Hi, I finally got around to taking apart my original radiator on my 88 GXL!

Everything went smoothly until one of the bottom bracket bolts refused to come loose. I am now soaking it overnight in a 50/50 mix of ATF fluid and acetone.

Here is the other bracket after cleaning off the grime and wire brushing the rusted areas. The bracket is painted steel.



You can see that wire brushing alone does not do a good job. Most people would just primer and paint it as is!

Here is the worst area.



Pretty bad corrosion.

I tried some rust dissolving gel and it didn't do much either.


I could of repeated the gel treatment until it removed all the rust, but this was a test of the gel.

Here is the end after sanding with 120 grit sandpaper using a sanding block, then wire brushing over it again.


Just a little bit of rust left in the deepest parts of the corrosion.

Ready to spray on a coat of rust reformer, this will prevent the remaining rust from growing for a long time.
Then a coat of engine primer so the topcoat will bond good.
Finally, a couple of coats of engine enamel, I think I will go with satin black.

Going through all this prep work before painting will add many more years before it starts to rust again!

Please post any rust removal tips you use!

Since I ordered a new radiator, if the bolt does not come loose tomorrow, out comes the drill!

 

Get a bucket of evaporust for steel and iron parts. That does the best job for me.

 

Wire brush + Elbow grease always put out about...70% of what I wanted. Which sometimes is fine.

But getting an electric tool with one of those rust grinding wheels on it and you're in business.

Then POR15 and it looks brand new.

 

All of these are great ideas. Large parts are done with electrolysis with one exception. Any large parts that you don't want to have a layer of what looks like black oxide on the parts. Small stuff is done with evaporust. Both ways need an agressive wirebrushing with a wire wheel. If needed, that is followed by rust reformer and paint. I am curious to see if anyone uses blasting agent at home. Some parts like brake calipers can't be sand blasted, how about walnut or shells?

 

Angle grinder with a wire wheel has worked good for me lately.

 

Power drill with a wire wheel is also very good. I would not tackle that job with a hand brush.

There are plenty of good rust abatement and removal products on the market from POR15, Eastwood, evaporust and others.

 

try good old vinegar and water. let it soak a day or two...

 

I forgot about this, it does work well. It is acidic and will eat metal though, if I am not mistaken.

 

you would have to leave it in there a really long time. It really does work……even if you just do it for kicks…try it with some old bolts if ya want. It will turn dark after a few days if you leave it in too long. Never heard of it eating through metal though and I did it a few times. As good if not better than the expensive stuff imo.

 

I am having good luck with using lemon juice from the grocery store. I buy the biggest bottle (32 oz.) and submerge my small parts overnight.

I just did the worst corroded bolt with a captive washer, wire brushed what could be removed, soaked it overnight.

After rinsing it off with water there was still lots of corrosion under the bolthead! More wire brushing and soaked it overnight with fresh lemon juice.

After knocking loose the washer and more wirebrushing I was successful in removing ALL the corrosion!

But the remaining metal, which is not effected adversely by the juice was showing how bad the corrosion had eaten away the bolt.

I could of reused it after sealing it with primer & paint, but opted to replace it. This was really a test to see if I could remove very heavy rust if I needed to.

And yes you can. I use small SS wire brushes that I bye by the dozen. With these I can clean my parts late at night and not bother anyone in my building.

I have a dremal setup that I should use during the day but I need to practice using the different brushes it has. I don't need to ruin my parts, I have enough problems trying to find replacements as it is!