Moparts

how do i restore this?

Posted By: mickm

how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 07:55 AM

this is the back place of the attachment for the center section of a 70 steering wheel. you can see that the plate and bolt are pretty rusty. the flip side is in pretty good shape, and i think just a general cleaning will be fine.

how do i clean the rust off of the bolt and plate, and then what about the final finish? what should the finish be, and can i do something close myself instead of taking it someplace to have it plated?

i'm not necessarily looking for a concours restoration here, but would like to be close to original.

Attached picture 6591971-IMG_0742.jpg
Posted By: domingo

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 08:48 AM

use ospho, light wipe with a rag.
Posted By: 1_WILD_RT

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 09:10 AM

Quote:

use ospho, light wipe with a rag.



Yup... Some form of Phosphoric acid I just buy generic Metal Etch it eliminates the rust & leaves a coating that won't rust... Personally I like to let the phosphoric acid work then spray the part down with lacquer thinner as it will stop the coating & just give you clean raw steel like it was originally...
Posted By: mickm

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 03:55 PM

sounds good, will give it a shot. thanks!
Posted By: ScottSmith_Harms

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 06:26 PM

Ospho is ok but I'd use Evaporust on that, it won't etch the metal and won't remove anything but the rust,its not an acid so nothing to neutralize and leaves a short term rust inhibitor film after a water rinse. EXCELLENT product for that job
Posted By: kentj340

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 06:59 PM

Any sort of acid, such as phosphoric or even vinegar, will take off the rust.

It seems best to stop the reaction as soon as the rust is gone, or the base metal can start to be attacked by the acid.

I prefer to always remove all the loose or easily removeable iron oxide before the pickeling with acid. This can be done with tooth brush, dish soap, and hot water, and sometimes with a little hand wire brushing. Doing this will extend the life of your acid - no need to deplete your acid on loose pieces of rust that are ready to fall off anyway.

Bare pieces like this that stay inside the car can simply be waxed after derusting with good result. Bare pieces on the outside of the car can be painted with 'stainless' or 'detail gray' paint followed with a second coat of low gloss (NOT high gloss) clear.
Posted By: Yesdogjr

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 08:35 PM

Evapo-rust is fast and easy. Does leave a little film but if you are going to paint it a little thiner before you paint and all is good.
Posted By: CDN72SE

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 09:38 PM

Evaporust will get that job done.
Posted By: 318 Stroker

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 09:54 PM

I've got a few old tools I'd like to get the rust off of. Do you brush the Evapo-Rust on, or soak the object in it? How long to take effect?

Can I buy it at Lowe's or Home Depot?
Posted By: burdar

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 10:09 PM

I bought a plastic container at the dollar store just to soak parts in. Soak your tools for a couple hours and check them. That might be all it takes.

I've found that dipping a piece of steel wool in the EvapoRust really works well on lightly rusted parts that you don't want to dip. I also use it in my parts tumbler along with the green pyramids.

Harbor Frieght sells it. I've also seen it at a local farm implement store.
Posted By: 318 Stroker

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/19/11 10:15 PM

Thanks Darren...
Posted By: rallye73

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 06:18 AM

Autozone also sells the Evaporust, just in a smaller container.
Posted By: 70runner

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 07:10 AM

Evaporust - definitely! Magic stuff.
Posted By: BTTG

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 12:39 PM

I've been trying to use Eastwood's Rust Dissolver. believe this is very similar to evaporust. I literally cannot use this without flash rust appearing. have tried many things....rinsing with water and drying immediately, not rinsing only wiping, wiping and straight in warm oven (200 degrees), etc.... always flashes in literally seconds though......air is very dry now as well

product does remove the rust well after tanking. however, in the end i have a larger percentage of the surface of the part covered with flash than was there originally.....

same issue with evaporust?
Posted By: 62maxwgn

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 12:58 PM

Personally I wouldn't bother.It's a common part that in most cases doesn't look like yours unless it had sat with the wheel off for quite some time.Most I have taken apart looked near new.The bolt is black phosphate,again common.Both pieces are under the wheel,never seen.Even if it were a concourse restoration,I don't think anyone removes a steering wheel.I'm sure there are quite a few board members that have one laying around that is in acceptable condition if you ask.If you're set on restoring it,glass bead it and go over it with some #.0000 steel wool and clear coat it.As for the bolt,run it on a "fine" wire wheel,it will look new.
Posted By: ScottSmith_Harms

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 01:51 PM

Quote:

same issue with evaporust?





Not in my experience. It sounds like the Eastwood product has an acid base like Ospho
Posted By: mickm

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/20/11 04:31 PM

Quote:

Personally I wouldn't bother.It's a common part that in most cases doesn't look like yours unless it had sat with the wheel off for quite some time.Most I have taken apart looked near new.The bolt is black phosphate,again common.Both pieces are under the wheel,never seen.Even if it were a concourse restoration,I don't think anyone removes a steering wheel.I'm sure there are quite a few board members that have one laying around that is in acceptable condition if you ask.If you're set on restoring it,glass bead it and go over it with some #.0000 steel wool and clear coat it.As for the bolt,run it on a "fine" wire wheel,it will look new.



it's not so much that i want it to look concours, or anything like that, i just don't think there is any point to putting a rusty part like that back together without a few minutes of work to clean it up.

i don't need to spend hours on it, just get it cleaned up and rid of the rust. i have to go find the evaporust, (which wouldn't be bad to have around anyway), but will try this also.

thanks everyone!
Posted By: ademon

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/21/11 03:33 PM

evaporust for smaller and plated parts, harbor freight had a gallon cheep a while back but now its like $28 a gallon, for large parts find wood bleach mix it at 1 to 2 teaspoons per gallon, for $6 you could make about 75 gallons of it it works great on chrome rust removal too..
Posted By: moparx

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/22/11 02:16 PM

Quote:

evaporust for smaller and plated parts, harbor freight had a gallon cheep a while back but now its like $28 a gallon, for large parts find wood bleach mix it at 1 to 2 teaspoons per gallon, for $6 you could make about 75 gallons of it it works great on chrome rust removal too..


care to elaborate on this process ? brand examples of this bleach ? sounds interesting.
Posted By: ademon

Re: how do i restore this? - 04/22/11 06:17 PM

Not much to it, dip whatever you want in it, safe for chrome, paint, not sure if it will lift decals, Find a tub large enough to hold what you want to derust, then at a teaspoon per gallon of water to start, that worked fine for a sissy bar that had 40 years of rust on it, experiment with how much to add like more for a cyl head or so.

Attached picture 6597434-pACE3-8405641dt.jpg
© 2024 Moparts Forums