here's one that really doesn't fit under pressure washing, but ya'll are some ingenious sons of guns so i'm gonna run it past ya'll.
i'm trying to clean up some severly rusted steel slats--they used to be in a grating of the type you see in greenhouses or elsewhere to provide a dry standing area where there is a lot of water. these have been exposed to the weather for 10 or 15 years. i'm trying to get as much of the rust off as reasonably possible, both to avoid future rusting and, equally important, to accent the uneven surface that the rusting process has created(so it doesn't help just to slather them in rustolium). we're talking about rust that is several mm's thick in some places. i've tried using a wire brush attachment on my drill, but it seems almost counterproductive--the heat generated seems to meld the rust to itself and to the steel, making removal more difficult.
the best approach i've found so far is to soak the bars in water to which i've added a product called "iron out." iron out is intended for removing rust from non-metalic objects, like pavement, clothes, bathroom tile and the like, not from steel. however, it does seem to loosen the rust, one slow layer at a time. after a couple of days of soaking, i pressure wash to remove the softened layer. the pressure wash is roughly as effective as a good scrubing with a wire brush--not quite as effective, but much easier. however, the rust is so thick in places that it's taking a lot of repititions to get the bars sufficiently rust-free.
i've noticed in other contexts references to wet sand-blasting with a power washer. is the equipment expensive? does it seem like wet sand-blasting would do the trick? is it a messy process that requires some sort of special area to use?
any suggestions out there?
thanks
richard
i'm trying to clean up some severly rusted steel slats--they used to be in a grating of the type you see in greenhouses or elsewhere to provide a dry standing area where there is a lot of water. these have been exposed to the weather for 10 or 15 years. i'm trying to get as much of the rust off as reasonably possible, both to avoid future rusting and, equally important, to accent the uneven surface that the rusting process has created(so it doesn't help just to slather them in rustolium). we're talking about rust that is several mm's thick in some places. i've tried using a wire brush attachment on my drill, but it seems almost counterproductive--the heat generated seems to meld the rust to itself and to the steel, making removal more difficult.
the best approach i've found so far is to soak the bars in water to which i've added a product called "iron out." iron out is intended for removing rust from non-metalic objects, like pavement, clothes, bathroom tile and the like, not from steel. however, it does seem to loosen the rust, one slow layer at a time. after a couple of days of soaking, i pressure wash to remove the softened layer. the pressure wash is roughly as effective as a good scrubing with a wire brush--not quite as effective, but much easier. however, the rust is so thick in places that it's taking a lot of repititions to get the bars sufficiently rust-free.
i've noticed in other contexts references to wet sand-blasting with a power washer. is the equipment expensive? does it seem like wet sand-blasting would do the trick? is it a messy process that requires some sort of special area to use?
any suggestions out there?
thanks
richard
