Tips/Techniques Rust removal on the cheap, but better than evaporust

[Dabbler]

This formula is better than mine!

 

[DavidR8]

Ok, I'm a believer!

 

[Dabbler]

I've been using Citric acid for a couple of years now, but I'm going to start using this formula instead.

 

[DavidR8]

I stopped using Evaporust because of the expense. Will definitely try his formula.

 

[Tomc938]

Gonna give it a try!

I like the actual testing done, rather than just a testimonial.

 

[Jswain]

Interesting. I've used citric acid for a long time and always do a soak in baking soda afterwards so this might cut out one step.

Heat + an ultrasonic cleaner really speeds things up if the parts will fit.

 

[Tomc938]

Saw a high power laser rust remover today. Have seen videos, but it was amazing to see in person! The operator was taking rust off some logging equipment parts, and man, it took it off like nothing! And apparently it doesn’t touch the good metal, only the rust. Cleared a heavy surface rust section 8” x 8” in about 10 seconds!

I need one.

 

[ChazzC]

Saw a high power laser rust remover today. Have seen videos, but it was amazing to see in person! The operator was taking rust off some logging equipment parts, and man, it took it off like nothing! And apparently it doesn’t touch the good metal, only the rust. Cleared a heavy surface rust section 8” x 8” in about 10 seconds!

I need one.

Edd China used a Laser to "de-rust" a Range Rover frame a couple of years ago:

But a year later it had rusted while waiting for the project to proceed, so he dunked the frame in a giant vat of Evapo-Rust to get the outside & inside clean:

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Saw a high power laser rust remover today. Have seen videos, but it was amazing to see in person! The operator was taking rust off some logging equipment parts, and man, it took it off like nothing! And apparently it doesn’t touch the good metal, only the rust. Cleared a heavy surface rust section 8” x 8” in about 10 seconds!

I need one.

I keep having videos of laser rust removal tools pop up in my youtube feed, but being wielded in sketchy manner by some chinese fellow does not inspire confidence.

I'm tempted to price one out. Especially if they have models that will vapourize paint as well.

 

[Tomc938]

I keep having videos of laser rust removal tools pop up in my youtube feed, but being wielded in sketchy manner by some chinese fellow does not inspire confidence.

I'm tempted to price one out. Especially if they have models that will vapourize paint as well.

Talking to the owner, he said he was skeptical of the videos. We were both wondering if they were edited/sped up.

He said it does vaporize paint, grease and oil. But is doesn't do a good job on light coloured paints. I'm assuming they tend to reflect. Also struggles with some paints that have a resistance to heat.

 

[gerritv]

I keep having videos of laser rust removal tools pop up in my youtube feed, but being wielded in sketchy manner by some chinese fellow does not inspire confidence.

Would an overweight guy with tattoos all over inspire more confidence?

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Would an overweight guy with tattoos all over inspire more confidence?

it would if he was wearing any type of footwear other than foam flip flops.

I've contacted a local laser ablator services company to see what it would cost to remove the paint and rust from my chipmaster lathe, and several other machines that I have that I wish to restore. If I end up going that route I'll start a new thread

 

[mickeyf]

Looks promising. But I think the exposed surface area of the sample pieces is more likely what you'd care about rather than the weight. Consider the comparative weights and areas of a solid sphere of diameter 'D' and a thin-walled hollow sphere of diameter '10D'.

 

[PatrickT]

I keep having videos of laser rust removal tools pop up in my youtube feed, but being wielded in sketchy manner by some chinese fellow does not inspire confidence.

I'm tempted to price one out. Especially if they have models that will vapourize paint as well.

I can speak to this, and will tell you that Laser etching is nothing short of incredible. Five years ago I was on the Sable Island Gas Field decommisioning project, and used a 3000W industrial laser from China to remove 1/4" thick epoxy coatings from the structure legs prior to welding on lifting lugs. We could prep in an hour what take three workers 30 hours with needle guns and grinders, while leaving a far better surface finish. I've been itching to buy one ever since, and as soon as they break the $2500 mark for a 2000w combo welder/cleaner, I'm getting one.

If for example you're just blasting surface rust on sheet goods, or grease and paint off a machine, 800-1500w will do just fine. The bigger units generally seem to have a more rigid platform, and use wire feeds for the welding head that look like and compare to a medium range Miller.

Fumes from the laser cleaning process are horrific, PAPR's and mass ventilation is key, but clean up is minimal and safety is a non issue with good protocols and some laser blankets in the background.

The time savings alone, in both rust and contaminant removal(paint, epoxy, grease, cerakote, etc), is worth it if restoration is your thing.

Enjoy the journey!

 

[Doggggboy]

Halfass Kustoms on Youtube from Manitoba does a lot of work derusting with a laser.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I can speak to this, and will tell you that Laser etching is nothing short of incredible. Five years ago I was on the Sable Island Gas Field decommisioning project, and used a 3000W industrial laser from China to remove 1/4" thick epoxy coatings from the structure legs prior to welding on lifting lugs. We could prep in an hour what take three workers 30 hours with needle guns and grinders, while leaving a far better surface finish. I've been itching to buy one ever since, and as soon as they break the $2500 mark for a 2000w combo welder/cleaner, I'm getting one.

If for example you're just blasting surface rust on sheet goods, or grease and paint off a machine, 800-1500w will do just fine. The bigger units generally seem to have a more rigid platform, and use wire feeds for the welding head that look like and compare to a medium range Miller.

Fumes from the laser cleaning process are horrific, PAPR's and mass ventilation is key, but clean up is minimal and safety is a non issue with good protocols and some laser blankets in the background.

The time savings alone, in both rust and contaminant removal(paint, epoxy, grease, cerakote, etc), is worth it if restoration is your thing.

Enjoy the journey!

This is painful to read considering that the three companies I contacted about their services all proved flaky and failed to respond with a comment at all let alone the quotes they promised. Wasted the 20 minutes I took to put together photos and dimensions of the equipment and the desired level of surface ablation etc.

This tells me the vendors dont know how to quote, lack general experience and expertise and want only the easy clear cut jobs rather than have to learn and take harder jobs. Kind of dumb since I was willing to pay a huge premium for the service.

I'm going back to media blasting, since my friend is going to split the cost of a large sand blaster and build a shed to do the work in.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Halfass Kustoms on Youtube from Manitoba does a lot of work derusting with a laser.

I should get myself one and start a custom business...

 

[Proxule]

Interesting! Thanks for posting,
I used the electrolysis method, to strip nearly 100 years of rust off my stationary engine.
A bit involved vs. evaporust and various solutions, but the results are spectacular, and quick!

Thanks again!

 

[PatrickT]

Really great info!! I have a ton of stuff to dip, this will save a ton of money. Thanks for sharing the vid!

 

[ChazzC]

Edd China took the next step with his Range Rover chassis:

A couple of observations:

• Surface prep was mentioned a number of times, particularly for the inside of the tubular steel (Laser won't touch that).

• If you look closely during the actual dipping process, although they did clear the dross from the surface of the bath before (& during) removal of the parts, they did not clear the dross from the top surface of the zinc bath before lowering the parts into it. This can cause problems in that the dross can adhere to the metal and prevent the zinc from crystalizing at all points. Not necessarily a major problem as if the zinc chips off the adjacent zinc will provide some protection to the uncovered area. However, the "unstuck" zinc can become a problem and is prevented by clearing the bath surface before inserting & removing parts (called "American Process" hot dipped galvanizing. Back in the 80's a new product line in a food plant where I worked was seeing metal contamination in the product coming out of a cooling tunnel. The metal was identified as zinc and traced to galvanizing coming off of the cooling coils and being deposited on the product. The coils were hot-dipped in Europe, not using the American Process. The supplier had to teardown the equipment, replace the coils with AP coils, and pay for a significant amount of lost product and production time.