What's the best way to get rid of rust without sandblasting?

Hey all,

so I found the roof rack I want, but it has some rust on it and is peeling in places, so I'm trying to figure out whether I should try to DIY it or take it somewhere and shell out some cash for it to be done right.

Part of me wants to do it myself, since it'd be a neat project and one I'd be proud of since I didn't have to take it to someone else to do it. However, I'm torn between taking it a few places (Maaco comes to mind) and seeing what it'd cost to have it repainted or maybe sandblasted and powdercoasted.

As I'm kind of trying to save money, I hesitate to take it somewhere b/c I figure it won't be cheap. However, I also don't want to get in over my head and end up having to take it somewhere else to have someone else fix it.

I'm taking the Jeep to Tarheel tomorrow to get the axle shims installed etc etc and I'm going to ask them what they suggest or if they do anything like that (I'd also like to get some light tabs welded on) and how much they'd charge.

I've been told to get some rustoleum and spray it after I've sanded the rust off, so I might give that a try also.

Lastly, does anyone know what Con-ferr used for their black finish? Is it powdercoated? I'd like to get as close to whatever they used (I know, I'm picky) and I'd also like to either remove or cover up the 'con-ferr' logos on the corners if that's possible so they don't get painted over.

Any suggestions would be great guys! Thanks in advance!

Go to walmart or Advanced and get a can of "Rust Convertor"... turns rust into a sandable primer..

Easiest thing you can do Katie, quick too.

ZacSquatch said:

Go to walmart or Advanced and get a can of "Rust Convertor"... turns rust into a sandable primer..

Easiest thing you can do Katie, quick too.

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Cool thanks Zac I'll give that a try!

i know you said you dont want to sandblast it, but harbor frieght has a cheep top loading sandblast gun for like 10 bucks, its not as hard as you think to do

Sp... Trust me, I'm not knocking on her but the simplest solution IS the best at this point. She needs time to learn the ways of powertools like that. She will learn though, its our mission.. haha.

yea some rustoleum rust reformer and then some satin black... done...

Rustoleum Rust Reformer is great stuff I've used it many times. However, you should still remove the bulk of the rust. Use a wire wheel on a drill, or you can use just a wire brush. Then clean it with a rag and some mineral spirts (wear ruber gloves) this will remove all the rust loosened by the wire brush. Then paint it with the rust reformer. Let dry a whole day and then top coat it with your choice of rustoleum paint. I'm partial to satin black.

If you do go the route of power wire brush in a drill (or flapper disk), then rust converter (phosphoric acid treatment), then Rustoleum or Tremclad then you might get a year or two life between treatments. If you want it to last longer, use POR-15 over the rust. See their web site for info. I coated the rusty inside of my front bumper (and a bunch of other locations) with this stuff, and currently have the bumper off again after two full winters--and this is salty roads country. The POR15 is perfect- no rust. You do need to follow their instructions to use the stuff, for good results.

Grinding or sanding the rack would work, but probably won't get all of the rust if there is any pitting on the surface. You'll also grind down the surface with grinding/sanding.

Another option is to put the rack in a plastic tub of water mixed with washing soda. Insert a piece of steel submerged in the water where it won't come in contact with the rack, but is high enough to stick up out of the water. Then connect a batter charger - the positive lead to the rack and the negative to the piece of steel (as long as the charger can charge at a minimum continous 2 amps). Let it sit for a few days or until the rust is gone. You only need to submerge the area that has rust. Cheap, easy and you can do it yourself. Just make sure to wear water/chemical proof gloves when handling the rack afterwards.

Whatever chemical process you use, make sure to remove the loose rust first!

Sanding is good (use 80 or 120 grit for cleanup, and 180 or 240 for finish before painting,) but a wire wheel in a drill motor is better (same caveat - use 180 or 240 grit sanding to clean up toolmarks.) You can find Scotch-Brite discs that will fit on a backing pad that chucks into a drill motor, but they're more for stripping paint, removing gaskets, and the like. I'd use them on minor rust, but not anything serious.

Work on the area you can see that is rusted, and then go at least 1.5-2" in all directions under the paint to make sure you get it all (rust has a way of spreading under paint once it gets started.) If you see rust under paint, go at least one full inch past the last rust you see.

I like Rust-Mort rust converter, but it's difficult to find. Check shops that cater to the body shop segment - automotive paint houses are also a good bet. Follow the instructions, and you'll end up with a paintable surface (prime first. It helps the paint stick.)

If you're going to paint part of the rack, you may as well paint the whole thing. Use 180 grit to "feather" any spots in the paint; work it down to a smooth transition, and it won't be anywhere near as obvious when you've finished. The rest of the paint is probably oxidised anyhow. You don't need to remove the paint - clean up the oxidation and scuff it up, and you won't even have to prime it. Just prime the part you clean down to bare metal. (N.B. Primer is porous. Don't leave the primed surface exposed for too long - let it dry for a good 24 hours or so, then paint.)

I like Rust-Oleum "Professional" for painting, I use it all the time. You can get it in most common colours, so you can probably come up with an approximate match to your rig if you like. There are some tougher finishes out there, but I've not tried any (Hammerite comes to mind. As does Herculiner. And, there's always powdercoating and some PTFE/Moly heat-cured finishes that look promising...)

Be sure to remove any loose rust and surface rust before using any chemical treatment on the metal! Or, you'll end up doing it all over again in a few months...

NCjeepgirl83 said:

Cool thanks Zac I'll give that a try!

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Yup I have used that stuff and I was under my jeep Friday to install some brackets I made for my anti-swaybar mounts for OTK steering and looked at the "rust converter" painted metal on my front axle and say it looked like it still is holding up well.I did this about 1 1/2 years ago.Still very clean and i passed my finger over it to check for any rust "bubbles" under it and it was smooth.It's all good.............:guitar:

for smaller parts check these vids out.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhTZkvkivDQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5I5WBG5HPw


I am looking for a tank to hold the whole jeep..... :laugh:

Gunner73 said:

Another option is to put the rack in a plastic tub of water mixed with washing soda. Insert a piece of steel submerged in the water where it won't come in contact with the rack, but is high enough to stick up out of the water. Then connect a batter charger - the positive lead to the rack and the negative to the piece of steel (as long as the charger can charge at a minimum continous 2 amps). Let it sit for a few days or until the rust is gone. You only need to submerge the area that has rust. Cheap, easy and you can do it yourself. Just make sure to wear water/chemical proof gloves when handling the rack afterwards.

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holy crap! this is like something you see on mythbusters.. i like it

just happen to have an hitch that needs de-rusting and a charger.

what do you mean by washing soda? is that just plain arm & hammer baking soda?

sgtpepper said:

holy crap! this is like something you see on mythbusters.. i like it

just happen to have an hitch that needs de-rusting and a charger.

what do you mean by washing soda? is that just plain arm & hammer baking soda?

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this actually works but you have to hook the positive lead to a separate piece of steel (not stainless) i use a 1/2 steel rod the positive lead needs to be out of the water the negative lead goes to whatever you are trying to remove the rust from and using washing soda is just to help promote the electrolosis.

i use a 5 gallon bucket with 5 pieces of 1/2 steel spaced equally around the inside of the bucket wire them all together in series do not connect the first to the last. then use 5 tbls of washing soda (arm and hammer) and drop in your object with the negative lead hooked to it 6 volts 2 amps continuous. 2 days you will have no rust parts will come out black and you will need to scotchbrite them a little but all rust will be removed

My current Conferr is getting pretty rusty on the top 3 spars.I've been looking at this http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=15974&itemType=PRODUCT I also have the rustoleum rust reformer, but don't want to mess around with this rack as they are now part of history.I let this one go too long.In the past I've powder coated my racks with great success, but may rattle can this one.

sgtpepper said:

holy crap! this is like something you see on mythbusters.. i like it

just happen to have an hitch that needs de-rusting and a charger.

what do you mean by washing soda? is that just plain arm & hammer baking soda?

Click to expand...

Watch the first video link posted above. I actually had the polarities reversed in my original post - negative to the rusted part, positive to the steel.

Those are REALLY NEAT videos! Looks like something I could manage...the folks at Tarheel told me the best way to get rid of the rust is to have the rack sandblasted and then powdercoated, but I talked to another guy about it and he said that would prolly cost ~$300.

So I'm assuming that a few cans of PB Blaster wouldn't do the trick?

PB Blaster is designed to free rusted parts that are "fused" together.It would help with cleaning some of the surface rust,BUT,it is oilly and trying to clean it up is going to be way harder to do.I cleaned and painted a front axle assembly with a wire brush to clean it,then took it to the car wash and used the pressure wand to wash it,let it dry and used the spray type of rust converter from autozone ,let it dry overnight, it turned black,went to tractor supply and got some oil based farm equipment spray paint.i think it is made by Valspar.I used the primer first then painted it when that was dry.I did this about a little over a year ago.I was under there last night and took a rag,wiped it down and it still looks very good,I was happy to see that!!.this axle looked like it was sitting in the JYard for uhh 4-5 years.VERY rusty and this treatment and paint i used has held up very good.It is oil based and WILL take a good long time to dry properly.