Rust Remover for Tool Restoration

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sams93

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I'm trying to restore the cutter block amongst other pieces of this kity 636.

I have been debating between the idea of electrolysis or using some kind of paint on rust remover product.

Does anyone have any experience with the paint on stuff and if so any reccomendations,

Thanks,
 
Jenolite is a good one because it does not leave much residue, the hammerite Kurust is not as good I find.
These products are rust converters and will only neutralise the rust. They won`t physically remove it so you really need to get busy with a wire brush, scotchbrite, gary block etc. before using the products.

Many people swear by Evaporust but I have not used it myself.

Ollie
 
Jenolite is a good one because it does not leave much residue, the hammerite Kurust is not as good I find.
These products are rust converters and will only neutralise the rust. They won`t physically remove it so you really need to get busy with a wire brush, scotchbrite, gary block etc. before using the products.

Many people swear by Evaporust but I have not used it myself.

Ollie
Abrasives Before using the rust remover or after?

I had in my mind that the 'rust removers' would make it so that the rust would effectively wipe off. I use a product called 'magma' by autoglym which does a similar thing on my car sometimes.
 
Abrasives Before using the rust remover or after?

I had in my mind that the 'rust removers' would make it so that the rust would effectively wipe off. I use a product called 'magma' by autoglym which does a similar thing on my car sometimes.
Depends how much rust we are talking about, anything loose needs to be brushed off certainly.
When I have seen people use Evaporust (mostly people restoring old tools and machines and stuff on youtube )that does seem to make it pretty much wipe off.
They often soak the part in a barrel of it, it comes as a concentrate I believe.

Ollie
 
I use evaporust, it's good stuff. I've done electrolysis with some parts too. It takes time to set up and needs ventilation due to fumes (hydrogen I think) but it works very quickly!

No matter what method, remove lose rust with a wire brush/steel wool first. It makes the process more effective and quicker in the long run.
 
I just use vinegar. Soak it (50/50 water and vinegar mix) for a day or so and then scrub off the sludge. Then a wash in hot water. Dry with hot air gun and oil so rust does not get started again. Its a fairly gentle way of doing it and nothing really harmful going on.
Regards
John
 
evaporust is very expensive. The people you see on youtube with baths of it are generally sponsored... I save it for small, delicate parts. Otherwise I use citric acid - it is very nearly as good as evaporust, although you have to remove the parts after 24h or so or it seems to crystallise on them.
 
Evaporate is good but expensive. Get some phosphoric acid, E Bay etc. You want to immerse it so find a suitable container, spaghetti jar maybe for something that shape, or a short length of drainpipe capped at one end. Degrease thoroughly first and pop it in the jar then fill up with acid. Check after 15 minutes how it is doing, then you can assess how long it needs to stay in. Once the rust has been removed wash it in hot water and a bit of washing up liquid to remove any acid, wipe it down with some kitchen towel and immediately give it a good spray with WD40. This will drive off any remaining water and prevent it immediately rusting again, which it will If you can't get it dry immediately by using an airline or similar. Then you can give it a going over with wire wool, wet and dry, or whatever to get a nice finish. I usually use a wire wheel on a grinder, lubricate the part with some light oil, diesel is good. Then finally clean it thoroughly with thinners to get rid of the WD40 and residue from rubbing it down. If your workshop is dry that's it. If you have problems with damp then coat it in wax polish, or whatever product you favour for protecting it. Don't use WD40 for this as it dries out over time leaving a nasty residue. The advantage of phosphoric acid is that it dissolves rust very rapidly, but only acts very slowly on sound steel. It will remove every trace of rust without damaging the part, and it's cheap and easy. Make sure you wear rubber gloves and goggles. You typically buy it concentrated, and can then dilute it for use. It is, or certainly was, the active ingredient in Jenolite mentioned earlier. As usual nowadays most of these products have had the active ingredient reduced for health and safety reasons to the extent that they take forever to work.
 
If you can dunk the parts, hot water and citric acid works very well; plastic box with a scrap wood lid keeps heat in, usually done in an hour. Any rust becomes grey slush that wipes away. Cheap and harmless. Clean/degrease really well of course and wire brush loose rust first.

I've put a thin wipe of linseed oil on my cutter block the other day, it's good against rust usually but time will tell. Dried overnight. I could wax it as well but doubt it'll be needed. Tables also got linseed, and will be waxed over today.
 
I'd vote for Evaporust as well - Amazon selling 5litres for £43, so not cheap, but VERY effective....
 
Jenolite is a good one because it does not leave much residue, the hammerite Kurust is not as good I find.
These products are rust converters and will only neutralise the rust. They won`t physically remove it so you really need to get busy with a wire brush, scotchbrite, gary block etc. before using the products.

Many people swear by Evaporust but I have not used it myself.

Ollie
I'm trying to restore the cutter block amongst other pieces of this kity 636.

I have been debating between the idea of electrolysis or using some kind of paint on rust remover product.

Does anyone have any experience with the paint on stuff and if so any reccomendations,

Thanks,
I have just used the electrolis method for the first time but obviously you need various bits an pieces the main one being the battery charger I had all the stuff needed so it only cost me £1.29 for a kg of washing soda. I successfully derusted 3 bandsaw blades that some gave me for free and am delighted good luck
 
Thanks all for the advice - I liked the look of the Jenolite stuff as it was available on amazon, however I think I will likely try the 'restore rust remover' as reccomended as it isn't actually that expensive and would be fairly easy for me to bathe the tools in it.

Some of the parts I was planning not to completley dissassemble and are attached to aluminium parts, so I do need to check whether it will interact with aluminium or paint before I put any of these parts in. Does anyone have any experience with aluminium and either of the Jenolite or Restore products?
 
I'm trying to restore the cutter block amongst other pieces of this kity 636.

I have been debating between the idea of electrolysis or using some kind of paint on rust remover product.

Does anyone have any experience with the paint on stuff and if so any reccomendations,

Thanks,
Hello
One has to remove the rust, and get back to bare metal before applying a preventative treatment. Sometimes sand or grit blasting is the only way to go. You might find someone nearby who specialises in grit blasting and they could do it for you. I have had this done prior to galvanising and it is incredible when you see the results.
Regards
 
Electrolysis is by far the cheapest and easiest with the added advantage that you can leave the stuff in it almost for ever without any detrimental affect. The process stops when there is no more rust, and stops and rust from occurring whilst in it. Any phone or computer DC changer will do. With acid, it eats good metal as well as the rust, where as electrolysis only targets the rust. We use it all the time when restoring machines
 
Hello
One has to remove the rust, and get back to bare metal before applying a preventative treatment. Sometimes sand or grit blasting is the only way to go. You might find someone nearby who specialises in grit blasting and they could do it for you. I have had this done prior to galvanising and it is incredible when you see the results.
Regards
Not really suitable for a machined surface like the OP is dealing with, good option for the chassis of the machine maybe.
 

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