Surface rust on all parts underneath I assume from salt

[Costjo]

Does anyone know how I can remove surface rust I assume was from salt on the roads up north where I purchased car? Without removing anything.

[ajmcforester]

Yes you can slow the rust clean with a good soap and water then wire brush and paint. you can see the condensation of white salt like material on the parts you need to get that off that will cause a lot of damage. Also, get behind the panels, inside the door and clean it. If you got that much salt condensation on the outside my bet is you have some on the backside of panels. The best rust preventive is a clean car, paint and a little oil on the natural metal parts.

[hr369]

At the very least get one of those pump up bug sprayers at home depot and dump a quart of

very light oil in it and blast the underside and inside panels of the car with oil.

[Zed Head]

Look here at the bottom of the Motorcycle Tank section. There may be other rust removers that can be sprayed also, this is just one description I found.

Evapo-Rust rust remover description page

Here's the click-through:

Evapo-Rust rust remover chassis testimonial

I think that you could make a solution of Naval Jelly and paint it on also.

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/s_trmt_naval/overview/Loctite-Naval-Jelly-Rust-Dissolver.htm

Edited February 7, 2014 by Zed Head

[Costjo]

Anyone try this stuff? Sears.com

[EuroDat]

I would try to remove all or as much as possible salt. That stuff will kill the car. What you can see is your least problem. Your biggest problem is getting it "all" cleaned off. Since it was water/salt being splashed up, it wil be hard to get places.

A good treatment is phosphoric acid. You can apply that to rust and it will turn the reddish colour rust (iron oxide) to a black colour (feric phosphate). If the reddish colour is still visable, than you need to clean it off and do it again until all the reddish colour is gone. The black residue can be left on the surface to help protect the it. Phosphoric acid is commonly called rust converter or rust killer in shops, but you can also buy it in 85% concentrate.

Phosphoric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chas

[ajmcforester]

Anyone try this stuff? Sears.com

Yes try Gibbs Penetrating oil work a little better and does not leave a amber film.

[Travel'n Man]

I would start with a strong pressure washer with a POR 15 Marine Clean on a 1:1 ratio ran with hot water - the follow the above steps with the bug sprayer and acid. For the acid to do it's job be sure to keep the parts wet for approx 15 mins.

Be sure to protect your skin and eyes. The Marine Clean does not smell strong but it is industrial and will kick azz............plan on getting very wet.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Travel'n Man

[bartsscooterservice]

Hot pressure wash it up on a bridge, let it dry and paint up the rusted parts as much as you can. I wouldn't use acids.

[Costjo]

Are all these suggestions from experience? So many different options not sure which has been done from experience. Would like a safe but effective way without wearing protective clothing

[grannyknot]

Costjo, I can only speak for my experience and that includes restoring 6-7 bikes and 8 cars now.

First off, the rust shown in the pics doesn't look all that bad. The rust on your car might be worst than the pics show but I'm just going on what I see. Rust on thick metal parts of the suspension and such is not such a worry, it's really just a visual thing. Rust on ANY thin metal such as the body of the car, floor panels, rocker panels, quarter and rear panels is something you should do something about as soon as you can.

Getting rid of rust without removing anything, NO, forget it. To take care of rust you have to treat the entire part.

But, you can slow it down by spraying oil regularly, those of us in the north do it every year and it can extend the life of the car by many years.

As others have said, clean the car as best as you can, inside doors, panels, underneath, get as much salt and dirt out as possible. Evapo-rust is a great product. I haven't used it on anything that I couldn't submerge in it but the link that was given shows that it works well with repeated applications, so worth a try.

POR15 Marine Clean is a serious cleaner, so much so that I have almost stopped using my solvent dip tank/parts washer.

Por 15 prep acid wash is excellent before using the Por rust paint. POR 15 paint is a big topic and can't be handled here.

You might want to spend a couple of hours in the archives as all of your questions have been asked before and answered.

Chris