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Thread: using angle grinder for rust removal

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    Washington, VT
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    Default using angle grinder for rust removal

    This may be another silly question revealing I have much to learn....Still, learning here is better than by trial and error.

    I was told that an angle grinder would become one of my favorite tools.....and now I have one.
    A handful of recalcitrant small screw/nut arrangements (tying down wires and one on each of the headlight pots) are no match. Very nice.

    Then when took a break my son (who just arrived home from college- nice to have help) took the grinding wheel to the frame and breakfast. With the grinding wheel he removed rust down to bare metal.

    Which raises two questions......
    1- if this can be done with grinding wheel, why do some use a wire wheel attachment........ is the grinding wheel too aggressive (seems relatively easily managed)?

    2- it is a slow process. ........is it true that with rust treatments like POR-15 really eliminate this step?

    thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Mass.
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    Default

    A hard grinding wheel can be agressive depending on what your goal is. It's easy to make a mistake with one, either messing up your project or messing up your fingers. I reserve a hard wheel for roughly removing large amounts of metal where the finished surface appearance isn't that important. I use a flapper wheel for most other applications like removing surface rust, small amounts of paint and smoothing welds. I use a thin cutting wheel to cut out whole sections of metal.

    As for the POR-15 thing, it's not a true fix, mearly a bandaid. The rust may not get worse, but it won't get better either. Of course it only works to some degree when it's applied correctly.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    East Granby, CT
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    Default

    An angle grinder with a grinding disc can be used to remove rust, but it is definitely not the right tool. You will find that it does a lot of harm to the good metal underneath. You will be left with gouges in the good metal that will be very obvious even after the part is painted.

    A wire wheel or cupped wire wheel is good for removing debris, scale & loose rust from metal, but it won't necessarily get you down to clean metal. Plus, a stiff wire wheel in an angle grinder can be visious tool (I have scars to prove it). They catch easily on edges and they throw pieces of wire all over when you use them. Avoid them if at all possible.

    There are flapper type sanding discs and scotch-brite material discs that can be used to remove light rust with fairly good results. Remember that the problem with any of these angle-grinder based tools is that they usually leave rust pits that are still full of rust.

    The best tool you can invest in for rust removal is a sandblaster. My father bought me a sandblaster as a x-mas present back when I was about 14 years old and I am still using it today (some 30 years later). I have removed a lot of rust on a lot of cars as part of restorations. It is one of the only ways to ensure that all the rust is removed from the surface. Before the restoration of my Lightweight, I bought a cheapy sandblast cabinet. This is also a great tool to have for blasting smaller parts.

    You will obviously need an air compressor to run the sandblaster. If you don't have a compressor (or too small of a compressor), use the sandblaster as an excuse to upgrade.

    For areas where it is impractical to remove the rust, you can certainly try something like POR15. Make sure to follow the instructions & steps perfectly or it won't last. Eastwood also makes rust converter & encapsulator products that work well, but my only experience with them is in applications that don't see much water/mud/salt exposure afterwards.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Bloomfield, CT
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    1,382

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jac04 View Post
    The best tool you can invest in for rust removal is a sandblaster.
    I knew you were going to say this when I started reading your reply. Truer words were never spoken. All the mechanical methods of rust polishing are tangent to the pitting. The only way to get to the bottom of the pits is straight on. There are so many types of media available, it pretty much takes the wind out of the old argument that sand blasting is too aggresive, or destructive. Air pressure has a lot to do with how aggresive the process is too. Other than the Pot blaster, one of my handiest tools is the spot blaster. Very precise. It doesn't seem to matter how much or little you use, the sand always seems to get in your hair/mouth/ shorts.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    East Granby, CT
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    Quote Originally Posted by Terrys View Post
    There are so many types of media available, it pretty much takes the wind out of the old argument that sand blasting is too aggresive, or destructive.
    Very true. I'm actually heading out to the garage right now to blast some Camaro hardware with DuPont Biasill sand. It is gentle enough to remove light surface rust without leaving any real texture. I polish them quick with a fine wire wheel afterwards and they are ready to go to the plater.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Phoenix AZ
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    Sand blasting will get into corners that a wire wheel wont but if you want the ultimate then you acid dip. Anything with a closed section wont give you access for a blaster and we all know they rot from the inside out. If you have corrosion and are only cleaning the outside of the chassis then you really are just wasting your time. Acid dip is nasty and it's really a professional process so it is not necessarily cheap.

    You can, however, have fun setting up your own electrolytic bath and using a battery charger to eat away the rust in your garage. Doing a complete chassis will require some thought in building the bath.

    These assume you are stripping the truck for a ground up rebuild. For every day clean up under the truck a wire wheel followed by a phosphoric acid converter solution works well enough although it is a LONG, SLOW and DIRTY job.

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