Metal Rescue Results

[CarNucopia]

I used Metal Rescue to de-rust a fan pulley yesterday and figured I would share my experience. I'm always sceptical of "works like magic" products, but I have to say I'm satisfied with the results. I know there are cheaper ways to accomplish the same thing, but for the lazy, this is a good option. I think it might have taken a little more rust off, but the solution reached it's saturation point.

[tom_in_nh]

Looks good.

Could you tell us what the main ingredient is in that solution?

Thanks,

Tom

[Beltfed]

If my experience as a metal refinisher is any good, it has to be an acid of some sort. They just love oxides like iron or ferris oxide, better known as rust. He really needs a small abrasive blaster.

[CarNucopia]

I'm out of town for a few days, but will check the label when I get home. I'm pretty sure it's not acid.

[Guest vacabill]

Here is the MSDS on it, says its water based

http://www.metalrescue.com/assets/pdf/Metal%20Rescue%20Rust%20Remover%20Bath%20MSDS.pdf

Metal Rescue™ Rust Remover Bath which is a clean, safe and easy solution to removing rust on metal. Beneficial to both industrial companies and consumers, Metal Rescue™ removes the rust on parts by utilizing a water-based, safe synthetic molecule that is attracted specifically to iron oxide (i.e. rust). Metal Rescue™ removes the iron oxide and holds it in solution, leaving the base part and other materials safely unaffected. Your metal parts can be restored in 5 minutes to 24 hours, depending upon the amount of rust, type of steel and temperature of the solution.

Edited May 25, 2014 by vacabill (see edit history)

[Beltfed]

Interesting stuff. With a ph of 6, it is on the acidic side of neutral but not by much. I hope it's not to expensive. For myself, when redoing an old car I have lots of parts that need cleaning up so a grit blaster is my path. If one has just a few parts the Metal Rescue might be a better way.

here's a couple of pics...

Blast cabinet. Wheel cylinder parts

The can is a paint that I use on brake parts. It's a baked on finish that no chemical I've found will mess with.

[CarNucopia]

It's $25 a gallon, so it certainly is not cheap. Interesting thing about the pH is 6 is the same as regular rain.

Interesting stuff. With a ph of 6, it is on the acidic side of neutral but not by much. I hope it's not expensive.

[joe_padavano]

The problem I have is that the demos that I've always seen for Metal Rescue and the myriad of identical products under other brand names is that the parts they demonstrate are always only covered with flash rust, not real scaly rust. The photo of the O.P.'s pulley seems to be the same way. The light orange flash rust was removed, but the heavy rust seems to still be in place in the "after" photo. I tried Metal Rescue on a body panel with heavy surface rust, and I was underwhelmed, even after vigorous scrubbing with a steel brush and steel wool.

By the way, don't expect the vendor to list ingredients. This isn't an FDA-approved food product, and frankly, why would they make it easy for you to compare their $25/gallon product to less expensive ones with the same active ingredients?

[CarNucopia]

Here are some additional photos. The first two are from when I was disassembling the parts and the third, darker one is after an hour in the solution. This product is intended to be used as a bath for the item. If you soaked a body panel, you must have bought a lot more the $25 worth to fill a container that big. I bought this part off of eBay and it most certainly was badly rusted.

The problem I have is that the demos that I've always seen for Metal Rescue and the myriad of identical products under other brand names is that the parts they demonstrate are always only covered with flash rust, not real scaly rust. The photo of the O.P.'s pulley seems to be the same way. The light orange flash rust was removed, but the heavy rust seems to still be in place in the "after" photo. I tried Metal Rescue on a body panel with heavy surface rust, and I was underwhelmed, even after vigorous scrubbing with a steel brush and steel wool.

By the way, don't expect the vendor to list ingredients. This isn't an FDA-approved food product, and frankly, why would they make it easy for you to compare their $25/gallon product to less expensive ones with the same active ingredients?

[CarNucopia]

Some in progress photos taken at 3 hour intervals:

The problem I have is that the demos that I've always seen for Metal Rescue and the myriad of identical products under other brand names is that the parts they demonstrate are always only covered with flash rust, not real scaly rust. The photo of the O.P.'s pulley seems to be the same way. The light orange flash rust was removed, but the heavy rust seems to still be in place in the "after" photo. I tried Metal Rescue on a body panel with heavy surface rust, and I was underwhelmed, even after vigorous scrubbing with a steel brush and steel wool.

By the way, don't expect the vendor to list ingredients. This isn't an FDA-approved food product, and frankly, why would they make it easy for you to compare their $25/gallon product to less expensive ones with the same active ingredients?

[Curti]

Would a person consider painting over the finished surface or would it need a further cleaning in a bead blaster.

[Restorer32]

We would never paint over such a chemically stripped part. Into the glass bead cabinet it would go. The question is was the rust actually removed from the part or was it just turned into another oxide that doesn't look like rust and will that oxide potentially cause problems down the road ? We just paid over $900 for a gallon of almost pure red base for a '67 Impala. No way we're going to use that paint until we are absolutely sure the metal is mechanically as well as chemically clean before we start our body work.

[CarNucopia]

The label doesn't say if you can paint over the part after it's dried. It does say it can be rinsed with water and that they offer a spray for long term rust protection. I don't have a bead blaster, so I'll probably roll the dice and paint it. I would say about 98% of the rust was removed and a small amount appears to have been left as another oxide. When the fluid reaches a point of saturation, it stops working. I'm not sure if I reached that point before the part was completely clean. I may buy a smaller container and see if the remaining stuff on the surface will be removed.

[Curti]

Small bead blast cabinets are reasonable. One would be a good addition to your shop. I think the stuff is snake oil.