Post war rust removal tips?

There was a guy on the CTT forum that did a bunch of videos on a restoration project of some prewar passenger cars.  One of the videos was on rust removal.  He used a battery charger and a pair of electrodes in some solution to remove the rust.  It really did a nice job.  Someone on this forum also described the same rust removal method a few years back.  I have never tried it.  Here is the YouTube video.

Earl

I use a bronze brush (the manual kind) to remove the rust, then clean the casting thoroughly with alcohol and apply cold gun bluing (usually either Brownell's 44/40 or Birchwood-Casey Super Blue) according to instructions.

It's worked well for me, though your castings may be more severely rusted than any I've encountered.

I use CLR with good results, just soak the part for about 30 minutes, repeat if not all the rust is gone. Easy to use and cheap enough, can reuse the solution until it quits working and its non toxic.

Regards,

Joe Geiser

PS not sure if you can "blacken" pot metal, but for anything else the part needs to be heated to 185 degrees F. before putting it in the black oxide solution.

Vinegar!!

Marty

I consistently save rusted parts by bead blasting to a high shine, then giving them a soap and water bath. I re-blacken steel parts by dipping in Gun Blue followed by a good soap and water bath and an oil down with WD-40. The parts must be clean and free from any residue especially oils. Sometimes I will wash a part with Dio-Sol thinner to be sure its clean of oils before using the Gun Blue. I have successfully blackened post war steam chests, and post war wheels. Again they must be well blasted to remove all old finish then be 100% clean of oils and residue. 

Gandy