rustproofing/removal

Jenolite, followed by a couple of coats of etch primer seems to work well for me.

Alex

Yes, of all the 'rust killers' I have tried over many years the only one I have found which works is Jenolite. It's actually dilute phosphoric acid, so wash your hands after use and watch your eyes. For 'out of sight' areas, like chassis, underfloor, floor pans, boot areas, etc. Hammerite paint forms a really hard surface and prevents air getting through to allow rust to increase.

Peter C.

snipped-for-privacy@xtra.co.nz wrote: > Yes, of all the 'rust killers' I have tried over many years the only

What's the procedure for using Jenolite? Do you have to wipe it off before it dries? I have some 'Clarke' rust convertor, which is also phosphoric acid, and the instructions say to wipe it off before it dries, and not to allow a white deposit to form. Even wiping it off, I find it hard to prevent this. Does Jenolite do the same?

Anyone else having trouble getting hold of it? I used to buy it at Halfords but they've now moved over to selling only Hammerite brand stuff. The Hammerite rust killer is dreadful stuff - one of those milky looking ones that doesn't soak in properly and forms a coating over any rust. Worse still, it has a non-stick type finish which even their own primer refuses to adhere to!

It does leave some powdery residue, but you can get rid of the worst of it easily enough by wiping with a coarse cloth. I never found any remaining to be a problem. This was the Jenolite liquid rather than the jelly type.

You could always try the Clarke one - when Practical Classics tested rust converters a few years back, they reckoned it was much the same as Jenolite. The Clarke stuff (from Machine Mart) is suspiciously cheap, though - about £3.50 for a litre.

Incidentally, the Kurust that you hate came out as best buy in their tests, with a performance rating of 13/14!

Thanks, I'll check that out. There's no reason why it shouldn't be cheap as there's so little to it.

Hmm, I'd better look out that back issue, though the formulation may well have changed. Mind you, I doubt if they tried painting over the stuff with that particular primer.

Jenolite liquid is _very_ good in my experience. Jenolite gel is less so.

My local independent motor factors still stock it. POR make something comparable to liquid Jenolite (available through Frosts) but it's very expensive in comparison.

Phil

Sorry, but having tried every type of snake oil over the past 40 years I am sure there is no substitute for cutting out the rust and welding in fresh metal (as long as it's done properly, otherwise the weld itself can give the rust another chance).

Proofing is another matter - see previous post regarding CCC. They understand these things.

OTOH you can always bash the holes in with a hammer, pudden it, blow it over then flog it before winter.

Geoff MacK

Over 30 odd years I must have used gallons of Hammerite, and would not use it again. Forget what they say about 'direct to rust' - it will not stop further rusting. For example, I have recently taken out of dry store (in the house) some components treated about 7 years ago with Jenolite, zinc primer and Hammerite. They had all gone rusty again and had to be re-done.

The best rust remover I ever used was concentrated orthophosphoric acid, which I made from the sludge from desiccators in my lab days (the left over phosphorus pentoxide). Not available commercially AFIK - many of the proprietary versions are dilutions. Metal Ready from Frost is quite good - vastly better than Jenolite IMHO. I agree that the only proper solution for bodyshells is to replace all rusty metal.

Steve, the procedure is to paint it onto the grease free area. Leave for around 15 minutes (less if it's a warm day). Then paint another coat. (The first will have started drying, which you don't want, and the second coat loosens it up again.) Then immediately wipe all off. It will then dry and you can apply whatever you want over the top. If you just paint on and leave to dry it takes ages - days - to dry out and forms a plastic-like coating. I've never had white powder, but the rust may, or may not, turn black.

Someone mentioned difficulty in purchasing. Halfords, etc. will sell whatever brings the best profits and will often only be allowed to sell some items on condition others are removed from the shelves. I had difficulty getting Jenolite about a year before moving over here

11 years ago but found a motor factor who sold it in 5 litre containers. So I'm still only just over half way through it!

Someone else mentioned Kurust. I often wonder if the magazines get backhanders for testing products as I found Kurust to be totally useless.

Peter C.

Yes, but back here in the real world... Nobody's going to cut out every last panel just because of a little surface rust which can be removed by wire-brushing or blasting. Once back to shiny metal, Jenolite does the job of stopping the rust returning under the paint. Most of us make decisions about how much metal to replace with new, which are inevitably going to lead to compromises. The Minor I'm working on at the moment for instance, has very few panels with no rust on anywhere (four actually - the wings are GRP!). Taking your approach I'd scrap the car immediately. Instead I'm replacing all the holed areas and treating the rest, as anyone else would do. No snakes are being harmed anywhere in the process.

The Minor I'm playing with at the moment is going back to bare metal, any visible surface rust is meeting the spinning disc till I see shiny metal, and with any luck when the job's finished there won't be any rust for quite some time. Just started on a bonnet, even the areas where the paint looks perfect have rust forming underneath. It's not a quick job doing this though, at least not with a knackered drill and naff sanding discs, and a reasonable grinder with a worn out wire brush!

The trick is going to be keeping the metal perfect for when it gets sprayed..