Guys,

I cleaned out a parts barn I had and found some '69 rotors and drums. They have some rust on them. Is there a way to chemically strip them?

I'm thinking of a do it yourself solution I can mix up and put these parts in drum and let soak. Any suggestions on that?

Afterwards, how should I keep them from flash rusting until used? Spray with oil?

Thanks!
Randy

Buy yourself a 5 gallon pail of Evaporust.

I use Evaporust, rinse off with hot water (I installed an outside hot water hose bib) & then I spray them down with WD-40 so they do not start to rust.

Order a 5 gal pail of Evapo-Rust from Northern Tool online, and pick up at the store for no added shipping cost.

Inspect after 30 minute to see progress. Wash off Evapo-Rust before it dries with a 2" paint brush and mineral spirits and wipe with shop rag. Buff with an 8" wire wheel in a drill motor. I can't prove it, but I believe wire brushing slows or prevents rusting.

If all rust down to the bottoms of all rust pits isn't gone, re-immerse and repeat.

If all rust down to the bottoms of all rust pits is gone, wash and wipe with mineral spirits, wire wheel, followed by brushing on phosphoric acid with a 1" nylon paint brush. Wash off acid with mineral spirits before the acid dries. This leaves a very thin and almost invisible coat of acid that almost always prevents re-rusting. If minor re-rusting does occur later, it is easily and quickly removed by re-wetting with phosphoric acid and scrubbing with a Scotch-Brite pad. This works very well on steel body panels waiting for paint that should not be oiled. Wash the Scotch-brite pad immediately with water or it will turn to powder.

I've also used just vinegar and both Evapo-Rust and vinegar on cast iron brake drums with good results. A short dip in Evapo-Rust followed by a vinegar soak seemed to make the rust scale pop off and finish up de-rusting quicker. Use the same methods as above to prevent rust without oil, or you can add oil too if you want.

Yes, Evaporust. These drums were soaked overnight, left is before, right is after. The paint is the factory red paint & raw cast iron, no paint.

So, vinegar or evaporust, huh? Ok, I'll give it a shot!

kentj340, that's quite the process, thanks!

Sometimes I do the vinegar and lemon first and then finish it off with the Evaporust. Makes my evaporust last longer.

Take them to the machine shop and have them shot blasted

Scott , That's really great to remove Rust ..... however ...... Won't that like

instantly Re-Rust ? ? ? Do you do anything to prevent that ?

Use "RPM" ? ? ? on Drums ? ? ?

On these drums I didnt use RPM (but could have). I seasoned them in my oven like a frying pan. I washed the Evaporust off with Acetone (NOT WATER!) and a 0000 steel wool pad then coated them in heavy bacon grease and popped them in the oven at 250 for 3 hours cooling them slowly for 3 more hours. After I cleaned the pad contact areas with brake cleaner and installed. A month or so of daily driving in mixed weather, zero rust so far

('Painted' my drums with black POR 15...


Been over 20 years...


They still look like the day the POR went on...



They're behind some Rallyes...


Worked well for longevity, OEM, not so much...

You coated your brake parts with.... bacon grease?

...

THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME POST EVAR!

Sure did! ....and now after some hard breaking I get to smell bacon....WINNING!

Yummm....B..A..C..O..N...…….

Sure would be a good reason to eat a big slab of applewood smoked bacon !!

I had an opposite thought the day I did it. I had just cooked up a big batch of custom smoked bacon and thought "Wow that sure smells good, wonder what I should do with this all of this awesome grease?" LOL!

*Hey, its a different approach, if you don't experiment you never learn new things

Maybe you could bottle up the bacon grease and compete with the RPM product? What could you call it?

If you are allergic to bacon, vegetable oil works and won't hurt any rubber brake parts.

Can you imagine a life without bacon?


*But yes, you can season cast iron with pretty much any kind of oil.