Rust Conversion- Can you help?

A. I would start with a bright iron or steel surface first. I would not expect the chemical to remove the rust completely, then to deposit a black layer. It probably did as best as it could with some complexing and reducing agents.

A. It sounds as if rust layer was pretty thick and some of it needed to be brushed off. The surface needs to be cleaned of excess rust. That means removing rust flakes and dust but do not remove all the rust or no conversion will occur. A rust converter [on eBay or Amazon] is a product that reacts with the iron oxide, converting it to iron tannate, a stable blue/black corrosion product. If the rust layer is too thick it may not convert all of it.

A. Perhaps this as you know was counterfeit product purchased from corrosion control formerly known as Neutra rust Inc before I found out that they were selling a counterfeit product. If you want the real Neutra then feel free to contact me at Neutra rust international.

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Ed. note: There are countless brands of rust converter [on eBay or Amazon] s, including simple naval jelly [on eBay or Amazon] . Now that this thread has descended from a technical discussion of rust conversion to something akin to siblings whining about who is on whose side of the back seat, perhaps the readers are learning for themselves why we ask them to please keep the discussions generic, focusing on chemical reactions & mechanisms, and avoid mention of brand names :-)

Q. I have used Neutra rust many times and have been especially impressed with its function and amazing durability on my snow plow blades and cutting edges! What product(s) would you recommend for refinishing rusted automotive exhaust manifolds with a minimum of rust removal? I am more interested in protecting the metal than appearance.

A. Hi. First choice would be ceramic coating, second choice would probably be high temperature paint. As for rust converter [on eBay or Amazon] s, there are a hundred brands and it's okay for people to write advertisements claiming "my secret formula is better than the other 99 secret formulas, says me" . . . but such ads & testimonials don't belong is this forum of camaraderie and technical information exchange :-)

Regards,

A. Hi Jens. A problem with red rust is that it's not adherent; it was already non-adherent before you started, and conversion won't make it adherent. I believe you should use a wire brush to remove as much red rust as practical before doing rust conversion, and then expect a grey color to develop. The grey color is iron phosphate.

Regards,

A. I've heard of hypophosphorous acid being used for this.