

Regards, Lee

Denny,

Have you done anything more w/ the D-Rust-It mixed @ 10:1 ratio?

Lee