The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Rust

After doing a basic search of rust removal, I didn't come up with a dedicated forum for it, although I definitely didn't get through all of the older topics. Anyway, what would you recommend as the best rust removal methods & products? Yesterday's job was removal of the old paint (not a problem at all with a good stripper) and sanding down most of the surface rust. Is there a stripper that will eat through the surface rust as well as the paint? Just wondering if I can cut down the sanding hours at all. I'd like get as much of it off as I can before having to pay someone to sandblast the parts I can't get to, such as the corners and crevices of the door jambs. I tried Evapo-Rust from Auto Zone on the Chevy emblem - it sucked. Part is still as rusty as it was when I started!

There really are only two good options if you are talking about repair of pitted rusted components:
1.0 cut out the rusted areas and weld in new steel,
2.0 sandblast the rusted areas.

If there isn't any pitting, just minor surface rust, you can use 80 grit on a sander or DA.

I think a rust removal forum would be a great asset! As you have discovered, there are a number of ways to attack the problem. One word of caution, sand blasting with the wrong technique will warp sheet metal so make sure who ever does it knows what they are doing. A lot of shops use things like soda for blasting.

I tried the electrolysis route for some large fenders and it was helpful. I didn't get them all the way down to bare metal but I got a lot off. I used a little wading pool which was quite disposable after.

For areas under the dash i bought a flexible drive to on the drill and reach places where the drill doesn't fit.

In general you will find that one method doesn't fit all your needs. Also you will need to take most of the sheet metal apart to do the job. If money was no object, a professional chemical stripper with the tanks can do the best job, in my opinion. I used them for my doors but I saw complete body assemblies in there being dipped.

If you use the chemical strip method where they dip your parts, be aware it takes all paint and rustproofing from all those hidden areas that are hard, if not impossible to re-coat to seal out future rust. Some professional shops may offer a primer dip, which I think would be worth the added cost.

I really would like to do as much of this MYSELF as possible. Sending parts out just isn't nearly as fun or as rewarding to see it all done. Then again, I'm sure it's not nearly as frustrating either!! LOL The guy in Home Depot [censored] me off so bad! I went there yesterday looking for paint strippers and he asked me what it was for. When I told him I was restoring an old truck he said, "oh no ma'am, you need to do that right and have someone do that for you." Screw you buddy! If I was a man he never would've said that! I am the first one to admit I have no experience with this but I am VERY willing to learn and DETERMINED to succeed

JT, we are here to help, and we all started out with no experience! So ask away, you won't believe how smart some of these folks are!!! Welcome

I had some original primer on mine that no chemical stripper would touch. One of the mechanical methods i really like is the 3M rust/paint stripping wheels. They are grey colored and soft. They will take it all off including bondo but they don't do anything to the metal.

I use Phosphoric acid rust remover for the smaller pieces. If you don't wash it thoroughly after, it won't rust.

I must comment on the problem of having the rust proofing removed from inner areas. There is no such thing on these old trucks. Some places didn't even get paint.

Have a look at the electrolysis videos on the net. They are pretty impressive. One of our members did his cab that way.

Oh, I must add that some paints will come off with oven cleaner!

So far everyone here has had some great suggestion, they all have their place and you will probably need to use a combination of them to get your project done. I'll second the 3M stripping pads for bodywork, they're expensive but if you're careful you can make one last for quite a while.

I only have one other thing to add, you're going to need a whole ton of patients for that project! Too bad Home Depot doesn't sell that in 5 gallon buckets!

i have had great results using CLR ( calcium lime rust ) on truck body's it just melts the old rust right off.

i used it on my newly purchased C20 and it pulled up the surface rust and left me some paint and some bare steel were it was rusted.

I used sand blasting and an aircraft paint striper to remove most of the stuff then cut out old rusted areas. It takes many methods to get it all out of there.

Good luck and enjoy the experiance and education! It is worth it in the end.

Thanks everyone! I'm going to give the naval jelly a shot for the smaller parts and see how that goes. I agree it does take a lot of patience, but I have no time line for this project. When it's done, it's done. I work full time and only have weekends available to work on it, so I'm projecting years until completion! Unless I can somehow figure out a way to get myself laid off and collect unemployment LOL

Be careful what you wish for..............

Evapo-Rust vs. Naval Jelly:

Naval Jelly wins!!! Revealed a blue Chevy emblem under all that rust That makes a girl smile!! Check out the pic I added to the album. Made my night.

Wow, that did a great job, and a lot easier and safer than sandblasting. Good work!

Jk -

One thing no one mentioned was Ospho or a similar phosphoric acid rust neutralizer. They go on like water and chemically neutralize the rust, leaving a whitish coating. I'm in CT, and Ospho is not available, but Home Despot DOES carry a similar product in the paint section that's called chemical etch. It comes in translucent gallon plastic jugs, and the liquid itself is dark green. You might want to give it a try.

Chris

Thanks Chris, I will absolutely pick that up today and give it a try. The naval jelly worked out pretty well, but definitely needs a second soaking. Not only did the Chevy logo once be blue, it seems as though I did have red lettering just like everyone else Awesome!