How to Remove Rust From Metal?
Have a really rusty metal part lying around that you want clean? Well, you’re in luck! There are several ways to remove rust from metal. While there are a plethora of methods out there, some are better than others. This blog will explain how these methods benefit and hurt your parts, and why Vapor Blasting is the best option for rust removal.
Wire Brushing:
Wire brushing is one option for removing rust. With this method, you either manually brush the rust off or a power tool does it for you.
Benefits of Wire Brushing
Now that we’ve talked about the wire brushing process, let’s look at its benefits. Wire brushing is extremely affordable, it typically costs less than one hundred dollars. Wire brushing is great at getting into the pittings and crevices of your parts and removing all its rust. To further help in this endeavor, some of the brushes come with long handles, making it easier to get inside small passage way without blocking the bristles. Speaking of the bristles, they are made out of many materials such as stainless steel, nylon, and brass to work with your part’s metal composition. Those are the benefits of wire brushing.
Cons of Wire Brushing
While all those benefits are great, wire brushing also has its cons. While it cleans your parts pittings, it does not remove them. Wire brush may etch a surface depending on what the material is. Another is manual brushing has no smoothing capability. However, power tools do. Despite this, they do warp your parts surface. It does this by aggressively rubbing the surface and removing multiple layers of the topography of a part.
Despite this aggressive rubbing, wire brushing does not remove heavy rusting. Instead, you get swirl marks on your part from the rotation of brushing. You are left with an etched part with rust and swirl marks on it.
Wire brushing is also very time-consuming, especially with big parts. Since the brushes are small, it takes a while to clean large surfaces efficiently. So, if you are looking for a quick way to clean your parts, wire brushing is not a good option. In summary, wire brushing is affordable and can reach most areas on your parts, but will leave marks on them and will slightly remove heavy rusting.
Chemical Rust Removal:
Moving on from wire brushing, you can also remove rust with chemicals. With this process, the rust is removed by simply placing your part in a vat of chemicals for an allotted period. The chemicals typically used in this process are acid, sodium hydrosulfite, or petroleum chemicals. While all these chemicals have their pros, they also have their cons.
Benefits of Chemical Rust Removal
Let us first look at the advantages of chemical rust removal. Since the chemicals are liquid, when you submerge your parts, they get into all areas of your parts. Therefore, you get a more consistent finish when you use chemicals.
The use of chemicals is significantly faster at removing rust than wire brushing. For example, sodium hydrosulfite removes rust in around thirty minutes. It can take hours with wire brushing.
Depending on the chemicals uses, some will not corrode your part. Both sodium hydrosulfite and petroleum are barely corrosive, making them safe to use on your metal parts, even rubber and plastic parts.
Cons of chemical rust removal
Acid solutions, on the other hand, are very corrosive. For that reason, they are only usable on certain metals such as stainless steel and galvanized steel. This is not the only con of chemical rust removal, it also does not smooth pittings. This is because chemical have no etching capabilities since they are liquid. Therefore, you cannot finish your part with this method.
Moving on from the lack of finish on your parts, it also affects the polish. The chemicals remove the coatings from your parts. While this is useful, you want to re-coat your parts. When dealing with chemical such as acid solution, you will need the following PPE such as gloves, face mask and safety glasses. You will not want to inhale or get any of this chemical into your eyes or hands.
The chemicals are also dangerous. For one, they give off a smelly fume that is toxic to humans. If you decide to use this method anyway, use it outside or in a well-ventilated area so you don’t breathe in the toxic fumes as much. Chemicals are also very intemperate, which will enhance fumes and symptoms in a warm area.
Digital UltraSonic Cleaner:
Similar to the chemical solution, is the digital ultrasonic cleaner. The only difference between the two is that the digital ultrasonic cleaner uses water, while the other utilizes chemicals. The digital ultrasonic cleaner uses water and high frequency sound waves that create small bubbles, in a process called cavitation. It is when these bubbles pop and disrupt the surface of your part which will remove the rust from it.
Benefits of Digital UltraSonic Cleaner
Now that you understand the process, let us look at its many benefits. Despite how advanced this process sounds, it does not cost a lot. However, it is still more expensive than the wire brush and chemical solutions, but nowhere near the price of laser rust removal.
An added benefit of this process is that you can combine it with water-base detergent. You do this by putting your part in an enclosed container filled with the detergent and then mixing it with water. By doing this, the ultrasonic cleaner can remove more rust from your parts. The digital ultrasonic cleaner is also a fast and efficient process. Similar to the chemicals, it hits every area of your part, leaving you with a consistent finish in a minimal amount of time. You also don’t have to coat or rinse your parts after use, saving you time that can be spent on other money making projects. A digital ultrasonic cleaner is an effective, time efficient way to remove rust at a reasonable price.
Cons of A Digital UltraSonic Cleaner
The digital ultrasonic cleaner also has some disadvantages. One minor annoyance with the digital ultrasonic cleaner is that it’s quite smelly and loud. This is quite unusual, since the machine only uses water and water-base detergent. The handling process can be difficult because it makes your parts hot. So, be careful when you pick up your parts. The disadvantages of a digital ultrasonic cleaner are that it is smelly, loud and makes your parts hot.
Electrolysis:
In the same realm as the digital ultrasonic cleaner, you can use electrolysis to remove rust. Electrolysis uses a tank full of water; cleaning soda (not the same as baking soda); two parts, one you clean and one clean and a sacrificial one; a copper wire that is thoroughly wrapped around your part; and a battery charger, which is connected to the wire. When you turn the battery on, an electrical charge will hit your parts, splitting the hydrogen and water molecules. On the side with the positive clamp, you have oxygen bubbles magnetically removing the rust and moving it to the negative part that is being rusted by the hydrogen bubbles.
Benefits of Electrolysis
So, what are the benefits of electrolysis? Electrolysis is very effective at removing rust because the bubbles get everywhere. It also doesn’t warp our parts since there are no harmful chemicals, and no sharp edges to distort the surface. Instead, the rust is magnetically pulled off your parts. Due to this lack of damage, it is usable on any metal. Electrolysis is also very inexpensive, since you can build the machine from items lying around your house, saving you money. You also gain money, because it is a hands free process that allows you to work on other money making projects while it sits. Electrolysis is also nontoxic, so you won’t get any lung disease from this process.
Cons of Electrolysis
Despite it not being toxic, electrolysis has quite a few disadvantages. For one, you can overheat the charger, causing the machine not to work. Not to mention the hydrogen bubbles are flammable in certain temperatures, which can also damage the machine and its surrounding area. The fire damage can also make your machine unusable. This fire damage also makes your machine unusable.
Electrolysis not only damages your machines, but it warps how your parts look. Electrolysis will change the color of your part. So, if you’re working in the restoration business and want your parts to look as close as to the original as possible, this is a huge issue. Not to mention it leaves your surface rough since it does not fill in the pittings. If you wish to smooth or roughen your part with this process you will have to do so afterward, taking up your time.
Speaking of time, depending on the part size, this process can take either 30 minutes or 24 hours. Not to mention you must rinse oil and grease off your parts before you put it in the tank. Both of these factors make electrolysis inefficient if you need your parts done quickly. Electrolysis is a time-consuming process that changes the color of your parts without smoothing the surface.
Laser Rust Removal:
One of the most popular methods for removing rust is with a laser. Lasers use the process of sublimation, changing the rust from a solid to a gas, while skipping the liquid stage. It does this by using high frequency plasma combined with extremely high thermal pressure and shockwaves to create enough strength to remove the rust from your parts.
With laser rust removal, you can utilize a pulse or continuous laser to get a consistent or inconsistent laser flow. For more information on lasers, and other forms of rust removal, check out this video below.
Benefits of Laser Rust Removal
Laser rust removal has a couple of benefits that make it very popular in the rust removal market. For one, you can easily adjust its settings so that it doesn’t warp your parts. This adjustability allows you to use it on any material, even heat-sensitive ones.
These lasers are also extremely efficient at removing light and heavy rusting, because they cut off the rust easily. To further their efficiency, you can get a semi-automated laser, allowing you to manually laser the parts after the robot does it, making sure nothing was missed. However, unlike manual other, the automated ones will not miss a spot on your parts. In addition to that, you can work on other things while the robot does the work for you. For those concerned about programming these robots, they are easily programmable and operated. All lasers are also low maintenance because all you have to worry about is the laser itself, instead of a bunch of parts that have to work together. Also, since there is no hazardous waste with lasers, they are environmentally friendly and safer for you to use.
An added benefit of a continuous laser is that it descales your parts, thus smoothing the surface. Lasers are efficient, quick, safe for you and the environment, as well as easily manageable, allowing you to remove all rust and even smooth your parts.
Cons of Laser Rust Removal
Now let’s talk about laser rust removal cons. The biggest disadvantage of a laser is that it takes longer for bigger parts. This is because it is not built for larger parts, just small ones. Also, regardless of size, the laser cannot get into the crevices of your parts and obliterate all of it.
Moving on from what it can do to your parts, let’s look at the cons it has for you in your workplace. While lasers don’t use dangerous chemicals, it does emit dust into the air that heightens your chances of lung disease. This dust also makes a mess. While this is only a small inconvenience, it is still annoying. Speaking of being annoying, lasers are loud. So you will definitely disturb people who are trying to work if you use it during business hours. Lasers are also extremely expensive, making them nowhere near affordable for the average person. Those are the disadvantages of laser rust removal.
Sandblasting Rust Removal:
Another way to remove rust is by sandblasting. Sandblasting entails an abrasive being propelled towards a part by compressed air with the intent of cleaning it. Sound familiar? While sandblasting is similar to what we do here at Vapor Honing Technologies, there are some huge cons that make wet blasting the better process.
Benefits of Sandblasting
On that note, let’s talk about the benefits of sandblasting. Sandblasting is a very minimalist process requiring only compressed air, an abrasive, and dust collector to function properly. Since it has few components, sandblasters are cheaper in price than most industrial machines.
As for the finish of sandblasting, it gets a sufficient amount of rust off allowing you to see the bare metal of your part. This is because it’s an aggressive process. This aggressiveness also makes the sandblasting process quick. Sandblasting is a relatively cheap industrial process that will remove rust off your parts quickly.
Cons of Sandblasting
Sandblasting also has quite a few disadvantages. While the aggressive nature of sandblasting makes the process quick, it also warps your parts, denting the surface. It also removes layers of the surface. When it does either of these things, it can cause your part to no longer function correctly. Sandblasting further prevents part functionality, since the abrasives get stuck in the tight passageways of your parts. This causes your machine to connect incorrectly to the rest of the parts, blocking the machine from working.
Besides hurting your parts functionality, it can be dangerous and annoying. For one, it emits dust particles in the air that heighten your chances of lung disease. For this reason, we recommend wearing protective gear when you sandblast. Sandblasting is also very noisy. Therefore, will have to be separated into another room.
Sandblasting warps your part to the point where it doesn’t function correctly, emits dust particles in the air, and is very noisy.
Vapor Blasting Rust Removal:
Here at Vapor Honing Technologies, we can use wet blasting to remove rust from your parts. Wet blasting is a process that uses water, compressed air, and abrasives to clean and polish your parts. When it comes to rust removal, you will want to use abrasives such as aluminum oxide and silicon carbide because they are very aggressive and have a sharp cutting-edge that easily removes rust.
Benefits of Vapor Blasting
Vapor blasting has many benefits that make it the best method for rust removal. For one, it is very versatile and efficient. It can clean and polish your parts simultaneously, while also smoothing, roughening, or leaving the surface roughness value alone. Since you clean and polish simultaneously with this option, you save a bunch of time. You also don’t have to prep your parts, saving you even more time. Since these two reasons save you so much time, you can work on other projects, making your company more money. Since we combine the two steps, wet blasting is a faster overall than the others.
On the polishing side of things, it can easily smooth or roughen the surface without warping your parts. This is because the water cushions the abrasive in a process called clean by flow. Due to this cushioning, you can use this process on any metal. Clean by flow also prevents the abrasive from hard packing on your parts. Instead, they flow right through it, cleaning and restoring its functionality.
The addition of water is not just beneficial for the clean by flow process but in other ways as well. For one, it makes the process quieter by dampening the sound coming out of the machine. It also saves you from having to buy abrasive consistently because the water cushions the abrasive.
Wet blasting also is cleaner because it dampens the amount of dust particles in the air. Therefore, there is less chance of you getting lung disease with this blasting method. Wet blasting is one of the safer and cleaner methods to use for rust removal.
Finally, wet blasting is the only process on this list that can brighten your part, while removing rust. In order to do this, you must combine aluminum oxide with glass bead. This will give you the surface finish you desire with the aggressive cutting-edge nature of aluminum oxide. While the glass bead abrasive will brighten the surface. Keep in mind that the part will not be as bright as it would be since you’re not solely using glass bead. Vapor blasting saves you time by combining two steps. It does not warp your surface but polishes it instead, all while maintaining an efficient abrasive and a clean, safe environment.
Cons of Vapor Blasting
While there is a lot that makes vapor blasting great, there are also some cons. The major concern with wet blasting is the disposal process for the water and abrasives. When using our machines, there is inevitably going to be waste. However, you can absorb some of the oil and grease with the absorption pads that go in your water basins. We also recommend following your city’s ordinances on chemical waste removal.
Also, compared to some of the products in this blog, wet blasting machines are expensive. However, none of the machines that are lower in price are as efficient as ours, nor can they polish your parts. Not to mention our machines are significantly more affordable to the average person, unlike a laser. That’s because it’s our company’s goal to make these machines affordable for everyone, not just big industrial companies. To further help you afford our machines, we offer three finance options, as well as the trade up program.
Lastly, some metals will flash rust after blasting, depending on the weather conditions in your area. To prevent this from occurring, put corrosion inhibitor in your cabinet and you will have 72 hours to coat your parts before they rust again. Those are the cons of vapor blasting and our solutions to solving them.
Conclusion
You can remove rust in many ways, however, some processes are more efficient than others. Wire brushing is the cheapest option; but it gets only light rust off. You can also submerge your parts in liquid to clean them with chemicals, the digital ultrasonic cleaner, or electrolysis. Chemicals remove heavy rusting and get into the crevices of your parts. However, they also strip your part’s coating. The digital ultrasonic cleaner uses water and sound waves to clean all of your parts, but it makes them hot. Electrolysis uses water and electricity to move the rust from one part to another, leaving behind no hazardous waste, but it does discolor your parts. Another option is the very expensive laser which is great from rust removal on small parts, but is time-consuming and inefficient for larger ones.
You can also blast away the rust with sand blasting or wet blasting. Sandblasting is fairly cheap because it doesn’t use too many parts. However, it is aggressive enough that it will warp your part. Wet blasting, on the other hand, does not warp your parts but glides along the surface and gets into the crevices, removing the rust and polishing your parts. While vapor blasting has some issues, such as flash rusting, they are fixed easily. When it comes to removing rust, we recommend using wet blasting because it’s efficient and there are fixable cons with this process. For more information on wet blasting and all that it can do for your parts, please contact us at 828-202-5563.
