Rust Removal

Ian_Rob

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The diamond impregnated wire brushes produced by Pferd (and presumably others by now) that appear in this video at and about 10:50, caught my eye a few years back.


Expensive though….


PS It was this video that prompted me to buy a variable speed grinder which minimises scratching and indentation and makes a very significant difference to the finish that one can achieve.
 
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Alfie168

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I too use these, of a nefarious origin, means I don't remember. Wear safety glasses or better, goggles - pieces of wire can detach. Worse if you take the guard of the angle grinder.

Take care, stay safe

Jonathan

I caught a wire brush like that on a grinder in my safety glove when it jammed and jumped off the workpiece earlier this summer. It was an experience I don't want to repeat and although my hand injuries looked superficial the bruise and damage to blood vessels went surprisingly deep and took some weeks to heal. Take care. I was able to pull the plug out with my spare hand as getting at the grinder switch was not easy at all. My advice is therefore to give yourself the extra option to disconnect by having it plugged in within easy reach. My luck was in on that score as my extension lead terminal was right next to me, as luck would have it as I hadn't given it thought beforehand.
 

Neeves

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Angle grinders are lethal and should be treated with considerable respect. I will not say the scare me but the opportunity for an accident is immense. I find that if you wear decent protective gloves the switch is very difficult operate, switching on - off is easier (taking note of Alfie's comment).

A safer option than a stainless brush are lap wheels (?) where the item is made up of overlapping abrasive segments or the impregnated wheels used to remove paint. Both of these options have been mentioned in previous posts. I'd say both of these options have quicker wear than the stainless brush - so if the item is large you will need spares. The wire brush is much quicker but you sacrifice some safety.

Another option for cleaning rust, I might have missed it in previous posts, is to apply heat. I think iron oxide has a different thermal expansion than steel and if you get the item hot the bond between steel and rust is reduced and its easier to clean (scaling?)

If the item is large, like a steel yacht - consider having it processed by a professional company with a grit blaster.

Jonathan
 

penberth3

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Angle grinders are lethal and should be treated with considerable respect. I will not say the scare me but the opportunity for an accident is immense. I find that if you wear decent protective gloves the switch is very difficult operate, switching on - off is easier (taking note of Alfie's comment).

A safer option than a stainless brush are lap wheels (?) where the item is made up of overlapping abrasive segments or the impregnated wheels used to remove paint. Both of these options have been mentioned in previous posts. I'd say both of these options have quicker wear than the stainless brush - so if the item is large you will need spares. The wire brush is much quicker but you sacrifice some safety.

Another option for cleaning rust, I might have missed it in previous posts, is to apply heat. I think iron oxide has a different thermal expansion than steel and if you get the item hot the bond between steel and rust is reduced and its easier to clean (scaling?)

If the item is large, like a steel yacht - consider having it processed by a professional company with a grit blaster.

Jonathan

Yes, flame cleaning is definitely a thing, but I think it only works if there is a lot of scale.

All the proper paint specifications I've seen require abrasive blasting, I don't remember seeing anything about wire brushing. I said above, that can polish the crap instead of removing it.
 

penfold

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You should physically remove as much rust as you can. Chemical treatment to what's left if you must, but it isn't a magic short cut.
This; pretty much every proprietary rust treatment will ask you to abrade the surface to remove loose rust, typically with a wire brush. With the amount of area you have I'd use a wire brush in an angle grinder otherwise it will take forever. My current favourite is Vactan but there are many available for not much money.
 
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