Editing Rust (section)

==Wagon Strut Rust Repair==

Rust Removal from wagon strut mounts: These things don't seem to have been galvanised very well, if indeed that was how they were treated, and rust easily, especially on the exhaust side. Tap the roll pins out with a punch or similar to take the mounts off the strut.

[[image:rust40.jpg]]

This is one case where I did use rust convertor, dilute phosphoric acid in fact. Phosphoric acid is the basis for most rust convertor products, it changes soluble iron oxide into insoluble iron phosphate. I bathed the mounts in phosphoric acid overnight, checking them occasionally and scraping off converted oxide until I had clean steel. They go in red (oxide) and they come out blue (phosphate). This stuff is pretty strong, I left a washer in there for a couple of days, and when I came back there was just a washer shaped stain on the bottom of the bath. (I use an old porcelain bowl for the acid bath.) It attacks paint too so I don't like using it directly on the car, only on small things I can remove. After the acid bath I used zinc primer, and it turned out like this:

[[image:rust41.jpg]]

Top coat of Beacon Red, a bit of grease, and back on the car:

[[image:rust42.jpg]]