Rust in places that aren't grindable?

[Kerboo_n_wilnil]

Hi all, we have ripped out all wall and ceiling panels and we are trying to take care of all of the rust before moving on to our roof raise but there are little cavity spaces above the windows that are just impossible to get to with the wire brush and I guess I'm kind of confused about the treatment of rust. For our floor we went through with the wire brush attachment for the angle grinder and then used Krud Kutter Metal clean and etch before applying Rustoleum Primer. But in the cracks and crevices that are part of the walls and ceiling, it just doesn't seem like the same method will work. We bought the Rustoleum rust reformer spray but after reading the instructions and the warning that says that you must sand down and clean the surface before using and even then the spray could actually cause rust to form where rust wasn't, I don't feel confident using this.

Question is: How do I effectively deal with rust in tight spaces?

[magnakansas]

reads Iron three oxide, rust converters change that to Iron two oxide...

or Iron II oxide and that is black colored.... Read about phosphoric acid and use of that in the treatment of rust. really hot days make it easier to get the water dried off after rinsing. Naval jelly. messy but old time and effective.

then there is the tried and true very very time consuming method... cut it out and replace it with good clean metal.... not for the faint of heart.

I mostly have surface rust... wire wheel will do most of it... two spots I have to cut out and weld in new parts..... two places rust converter is needed... I cant get anything else in the holes..... I cant even get a cheap borescope in the nooks......

soda blasting, sand blasting media blasting....

william 1954 ford/wayne

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by Kerboo_n_wilnil

But in the cracks and crevices that are part of the walls and ceiling, it just doesn't seem like the same method will work.

Question is: How do I effectively deal with rust in tight spaces?

Have you considered sandblasting?

You can get a small Harbor frieght SB gun or tank.

The gun will operate just fine with an air line attached to your bus if you have air brakes. Small compressor will work too....

If you chose the sandblast route, DO NOT USE SILICA SAND! SILICA SAND WILL CAUSE SILICOSIS !!!

Crushed glass works great and has no free silica! You can get it at northern tools!

Harbor freight also sells black beauty media and also aluminum oxide. Both work great just cost more than crushed glass.

These tools are great for smaller jobs!

Check out the videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3UPOU6zbD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhZndHIp1s

[Kerboo_n_wilnil]

Heck yeah! I knew there had to be another way! Thank you! Just left harbor freight, got the blaster, glass beads, and a fat 27 gal air compressor. Ready to knock this rust out! We're going to work on that now. I think I'm going to like operating this much more than forcing the wire brush into those tiny spots where it ricocheted off of every protruding metal piece.

[ewo1]

Glad you exploring the sandblast solution, it is not as hard as it seems and the results are worth for sure!

Just a quick note, you mentioned you bought glass beads. Glass beads are meant for polishing/deburring. It is not the proper media for rust removal.

The better media would be to use "Crushed Glass" instead of Glass bead. Glass beads are tiny round pieces of glass. Being round there are no jagged edges for cutting rust.

Crushed glass is just that, glass that has been crushed by machine which created tiny pieces of jagged glass which in turn does a really good job on cutting rust.
Harbor freight does not stock crushed glass but Northern Tools does stock it. I believe NT charges 12 bucks for a 50 lb bag.

If you get a chance please post some before and after pics.

[JackE]

Originally Posted by ewo1

Harbor freight does not stock crushed glass but Northern Tools does stock it. I believe NT charges 12 bucks for a 50 lb bag.

Show us the link for that blast media! Northern Tools doesn't sell 50 lb bag of any media for $12. At least not on line. Cheapest thing they have is 25 lbs of coal slag for $25. I can't even imagine the black dust mess that would make. If you can find 50 lb bags of any blast media for $12, I'll take 10 bags!!

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by JackE

Show us the link for that blast media! Northern Tools doesn't sell 50 lb bag of any media for $12. At least not on line. Cheapest thing they have is 25 lbs of coal slag for $25. I can't even imagine the black dust mess that would make. If you can find 50 lb bags of any blast media for $12, I'll take 10 bags!!

I realize that online they no longer have it but strangely my local store does stock it, regularly!

I was just in the store yesterday buying gloves and saw a brand new pallet. I would try giving your local store a call to see if they or another store close by has it.

What city are you in?

[Kerboo_n_wilnil]

Originally Posted by ewo1

Glad you exploring the sandblast solution, it is not as hard as it seems and the results are worth for sure!

Just a quick note, you mentioned you bought glass beads. Glass beads are meant for polishing/deburring. It is not the proper media for rust removal.

The better media would be to use "Crushed Glass" instead of Glass bead. Glass beads are tiny round pieces of glass. Being round there are no jagged edges for cutting rust.

Crushed glass is just that, glass that has been crushed by machine which created tiny pieces of jagged glass which in turn does a really good job on cutting rust.
Harbor freight does not stock crushed glass but Northern Tools does stock it. I believe NT charges 12 bucks for a 50 lb bag.

If you get a chance please post some before and after pics.

Oh man, we definitely got the glass beads and while what you said makes sense, this seemed to work well enough on our rusted spots. While I don't have a before picture, I will attach an "after" pic.
This sure is a messy tool to work with but once we bought the sand blaster hood we were okay with the sand-like particles flying everywhere.

[ewo1]

Pics look good, don't forget to use OSPHO on the clean metal. Moisture in the air WILL begin to create surface rust on the raw metal.

Also, you can reuse both the glass bead and crushed glass several times over.

Sweep/scoop it up and sieve it with a regular window screen and reuse it till there is no more!

Also, for bigger jobs, especially under the bus, not in it, you can utilize a blasting tip attachment that goes to your pressure washer. When you blast with water, yes you can use silica sand. The water will encapsulate the free silica that would normally be freely in the air from dry blasting, making the free silica a non issue. Sand is much, much cheaper!

Since your blasting with water, rust WILL begin to form again but the easy solution is again, spray some OSPHO on it the seal with epoxy primer.

[JackE]

Originally Posted by ewo1

What city are you in?

I'm on the west coast, The closest store is over 1000 miles away. Guess I'm out of luck!

[Itlives]

There's a product called Master Series. I've used it on old VW's with great success.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...j9i1O7bBaBOYjj