Is it possible to get rid of body rust forever
One of the most unpleasant findings for any motorist is rust on the body. First of all, it looks unaesthetic, and secondly, because of it the metal is destroyed, which leads to another expenditure. Considering not the best weather in our country, rust is quite common. But the main thing in this case is to notice the nidus in time and promptly remove it.
But is it possible to get rid of it forever? Not really. Because of the fact that our temperature changes often, the humidity is relatively high, it snows, and the roads are sprinkled with chemicals, to get rid of rust forever is unreal. But it is possible to slow down its spreading throughout the body. To do this, you need to carry out regular measures to eliminate it. Today we will tell you about the most common methods of removing rust from the car body, which will help prolong the life of your four-wheeled iron friend.
Prevent and Eliminate
The easiest method to eliminate the spread of rust on the body is to prevent it from occurring. To do this, it is necessary to treat the body with anticorrosion. But here we would like to mention, that it is simply impossible to exclude its formation by 100%. Anticorrosive coating will keep the bodywork for a longer time, but still in a few years, when the protective layer becomes very thin, rust spots will begin to appear.
Removing body rust
You can get rid of auto corrosion in two ways:
The first option is cheaper, but takes a lot of time. The second will save time, but will require a large investment.
After you have removed the rust stain, the place where it was, you need to paint over. If this is not done, the “rust” will appear again in just a few days.
The mechanical method
Removing corrosion by this method means that you need to clean up the place where it appeared. This is done with a brush with a metal wool or sandpaper. When you have cleaned the damaged area, you need to treat it. You can use a rust converter for this purpose. Once everything has dried, you can paint the area.
To remove corrosion, you will need the following materials:
- Rust Converter.
- Paper tape or masking tape.
- Sandpaper or metal brush. Choose the grit size based on the type of damage. That is, if the rust is relatively “fresh”, then a fine sandpaper will do, but if the “red area” is more serious, then choose a larger grain.
- Enamel.
- Rags to wash and clean the defective area.
The work itself is done in the following way:
- Wash the car well, so that there is no dirt, stains, stains on the body.
- Sand the damaged area with sandpaper, but do not remove the paint where the metal is undamaged.
- Tape or tape the cleaned area around the perimeter.
- Treat the area with a rust converter.
- When the repair area is completely dry, cover it with paint or cosmetic enamel.
The main advantages of this method are the following:
- All the necessary materials are sold even in a hardware store;
- the ability to remove “pustules” from difficult areas where the paint has already risen;
- low cost of all materials.
The disadvantage of this method – you will spend a lot of time to treat the damaged area.
Electrochemical method
The second method is more expensive. It implies that during stripping, the electrolyte under the influence of an electric current will restore the damaged metal. Many people think that this process is quite complicated. But if you have a little experience in such works, then this task will not cause difficulties.
To remove rust by electrochemical method you can buy ready-made kits. They are sold in almost any auto store. This will save you money, because you do not need to go to a specialist every time.
The process of rust removal itself is as follows:
- connect the wire with alligators to the car battery;
- moisten the electrode in the solution;
- with smooth movements treat the damaged area;
- connect the second electrode and soak it in the solution;
- apply the solution again, but with the second electrode.
It is important to note that before the work, you should read the instructions, so as not to damage the metal and do everything correctly.
The main advantages of the method:
- not just removes rust, and for a long time eliminates its appearance, as a layer of zinc is applied to the surface;
- all the work is carried out within one-two hours;
- it is absolutely safe for the lacquer coating;
- can be performed independently, without going to the service station.
The only disadvantage of this method is that if you need to deal with large areas of corrosion, it is almost impossible to do without welding.
Conclusion
If you follow all the points correctly, then you can get rid of rust, thereby prolonging the life of your car. At the same time, do not forget about preventive maintenance and in time to eliminate even the smallest chips, cracks or scratches. Also regularly visit a car wash, especially in winter when roads are treated with reagents.
Electrochemical (electrolysis) rust cleaning. FAQ from Docent86
It would seem that about it there are a lot of manuals on the network, but there are also many pitfalls. So I decided to tell you about the “rake” on which I and not only I have walked.
The controversial question of how to properly call this method. Hydrolysis or Electrolysis. So I prefer to call it electrochemical cleaning from rust.
1) Choice of tank. For this purpose, any container will do. A fuel can, paint bucket, etc. are great!
You can even use a swimming pool, dropping the whole body in it))). For large objects of a specific shape you can make a trough out of any material you have and cover it with plastic wrap. You can use any metal container (preferably from stainless steel). But you must take measures so that the part does not touch the body.
2) The choice of the anode. For this purpose you can use any electrically conductive material. The bigger the area the better! If you need to clean a couple of parts, even a piece of tin will do. But it will not last long. Rust and mortar will eat it up in a week or two. The most survivable turned out to be stainless steel. In the photo above you can see that I used a plate of stainless steel bent out of it a frame in the shape of the canister. It completely surrounds the part, so the process is much faster!
If the anode is only on one side, the process on this side will be much faster than on the opposite side, you have to constantly turn the part.
3) Choosing a power supply. I have tried many things, from a power supply for LED strips to a welding machine. The optimal voltage is 12 volts. When lowering the process slows down, and when increasing the acceleration is not noticed alas. This is more important current. The higher it is the better. But even here there is a reasonable limit! The higher the amperage, the faster the process and the faster the temperature of the solution rises. But it doesn’t mean that if you take two absolutely identical parts and “brew” in one tank with current of 10 amperes* until the desired effect in 4 hours, and in the second to increase the current strength to 40, then the part will be ready in an hour. It is also important the exposure!
Therefore, the best choice for me has been PSU from the computer. The more powerful the better, but you should not load it to its full capacity, otherwise it will not live long! And strongly steep blocks should not be bought because they have clever electronics which will not let it be used inappropriately, will constantly go into protection. The same situation with the smart chargers.
But this year I decided to move away from capricious PSUs from computers and switch to severe transformers, namely JTP. One of them with small modification worked about 30 hours and proved itself perfectly. If I am interested I will make a separate post about it)
To prolong the life of the power supply circuit should include a circuit breaker rated at 2/3 of the maximum power of the power supply.
But do not trust the Chinese, the readings on the labels of average Chinese PSUs are greatly inflated. Sometimes you have to divide it by 2…
3) Choice of solution. Here I’ve tried lots of things, starting with Mole. In the end I stopped at caustic soda.
We can control the rate of reaction by concentration of solution. Ahead of time to measure the density is not an option because with different ingredients it will be different, but also depends on the area of the part.
Therefore, the best option is to pour pure water and gradually add there concentrated solutions of easily available mole or aqueous solution of caustic soda.
Imho best option when the water in the tank will begin to be noticeably hot only after 2-3 hours.
4) Processing time. Always individual and depends on the part. For example with such a miracle
The first loose layers came off immediately, in a few passes.
But underneath were more dense deposits, so the cleaning took about 10 hours
These were cleaner.
And after a few hours, the scales came off.
I always clean to perfection, so it takes 4-10 hours to process. First pre-treatment, 2 hours, then I take out the part, I tap it so that it would fall off the loose plates of rust. Then again on treatment for 1-3 hours, depending on the condition of the part, after that again I take out and clean it with a metal brush. Literally 2-3 passes in one place. And again on the treatment for 1-3 hours. Then you can finally clean the part with a metal brush, it’s easy to remove this black deposit! But I use a sandblaster because it blows all the crap out of the pores, and it takes much less time!
Yes, many would say you could sandblast, but!
Compare these pictures.
On the part after hydrolysis there are no such craters and pores with rust!
Consumption of sand is also very different, is different in 3 times! And it takes much less time to sandblast.
And there is one more indisputable advantage! Sandblasting at cleaning eats not only the rust but also live metal, and in some places it is unacceptable!
For example in the seats of the oil seal and the piston duster.
If the caliper was very rusty and this place sandblasted, it is possible that it will have to throw it away, because the rubber will not sit in place. A maraetite only the facade and this place to leave rusty do not see the point!
Yes, and not everyone has a sandblaster, and so can do everything!
! Safety precautions!
1) Neighborhood of water and electricity – a shitty neighborhood! Be careful. At leaks and when you touch wet hands wires, connections, power supply can hit! Do not forget that all this is connected to the network in which 220 volts and a malfunction of the power supply can behave unpredictably! 2) Reaction produces hydrogen! It is explosive. Therefore, the room must be well ventilated. At a certain concentration of hydrogen in the air, a spark may be enough for a memorable experiment! 3) You should not get into the solution with your bare hands. No matter what it is based on, your skin is unlikely to like it!
And most importantly, as harderspb – do not grasp the bare wires with wet hands, because the wires from it RZHAYT! =))
