rust removal made easy-really
 

Guys, I've come across something truly amazing. In the process of refurbishing my '73 I needed to remove rust from a lot of small parts. I've used the electrolysis method before but it's awkward. This time I tried a different method. I got a product called rust mort, goes by other names, basically a rust 'converter'. It's just phosphoric acid. Mix it about 1 part acid to 5 parts water in whatever plastic container works, and dump in your rusty parts. ( dry and non-greasy please). Left overnight or so depending on rust thickness and in the morning pull out your rust-free part. It's absolutely freakin' amazing. I dumped in a pair of heat flapper boxes covered in rust and seized, next day bare steel and perfectly functional. It converts ferric oxide(rust) to iron phosphate(makes acid mixture black and slimy and does same to parts). Clean them off and prep/paint! I've done stub axles, engine tin, bolts, brake dust shields, rotors and more. Very non-invasive to the metal, unlike sandblasting. The only steel lost is what was already changed to rust. Gets into all nooks and crannies, anywhere the solution will flow. Try it , it works! For those living in the dry south please disregard the above and thank your lucky stars. Don.

Interesting...and you find it in local autopart store...?

That sounds like a product called "Right Stuff" that I found at Advanced Auto Parts. I used it to take care of some rust under the battery tray. On a really slow day, I used it to get rid of the rust on the wrenches and spanner from the tool kit. The product worked well in both cases; very cheap also (about $5.00 per quart bottle (I think)).

NAPA used to sell something like this. I used it on some old drill bits and crescent wrenches and it was incredible. I even liked the black finish it left on the steel. Then it was no longer available. Are you saying you mix your own with phosphoric acid?

Most rust 'converters' in the auto parts stores show phosphoric acid as the main component.

Where did you buy the acid? Lots of chemical houses seem to worry that you're running a meth lab.

acid
 

Muriatic acid (swimming pool acid) will do a great job also. The only problem is when you wash it off, the rust blooms again. Maybe muriatic followed with a water rinse and then the phosphoric treatment to kill the new bloom of rust.

Seems to me that a few years ago, I bought something to clean the cement off of stone, and yes, it was pure phosphoric acid. Maybe a building supply/masonry supply store would be a good source.
Larry

Sounds like the same product as Evapo-rust . My results were posted in OT here.

Ospho. It's not POR 15, but it's a great start. Ospho is phosphoric acid. Farmers and commercial fisherman use it on iron and steel.

Phosphoric is available as trade name "Ospho" and "Jasco Prep and Primer", "Jasco metal Etch"," Navel Jelly". POR 15 is a rust encapsulating paint.

The actual "Rust Mort" brand name of rust converter is produced by SEM. white bottle, orange lable. I keep it stocked here all the time for restorations. Great stuff. Use it full strenght though on serious rust, it won't hurt the metal

Also consider PPG Metal Conditioner DX 579. For light surface rust and oxidation this is the stuff to use...50/50 mix with water and you're set to go at it. Spray on in a mist, use a gray or red scuffy, wipe clean with a towel before it dries and clean metal is what you have left.....


Rust Mort http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/sem69508.html

PPG DX 579 http://www.ppg.com/refinishftpsite/docs/p-226_DXMetalTreatment.pdf

Re: acid
 

Billyboy,

Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) is good to strip metal but does not create an inert layer like phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is unique because it converts the rust (iron oxide) to an inert chemical (iron phosphate) which will not continue to corrode.

You can get phosphoric acid rust convertors in a number of products. A common one is Naval Jelly. Many here like POR-15 but if you look closely at how it is to be used, the POR-15 is not the converter, the products used to prep the metal are and then POR-15 "seals" the affected area to prevent further damage.

For ease of use and a nice repair, I like using the "Extend" type products. You brush or spray it on and then one cured, you paint over it.

edited for typos

Couldn't be pure phosphoric acid, a few drops of pure phosphoric acid will kill you very, very quickly. It goes right through the skin and dissolves your bones and destroys your bone marrow.

Muriatic Acid is highly corrosive and not the correct product to use on your precious Porsche's.

As a apprentice brick mason I slopped MA on the entry door hardware of a very expensive new home and ended up having to replace the hinges and handle set.

I've used muriatic acid for this before and it does cause immediate surface rust. With this solution I fish out the parts with my bare hands , maybe not smart but no immediate harm. I really like the finish left on the metal after the process. Another hint, when the bubbles stop, the rust is gone. Don.

Fun. I'm going to try one of these products on the Toyota. Living by the beach the Toyota rusts badly and the 911 doesn't mind the salt - yay!

Hugh,

I believe you are referring to Hydrofluoric Acid. The stuff is bad news and when you get it on your body it does not burn like the other acids as well so you think you are ok. The treatments are painful as well.

Phosphoric acid is in Coke and Pepsi (to name a few) to give the beverage tartness.

As far as getting any of these acids on your bare skin, you should not allow that to happen. The burns are painful and take a long time to heal.

Muriatic Acid is good for cleaning metals but care must be used since it attacks both the rust and underlying metal with equal vigor. The advantage to Phoshoric Acid is that it eats the rust much faster then the underlying metal.

POR-15 has an (expensive) metal prep product which has a zinc/phosphoric acid base.
I used it in N.California, but still got flash rust the day after it was washed off- that was most likely application error though. The rust converter products seem more user-friendly.

The atmospheric conditions are key to anything. Never expose and leave metal when it's humid.
POR-15 is a good patch, but it's not infailable. Only use fresh from small containers and coat the entire surface after a good prep.

These rust converters, Ospho, Rust Mort, etc are all pretty much the same thing. They're better than pure phosphoric acid because they contain a wetting agent. Pure phosphoric acid just rolls off the metal in beads and doesn't really penetrate, the other products cost a little more but they do what you want them to do.