Evapo-Rust Mini Review - Clean rust off of small parts

[twistedsymphony]

So I had these bolts and eccentric washers that I took off my 240sx and replaced because they looked ugly from the outside, after taking them off I realized I didn't even need to. The old ones were coated in surface rust so I decided to try some stuff to take clean them up and maybe get some of my $$ back on ebay.

I had read a few raving reviews about Evapo-Rust and seen some videos so I decided to give it a shot. The stuff looks like anti-freeze but it feels slippery like dish-soap on your fingers. It's pretty expensive too this bottle cost just under $9 and it was barely enough to do the hardware I was cleaning. Though it's supposedly reusable so I dumped it back in the bottle once I was done.

Here's a picture of my hardware before I did anything.
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_before1.jpg http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_before2.jpg
Notice there is both surface rust as well as this thick black stuff. That thick black stuff is rubberized undercoating because the previous owner of the car had it coated to prevent rusting and it got on some of the bolts. It looks really nasty but it doesn't harm anything. Apparently Evapo-Rust doesn't harm plastic or rubber so I went into this assuming that it would leave the undercoating stuff (which kind of sucks because it looks ugly).

I dumped the whole bottle of of the stuff in the bottom of a cut-up water jug and just dumped all my hardware in there. Supposedly it does it's work in a matter of minutes but I was on my way out so i just left it for the night.
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_soak.jpg
The next morning after rinsing off the hardware it looked like this:
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_first1.jpg
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_first2.jpg
Some patches of rust still remained but it was mostly cosmetic as the parts were all smooth to the touch. As suspected the undercoated parts were still gnarly. Also notice the yellow-ish area on the threads, this is the factory zinc coating on the part... new, this part would be 100% that color, I'm not sure if the part looks like silver metal now because the Evapo-Rust removed the zinc coating, or if the rust removed the zinc coating and the Evapo-Rust removed the rust leaving the metal bear. I'll have to test a new zinc-coated part to see how this stuff effects it...

I decided to try a 2nd application to see if it could get rid of the rest of the crap to make them completely clean.
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_after1.jpg
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evr_after2.jpg
I'm pretty happy with the outcome, if I want to remove the undercoated parts I'll have to use paint stripper or a wire brush but on a whole the Evapo-Rust did it's job. $9 might be a bit much but considering that all of this hardware NEW from Nissan cost nearly $100 to replace, I'm fairly certain that next time I take off some bolts I'll clean them with this stuff before deciding to replace them. At least now the parts are clean enough that I'll be able more easily sell them and recoup some of the money I spent on the new parts.

Availability:
Autozone was the only store that officially carried the product in my area.

You can find where it's sold through their website:
http://www.evapo-rust.com/

It won some award in 2001 but I get the impression that it's a fairly new product. The guy at Autozone said he had never heard of it and didn't think they carried it. I looked and found it anyway, when I brought it to the counter he was surprised and the other employee said it had just come in that week...

[workmeistr]

Good write-up and something that I did over and over restoring various eras of Land Rovers.

I use the paste paint stripper to take off the undercoating and then a form of rust remover for the surface rust. Don't do a wire brush, just use the heavy-duty gooey paint remover for the undercoating residue. The idea is to keep as much zinc coating remaining on the hardware.

Your hardware will be very susceptible to rust, now. I have used a clear coat, satin finish to spray the whole bolt, and nuts. Once you tighten down the bolt or nut during re-install, you will need to touch-up the clear coat. I use a small paint brush and the clear coat sprayed in the lid of the paint can.

Nice work.

[twistedsymphony]

thanks for the tips on the clear coat stuff :cool:

what do you use for paint stripper?

[kodiak]

That’s cool, thanks!:thumbup:

[workmeistr]

I use the ACE Hardware Extra Strength semi-paste paint varnish and stain remover. It seems to leave the existing plating in place.

I used to use Zip-Strip back when it was in a black and yellow can. It was even harsher of a stripper and would strip off the remaining plating; not good.

I also have a cheapy Harbor Freight bead blaster that I would turn the psi down as to not strip off the hardware's plating.

[lasturbo]

Hey Bren,
What year is the Ol' Range Rover Classic in the thumbnail? I have a 89 with 208k like brand new!! I work at the Land Rover dealer in San Diego and noticed you have been around the Landy's as well!!

[workmeistr]

Hey, Larry,
I have noticed your Rover signature but haven’t had time to ask.

I have owned too many ‘fun’ vehicles, besides the runabouts in my 18 years of marriage. It all started with a ’62 Thunderbird, then a ’75 Land Cruiser FJ40. I took the Cruiser to Alaska and someone paid me well over what it was worth. I saw a ’72 88” Land Rover in a field and bought/restored it; the Land Rover bug was caught.

Next, a beautiful ’65 109” SW that I picked up in Seattle and drove it back up the ALCAN Hwy. When we moved to Georgia in ’98 we drove the ’65 109” with about 1000 lbs on the roof rack, stopping at the 50th Anniversary meet in Steamboat Springs on the way. We put 4500 miles on that 30 yr. old truck that summer.

Then there was a ’91 Range Rover, as we needed A/C that summer in Georgia. Moved to Colorado, sold the 88” for a ’69 MGB and a pair of 240Z’s. Sold the 240Z’s and the first Range Rover for a ’90 Range Rover GDE. Sold the ’65 109” SW for a ’97 Discovery XD. Sold the XD for a great ’03 Discovery TreK. There was a '80 Rover SD1/3500S in there and somehow the ’61 SWB V8 Coiler Hybrid got bought during that time and I spent three years restoring/driving it. Sold the ’90 GDE and bought a ’98 Rover Mini. Sold the TreK and bought a great ’93 Range Rover LWB. Since I have been in California, I have sold both the Hybrid and the Mini with great success, allowing me to now own a ’03 Saab ARC, the ’93 Rangie LWB and the ’01 VehiCROSS outright. I think that makes eight Land Rovers total, to include the LWB we still own.

I hated to sell the TreK but we made good money selling before the factory warranty was done. We sold it to the owner of Land Rover Glenwood Springs for his collection. There were only 16 TreK’s in ’03. It had all of the ’04 bits, being the last of the Discovery’s. We bought it for $39K in ’03 and sold it for $29K in May ’07. ‘Not too bad.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BWorkmanFamily/LandRoverTrekForSale#

The Hybrid had about $20K in it and I sold it last November for $17K. It was an extensive rebuild that was fun, but I think I got it out of my system. If I ever do a rebuild of this magnitude again, it will probably be on a LHD 12v Lightweight. That’s one of the few Landies that I haven’t owned yet.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BWorkmanFamily/1961LandRoverV8CoilerHybrid#

The Mini was bought at great savings and on whim. We bought it in ’05 with 6K miles for $17.5K and sold it last May to buy the VehiCROSS with 11K miles for $17.5.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BWorkmanFamily/1998RoverMiniMPi#

OK well, that was all too much, but maybe someone’s bored at work will like the photos.

[lasturbo]

Great story and history Bren! I have been with Land Rover and Porsche since 1987. I remember the first Classic's rolling off the truck in 1987! I have the 1989 Range Rover County Classic which is my original baby that I will not sell. It is the old body style, has character, and desired. We had a 1995 Range Rover LWB but sold that to get the wifey a 2006 LR3 which she loves for the comfort and hauling our son around. My next ones would be a 1997 D90 or a 1993 D110 (500 came to the US). Got to save the $$ as these are desired as well! I saw your Disco 1 XD and it reminded me of the TReK competition I participated in 1996. I also participated in 2000 TReK and we used the Disco II just like the orange one you sold. Brings back great times and memories! I like the unique things as well which brought me to the VX family, and the fact we took the 99 in on trade at our Porsche dealer. No one knew what is was but I did so I snagged her! What a cool ride that gets more looks and questions then the ol' Rover. It looks like the VX four wheels very well with the short wheel base and power. Do you know of a good website forum for Rover's? This site for the VX owner's is great and what a heartfelt group that goes out of their way to help other VX owners near and far. Great job Moncha! Well, I hope our paths cross some day and if you need anything down in this neck of the woods, let me know!!

[johnnyapollo]

A bit of a follow up - I've been using this stuff for about a year to clean up rusty tool parts (another hobby of mine is restoring woodworking equipment and vintage handtools). I've had a gallon that I would re-use and it's finally died on me - what happens is that it gets to the point where it's not getting into the pits (if the metal is pitted) and after wiping the part flash rusts pretty quickly. Looking back over the documentation it states that a gallon will treat 300 pounds of metal. I can attest that I've put way over that amount in the gallon I've been using. When it starts to fail it creates a yellowish/greenish slimey sludge that sits on top of the part in the bath - this stuff wipes off and I'm assuming that it's a mildly sulferous compound (no eggy smell though).

Some tips:
1. Make sure you have enough to submerge the part completely or you get a watermark from the dip - this is almost impossible to remove.

2. When not using, resel in the container as I believer there is some dilution with exposure to air.

3. My process is to dip, usually overnight as most of the parts are heavily rusted, remove next day and wipe down - if there's a lot of rust I'll hold it next over a garbage can and scrape a bit, which removes the heavy stuff - use a wirebrush, sandpaper or razor blade. If it's still rusted put it back in the wet. When you're satisfied that the rust is off, redip and let air dry - it keeps it from flash rusting (says 2 weeks but it actually lasts longer).

4. For irregular shaped objects I place 4 mil plastic in a plastic over-sized tub, then shape the plastic to conform closely to the part - put a couple of blocks of wood underneath so the plastic isn't sticking to the part or you'll end up with water marks areas not derusted.

5. Best price I've found is at Harbor Freight - they have gallons for $20 and you can use a coupon (I get 20% off coupons in the mail or via email).

-- John