Rusty V&H header

[metalfab]

I have a rusty V&H header for my 82 1100E project. It isn't rusted where it has holes or is thin, I've painted multiple times in the past with high heat paint after a few years it blooms again. I was thinking that in some industries as a finish steel is allowed to rust, then it is boiled in water for 30 minutes +. The red rust turns black, and many alloys will cease to rust after this process. Boiling rusted steel turns Fe(III) oxide (Fe2O3/hematite, red color) into Fe(II,III) oxide (Fe3O4•H2O/magnetite, black color). The heat and Ions in the water do the trick.

I am going to take the bottom half of a 55 gallon drum, set it on 3 large bricks and start a fire under it to boil it. If it works out I will post some pics. If it doesn't stop rust the black hematite it forms is a great base for paint.

[Nessism]

I've never heard of this process you speak of. In industrial applications rusty steel/iron is typically cleaned up with phosphoric acid. One alternate to that is oxalic acid, which is found in many deck cleaning products. The bicycle restoration people use oxalic acid because it's mild and won't hurt paint or chrome, and it's less toxic than many other cleaning materials.

[trevor]

Go get it sandblasted then ceramic coated...done!

[metalfab]

I've never heard of this process you speak of. In industrial applications rusty steel/iron is typically cleaned up with phosphoric acid. One alternate to that is oxalic acid, which is found in many deck cleaning products. The bicycle restoration people use oxalic acid because it's mild and won't hurt paint or chrome, and it's less toxic than many other cleaning materials.

Ive used oxalic a lot it is great to clean out radiators and cooling systems on cars. Boiling the rust converts it into hematite. It isn't a method of removing the rust, it's a method of converting the rust into a iron based compound that wont rust. Some structural steel is treated in this manner to prevent corrosion. The success depends on the alloy of steel.

I do like ceramic coatings, this pipe is still decent but it is past its prime.

[RustyTank]

I look forward to seeing/reading the results of your test metalfab.