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.

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.

The next morning after rinsing off the hardware it looked like this:


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.


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

what do you use for paint stripper?

[kodiak]

That’s cool, thanks!

[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!!

[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