Rust Removal 101

[ShawnT72]

Hey guys. I know this is gonna sound like a stupid question, but what is the proper way to remove surface rust with minor pitting? Should it be blasted/sanded and then primered, or treated with some sort of rust inhibitor? Would I have to worry about it returning if not properly treated before paint. I'd like to get some other ideas about this subject from some of you more experienced guys. Thanks in advance. -Shawn

[cjbiagi]

There are no stupid questions, the only stupid question is one that is not asked. It depends what you are talking about. If it body panels you need to be careful with blasting not to put more pits in it with abrasive material or warping it from the heat generated. Body panels should be done with a less aggressive media. If you are referring to heavier steel like suspension components, brackets, stuff like that then blasting is a great way to get all the rust off. I sandblasted everything I could remove from under my car, all the suspension, crossmembers, torque arm, you name it. It is amazing how nice it comes out. If you ever sandblast you will never want to do any other type of rust removal. Afterwards you should clean it with lacquer thinner or some other type of solvent and then immediately prime it to prevent any flash rust. You can then sand it smooth and work it as much as you want for your desired results.
I think sandblasting, or media blasting is the best way to eliminate rust if you can do it. Otherwise you are pretty much limited to sanding or using a rust neutralizer that converts the rust into a black coating that you can paint. It really boils down to what you have available and how much effort you want to put into it.

[AusRs]

it really depends on what sort of place your rust is in ,3m make a dry strip product that fits on to a di grinder or buff/sander that will remove surface or pitted rust easily and is less messy than media blasting
in all honesty i would like to see a picture of what you are trying to clean up as it would be easier to advise

[ShawnT72]

Thanks for the input. Here are a couple of examples of my surface rust collection.
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/ShawnT1972/DSC04599.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/ShawnT1972/DSC04592.jpg

[AusRs]

looking at your images find somewhere that sells the strip discs, hopefully the link will work
they are very good at getting the rust out of the pitting depending on how many edges you hit as to how long they last ,always use safety goggles as bits of rust scale and bits of the disc come off

http://www.3mestore.com/scotch-brite-cl ... -disc.html