Was looking at this stuff that comes in a spray can. Supposeably converts rust into a primer like surfice that can be painted. anyone use this stuff? Does it work or is it all B.S?

 

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The only way I have found to beat rust is to wire brush it, clean it, and then apply several coats of primer at perpendicular angles to each other. At least thats what I did on a truck bed I later applied Herculiner too. Hope this helps.

 

Hey 1979 - Welcome to FTE & the Bodywork forum.

I'm not familiar with any rust converters that act as a primer also. Do you recall the name of the product?

The only converters I've used are applied to the bare metal, then primered and painted.

You could do a test with the stuff. I know with the converters I've used that as long as they do not see any weather or you don't touch the metal after application, it looks as fresh as the day it was put on. Now let a drop of water or a sweaty hand touch it and you see the surface rust appear within a day. You don't get this with regular primers.

 

kinda what i thought, looked interesting tho.

 

There is supposed to a paint that they use on oil wells that has a self etching primer built into it. They spray it right on rusted oil wells and it sticks! Supposed to work great on frames if you can find it.

 

the stuff is made by klean strip. they claim it converts rust into black primer. it is called Rust Converter.

 

I have a can of this stuff, I think it's from Permatex. I tried it on a panel that I sanded. It may tern the rust black, but it seems to leave the metal bear. It didn't work the way I thought, which would be like a primer. I used this in November on a small patch of external rust, following the instructions. I then put primer and paint over it. After about 3 months I had rust showing through again. I thought it would work the way Por15, ZeroRust and others are supposed to, it did not.

After reading some of the strings here I noticed the use of Acetone and acids for etching the metal to clean the rust off. If you look at the ingredients of that rust converter you will probably find acetone and some acid in there. What concerns me is that the instructions say to leave it on while all of the strings that discuss etching using acetone/acid say to wipe it down afterwords to remove the residue.

 

I have used a lot of that rust converter on my projects and i swear by it. its amazing how that stuff takes care of rust. I've put another coat of primer over it before i painted the vehicle though. I think u should give it a chance and buy a couple cans to experiment with. You'll probably like it.

 

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The rust converters do work but they are not a cure-all.

I use rust converters after the area has been derusted. By that I mean, I prep the rust area prior to using the rust converters. Sandblasting, sanding, & wire brushing are just some of the methods I use . You have to get off all the rust you can and then you depend on the converter to get to the micro-rust, areas you can't get to, & etc.

After using the converter, I depend on epoxy paint or Zero Rust (ZR) to protect the area. By the way, I use epoxy on bodywork areas. The ZR is used in areas like the insides of doors, undercarriage, fender wells, & etc.

 

'Extend' is one brand name of this stuff... I've used it - it will work for a while, but eventially the rust will win out again. It comes in a spray can and a brush-on bottle.

I wouldn't paint over the stuff or anything, but if you have some light surface rust, say on a floorboard, and don't want it to get much worse until you can get around to fixing it right it might be worth a shot.

Naval Jelly is good for eating away rust too... it's also acidic so take care...

 

I am unsure how long you intend to leave the metal in primer or not but unless its something like POR 15 (i have left it exposed for a year now w/ no rust returning) it will rust again. Primer is NOT going to seal the metal from water. If you leave it outside in the weather for long enough its going to rust again no matter what is underneath it. Yes it might take Six months or so depending on the type of primer and how thick it is.

I am unsure if they use POR15 on oil rigs or not but I do know that they use it on barges with excellent results.

 

I have used a product called "Ospho" for more than 10 years. A guy that ran a marina in Alaska told me about it. Great stuff. I have found it mainly in paint stores or paint departments of decent hardware stores. I found a store going out of business and bought all they had at a real good price. Since a little goes a long way I figure I've got a lifetime supply. Brush off loose rust and flakes (or go the whole nine yards if you want), apply, let dry. Then it must be painted with a quality coat or two of good paint (or epoxied), not some thin quick-dry spray bomb primer. Any primer is not even designed to be a top coat and it won't last. You can use Ospho on new metal too. As with any body work efforts always be thorough and make sure you are doing what you think you're doing and not just going through the motions. Every little thing you skip or cheat on will come back to haunt you sooner than you think. It's usually not the fault of the products used. Did you "forget" or "miss" some little crack or pit someplace? Well, there you go. Trouble coming right up. Preparation is everything. The paint is the easy part. The best paint won't hide slipshod preparation very long. Another good anti-rust product is "Wax-oyl" for areas you can't or don't need to paint. Or want to paint. The stuff flat works.

 

I know there is a lot of input already to the debate on rust converters....I started to TRY to restore my trucks body last summer.....busted my tail on it until finances just got miserable(along with the weather), and I had to stop....rust areas were showing thru the "spraypaint" I used and my husband used a product called "metalize" on them (made by Drummond American). This has stopped the rust long enough to buy time until I resumed working on the truck this week(we have had rotten rainy weather here in VA)! With God's blessing, I hope to finally have it painted by the end of this year!

 

The most effective way of beating rust is to blast it.I've tried all kinds of gimmicks and have found sandblasting the best ever. I have done several rust repairs, and nothing has came back within a 5 year period,and even when it did, it was in a different area(knock on wood).Just my two bits.

 

Whoa Had no idea this post was still getting responses. I went ahead and tried a can of it and didnt like it very much turned the surface of the rust a blackish gray color but didnt penetrate to the metal.