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, Sun, 5 Mar 2006 20:51:16
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If you're just talking surface rust, I've had good results with that "Rust Encapsulator" stuff from Eastwood. You need to clean the surface thoroughly enough to remove any loose dirt, scale, and grease (I used a spray-on degreaser) and then just paint it over the rust. It bonds with the rust, neutralizes it, then coats the top so the rust doesn't start again. Once dry, it just looks like primer and you can paint right over it. This has worked better for me than conventional Rustoleum-type paints.
Now I'm experimenting with another product, Rust Bullet, which works similarly but claims to be even tougher. I haven't had enough experience with it yet to know if it's better than the Eastwood stuff.
Another kind of product I've used that works well in some cases is the "rust converter" type of stuff; there are various brands, the best-known of which may be Naval Jelly. (Not "Navel Jelly"!!!) You use this similarly: clean the rusty surface thoroughly, then paint it over the rust and then just let it sit until it dries and turns blue-black. It uses phosphoric acid (I think) to "convert" the iron oxide (rust) to magnetite, which is a more stable substance that won't spread. The converted stuff is sensitive to UV, so you need to paint over it if you've used it on parts that will be exposed to daylight (possibly not a problem for your interior floors.) It's a lot less expensive than the Eastwood or Rust Bullet stuff, but one big disadvantage is that you can use it ONLY on rust -- if you get any on clean bare metal, it will CAUSE rust (because of the acid.) This means it's hard to use on something that's part rusty and part OK, as if often the case on floor and body panels. Works well on uniformly rusted parts such as suspension arms, though.
Another approach to rust treatment that I've never personally tried is the POR-type products, all of which are basically super-sticky paints. The idea of these is that they seal up the rust so it can't get the moisture or oxygen needed for it to grow any further. I've been afraid to try them because they're supposedly more hazardous to apply (the paint is attracted to anything moist, including the inside of your lungs) so you need a professional respirator and suit to use them safely. I know other people here have used them, though, so maybe you can get more info from them (if they survived!)
I've never had much luck with the regular rust-resisting spray paints (Rustoleum etc.) in terms of neutralizing or stopping rust that's already started. They may be great for preventing rust on clean metal. If you just want to rely on conventional paints, my (limited) experience has been that you've got to get ALL the existing rust off first -- I de-rusted my floors using a cheap angle grinder equipped with a cup-type wire wheel, which is messy (WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!) but gets the job done. Once all the rust is off, you can prime and paint and you should be good for quite a while, as long as the paint doesn't get damaged and let moisture in again.
Reminder: All these ideas deal with basically sound metal that just has cosmetic surface rust. If the rust has gotten in deep enough to reduce the thickness of the metal significantly, it is weakening your car (floorboards are structural in a Sonett) and just stopping the rust won't address this -- you'll need to patch or replace the thin sections with thicker metal.
posted by 68.227.170...
, Sun, 5 Mar 2006 20:51:16, Mon, 6 Mar 2006 21:27:54, Mon, 6 Mar 2006 11:35:14
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