Has anyone used 1-Step Rust Converter?

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I'm looking for something to slow the rusting of my '90 F-150 frame up here. I think the trip through the mountains the Christmas before last got it salted because a couple week later was when the paint clearcoat started coming off, too. Pinholing.

Comments? A friend from damp and dank D.C. suggested it.

Reply to
Larry Jaques
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That stuff works good. Goes on like milk, then turns bluish as it dries, and finally black.

Make sure you clean off all the loose rust and dirt. Get a cheapo 4" angle grinder from Harbor Freight ($30) and a wire brush wheel and go to work.

Apply rust killer using a nice paintbrush and dab it into the surface to make sure you get into all the little pits in the rust.

-T

Reply to
TT

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 16:58:39 -0700, "TT" calmly ranted:

Yeah, the pics show it to be a fairly simple "installation."

I guess it's time to hit up that Tom Gardener fella, huh?

I have some angled chip brushes from Russia which should work just fine. I wish HF still imported them since their offset worked well in corners. I haven't seen them in a couple years now.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

You might want to find out if Ford still re-paints F series trucks free. My brother had his done a few years ago. Read about it here:

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MikeH

Reply to
Mike H

You want comments? I'll give you comments.

I chose Rust Converter on the recommendation of an acquaintance. We purchased the material from Gempler's. We have a 1000 gallon oil storage tank that I had hoped to preserve so there was little to no future maintenance. After spending three days with an angle grinder removing the original red oxide, I painted the entire tank. There was little rust to convert, but I figured I was doing a good thing, preventing any problems for the future. The rust converter was covered with paint in keeping with the guidelines provided on the container. By the next spring we had considerable rust everywhere the converter was painted over clean steel. Thinking I hadn't allowed the converter to dry long enough (I had), I spent another three days stripping the tank, again with my trusty Bosche angle grinder, which by now had gone through two backing pads. Once again (I'm a slow learner, apparently) I covered the tank with Rust Converter, then followed up with an expensive primer. The tank is so damned rusted that the only thing that will help now is a full sandblasting. The heavier the converter was applied, the worse the rust problem now.

The product may be fine for fully rusted things, but it isn't worth a damn for anything that is not (FULLY) rusted, of that I'm sure.

Do not be fooled by their claim that the product changes color as it converts rust. Anything that makes contact with it turns black, including your hands. It's a natural order of the drying process and doesn't indicate any changes beyond that. That's why they suggest you wash it off concrete with soap and water immediately. What you do with your hands doesn't seem to concern them, though.

My opinion? Don't use the product, not even if it's given to you at no cost. My observation is the phosphoric acid that doesn't "convert" slowly does at a later date. Coverts steel to rust. Think of your steel brake lines that have no need for corrosion.

One more tip. Dodge is still selling nice pickup trucks. Get a new one. :-)

Harold

Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

I STRONGLY recommend Tom's brushes. Ive used a number of them recently including the power brushes for the angle grinders and they are holding up very well, and are damned well constructed. Im used to buying mid quality brushes and having the wires sticking out of my welding leathers in mass after using them for only a short period.

Ive yet to find or feel any wire coming out of one of Toms brushes and they are well engineered and hold their shape VERY well under power.

The hand brushes are equally well made. Plain, simple and designed very well. I think since they have been in business as long as they have, they (Tom) got the designs down pretty damned well.

Gunner

"As physicists now know, there is some nonzero probability that any object will, through quantum effects, tunnel from the workbench in your shop to Floyds Knobs, Indiana (unless your shop is already in Indiana, in which case the object will tunnel to Trotters, North Dakota). The smaller mass of the object, the higher the probability. Therefore, disassembled parts, particularly small ones, of machines disappear much faster than assembled machines." Greg Dermer: rec.crafts.metalworking

Reply to
Gunner

POR-15 !

Reply to
Why

Tom got a website for these brushes, maybe? I be needing some.

Garrett Fulton

Reply to
Garrett Fulton

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 00:27:51 -0700, "Harold & Susan Vordos" calmly ranted:

--snip of bad news--

I sholdn't have said "rusted" for the condition of my frame. It's more of a "rust blush" on solid steel, like someone with a light touch and an airbrush. Perhaps I'll pass on the 1-Step after all and go with the Rustoleum primer and flat black paint I have left over from doing my porch railings. It's held up nicely for 3 years now since I took the time to strip it and scotchbrite/lacquer thinner rinse it before the primer went on. Metal prep is where it's at when you want a decent, long-lasting finish. I should probably hire a teen to do most of it, then finish up myself. ;)

I wonder if the "heavy rust" Rustoleum primer will work as well on the lightly rusted steel that I have.

Was it super cold AND humid where you painted that beast, Harold?

Pass. I'm a Ford man who doesn't like the look (or gray interiors) of any of the new trucks.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

snip---

Can't say for sure, but one experinece I had was painting rather badly rusted lintels when we built the castle in Utah. It took me several years to get to them after the brick work was finished. By then they required heavy brushing before painting with red oxide primer, which seemed to do the job. We sold the castle no less than ten years later, and the lintels were all in excellent condition with no paint flaking off or blistering showing.

First time fog moved in after I painted, to which I attributed the failure. That was the reason I applied it a second time, the following summer, when it was warm and dry. I allowed more than sufficient time before coating the converter this time, made sure it was dry, VERY dry. Waste of time.

Funny. You come across as being much wiser than that. No matter, I still like you!

Good luck with the truck. I have no doubt a careful cleaning and then an application of any decent (oil based) primer will extend the life. You might even consider a zinc chromate covering. Nothing to lose, for it won't include anything harmful. Or, perhaps even better yet, check with your local auto paint supply store for their recommendation. They have a great selection of paints for just such applications.

Jist voted my absentee ballot. Care to guess which party got my vote?

Harold

Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

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Reply to
Gunner

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:52:35 -0800, "Harold & Susan Vordos" calmly ranted:

Is this an exterior tank, Harold.

Pffffffffffffffffffffft! ;) Ditto there, you poor misguided soul.

Ayup. As I stated, it's not bad, but I wanted to catch it quickly before it had a chance to really pit. I did a quick wash and spray paint job years ago, just after it was repainted (well, half anyway) by Ford. They did a "tape test" to determine if it was a freebie, and half passed. They shot the horizontal surfaces and put a clearcoat on. For ONLY $800 more, I could have had the whole truck done. I told the Paint Dept. manager at Dixon Ford in Carlsbad, CA that I could have gone to any body shop in the area and had the entire truck stripped and repainted for about $400, then asked him where he got the goddamned gall to ask me for $800 for half that job. True to a con man, he said "Our paint jobs are better than a Mercedes gets." and I told him to do what Ford covered. I also wrote another letter to Ford and told them that their tape test was bullshit. If their primer was bad, the entire truck needed to be painted. They left it in the hands of the dealership, where I lost. Effem all.

BTW, that was the only bad thing which has happened to me with all the Fords I've owned since 1969. I had to replace the motor in the first car I owned, a '57 Chebby. And I lost the steering coupler in an Olds. I think I've tossed a lot more time and money into fixing the few GM vehicles I've owned, maybe double. I worked at Security Chebby in Vista, CA for a couple years right after tech school. Very early on, I learned that I did NOT want a new Chebby. working at Ford dealerships later, I learned that I didn't want a Ford import truck or small car.

If you're 1) smart and 2) wanted to piss off Gunner and 3) wanted to please Ed, you voted LIBERTARIAN. Congrats on all 3.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I don't like that stuff and its cousins like Extend.

I've done my share of rustwork on cars, though. My approach:

Knock off loose and flakey rust. Patch and weld holes, if any. Treat metal with "Rust Mort", a product by SEM. It's found at autobody paint suppliers. It's a watery phosphoric acid stuff that you don't let dry. Rust turns black, shiny stays shiney. Keep it wet for a few minutes, then rinse with clear water. After giving the water a full day to disappear from all of the cracks and crevices, apply a good autmotive primer. Rust-Mort passivates the surface and gives it "tooth" that makes paint adhere well and flow out nicely, but it is *not* a rusproofing coating. It just treats the surface so good paint can do a better job as the rustproofing coating.

I liked two-part epoxy primer, don't know if it's still available. A zinc chromate primer is also good if you can find it anymore. Your metal is now well-protected and ready for color, and clear if you use it.

A paint job like this is good for many years even in winter salt country like MN.

If you use Rust-Oleum primer, don't put anything but Rust-Oleum products on top of it. A lot of paints are not compatible with Rust-Oleum. Good automotive enamels and urethanes are far better paint for autos than Rust-Oleum, also considerably more expensive.

Reply to
Don Foreman

On re-read, I see your concern is with the frame. In that case you don't need color. After Rust-Mort, two or three coats of two-part epoxy primer will do just fine. There is another products called POR-15 that is supposed to be extremely tough, and it's a one-part that you can even apply with a brush -- which would be OK on a frame.

I haven't tried it but it gets good reviews.

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I do have some > I liked two-part epoxy primer, don't know if it's still available. A

Reply to
Don Foreman

Yep! Sits on a concrete pad 6' X 14', behind the shop. It runs north/south, and sees only morning sun, but not a lot of that due to the trees (100' tall or more) to the East. I'll eventually empty it, lift it and have it sand blasted. I'll then paint it without the use of any converter. The primer I covered the converter with is an expensive industrial one I bought from my old paint source in Utah, who sells to industry. It's killer good and I recommend it highly. I'll use it again. We get a lot of rain here, as you might imagine. After I blast and repaint it, I'll build a roof over it. Keeping it dry can't be a bad thing.

Chuckle!

Interestingly, it was the colors splashed within the gray seats that sold me on the interior of our '99 1 ton. I really like how they look, with pretty much every color of the rainbow displayed within the fabric. Susan is just as happy with the truck as I am.

Damned right! Buy a Dodge! Show them you know when you're getting screwed and know what to do about it.

Aside from the '36 Auburn convertible coupe and '37 Cord Custom Beverly Sedan I used to own, every car I ever owned was GM, including a '40 LaSalle. I've owned a small fleet of GM through the years, Chev, Buick, Cadillac, Olds and Pontiac and GMC trucks. . Seen 'em all. When GM started screwing around with the settlement of the outside the frame fuel tanks, I got a gut full of them. We owned two of them at one time. I made my protest statement by buying our first Dodge, a '94 3/4 ton p/u, about 5 years old, with a Cummins engine. Liked it so well I bought a new '99 1 ton. GM may never miss my business, but I have little to say that's complimentry about them these days. In my mind, they're almost as bad as a Ford.

Ed would be so proud of me! Damned shame about Gunner. I like him. Maybe he'll get over it eventually and we'll still be friends.

Just didn't have the heart to vote for those other clowns. Have you ever seen such a low display from what are supposed to be educated and civilized people? I'm surprised there's any mud left in the world. I saw the entire campaign as one between two losers.

Harold

Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:03:42 -0800, "Harold & Susan Vordos" calmly ranted:

Si, es verdad!

I'm sure that the new Mein Herr Dodge dealerships are no better.

Ooh, a boattail Auburn? I've always liked those.

Condolences. I've found that they're more costly to maintain. Granted, as an auto mechanic, repairing them made up the largest share of my paycheck. Own away.

I bought a Pinto AFTER the Ford gas tank fiasco (I know, but I needed a quick vehicle with power steering after my accident. The Scout took everything I had when I was whole-shouldered.) Guess what: I was never rear-ended at freeway speeds and never blew up! How about that?

Diesel trucks aren't the same beasts as the herds get. But the new dodge diesels are noisy as hell, much like the Ford diesels. Ugh!

I like Gunner, but I really like Charlie Reese. I used to get his column in LoCal and am glad to see it available online now. This guy must REALLY piss off Gunner as he's seen through Shrub's charade.

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Precisely, but they're 2 corrupt losers from 2 badly corrupt parties.

I don't watch talk TV, don't listen to talk radio, and ignore most of the campaign crap in the newspapers, so I've missed most of it. And when neighbors start to go on about it, I ask them to stop. As to TV, my MUTE button is the most used button on the entire 56-button remote.

I've taken to recording most movies, then zipping through the panty liner/tampon/male enhancement/political ad commercials without having to listen to any of them. God/Allah/Buddha bless the VCR! The best part of owning a satellite dish is the new inclusion of digital music stations. All of your favorite types of music (blues, jazz, classical here, with some rock thrown in), 24 hours a day, commercial free. It's the 2nd reason for my owning a dish (the first is broadband Internet.)

Reply to
Larry Jaques

It works! I have fixed 4 water coolers with it (the inside that is always underwater).

Reply to
Why

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 21:42:18 -0600, Don Foreman calmly ranted:

Is this safe to use around brake lines/wiring harnesses, or is it supposed to be used on a stripped frame during a restoration?

I hate epoxy paint. Such hassle and expense, and if your prep work is even 0.0001% light, yer SOL. It's great on new products but hell to retrofit without stripping the object.

Right, but I already have the paint and it doesn't appear that the railing will be needing more for quite awhile, so... I have their rusty metal primer which, according to RO's FAQ, won't work for non-rusty metal. Interestingly enough, it includes a fish oil which penetrates the rust and provides tooth, but if the rust isn't there, it rises to the top and makes a cover coat hard to lay on. And I have their Stops Rust black paint. I'll have to get a quart of their standard primer.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:31:33 -0600, Don Foreman calmly ranted:

Jewelcome. Jayzuss, $105 a gallon? Pass. I don't have a large enough crowbar for my wallet on that one.

Are you building the footrings just because you can, Don?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Id vote Libertarian if they changed their platform just a smidge to make it more palatable to the public and thereby giveing them a chance in hell of winning anything, even dog catcher.

Gunner

"As physicists now know, there is some nonzero probability that any object will, through quantum effects, tunnel from the workbench in your shop to Floyds Knobs, Indiana (unless your shop is already in Indiana, in which case the object will tunnel to Trotters, North Dakota). The smaller mass of the object, the higher the probability. Therefore, disassembled parts, particularly small ones, of machines disappear much faster than assembled machines." Greg Dermer: rec.crafts.metalworking

Reply to
Gunner

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