"Metal Rescue" - Same As Evaporust?

[Allan Speers]

I've been wanting to try Evaporust for a long time, though I'm quite happy with Naval Jelly and / or Oxyllic Acid, when electrolysis isn't needed.

So I was looking for it today at Home Despot, couldn't find it, but found "Metal Rescue" by Workshop Hero. from the description, it sounds like it must be either similar or identical. No acids, non-toxic, etc. This stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Workshop-Hero-WH290487-Rescue-Remover/dp/B005JVNQPQ

It's even a few bucks less expensive.

Does anyone know if it's as good as Evaporust?
Also, does anyone know what the heck is IN these products?

[Mike Henderson]

I bought something like that at Home Depot. I don't remember the exact name but that could have been the same thing I bought. It worked fine.

Mike

[cody michael]

you can buy evaporust cheap at advance auto using coupon, and harbor freight.

[roger wiegand]

Also, does anyone know what the heck is IN these products?

It's proprietary, though they say a patent has been applied for I can't find a published application at the Google patent search level of research that I can tie directly to the product. They say on their web site that it is a chelator, which is an organic compound that binds metals. The compound they use is probably related to EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid), but I'd guess it's not EDTA itself as EDTA doesn't bind iron particularly well. This patent (http://www.google.com/patents/US20040102344) probably covers the basic idea and many of the possible ways of going about it. No idea whether this is the same as Evaporust.

In my experience it works dramatically better than any of the home-brew mixes I've tried while being much less corrosive and damaging.

[Bill McNiel]

I've never use Evapo Rust but I have used Metal Rescue and have been pleased with the results. No damage to the material and significant success with the rust removal.

I usually place a "heat lamp" over it as my shop is generally at the bottom end of their temperature recommendation.

No idea what is in it.

[Cary Falk]

My jug of evapo rust is worthless. Maybe I got a bad batch. I talked to the inventor a couple of years ago to see what I was doing wrong. It still doesn't work.

[David Kumm]

This doesn't asnswer your question but I prefer Esprit rust remover to Evaporust. You buy it concentrated and mix as you need. Comes out much cheaper and works as well. Dave

[Allan Speers]

I've never use Evapo Rust but I have used Metal Rescue and have been pleased with the results. No damage to the material and significant success with the rust removal.

I usually place a "heat lamp" over it as my shop is generally at the bottom end of their temperature recommendation.

No idea what is in it.

Thanks, Bill, that's good to know. I wuz thinking of returning it and ordering Evapo, but time is a factor for me.

Can you compare this stuff to anything else, like Naval Jelly? I know that with the liquid stuff you have to completely immerse the object for several hours, so the jelly can be easier to use for some applications, but what about the end results?

(I have to say, I LIKE using naval jelly.)

[Allan Speers]

This doesn't asnswer your question but I prefer Esprit rust remover to Evaporust. You buy it concentrated and mix as you need. Comes out much cheaper and works as well. Dave


I think you're on to something here!

http://www.rustremoverproducts.com/Rust_Removal_Products.htm

[roger wiegand]

Naval jelly is a phosphoric acid gel--turns ferric oxide (rust) to ferric phosphate. It's corrosive, works completely differently from the chelators. Its the active ingredient (very dilute) in Coca Cola used to remove rust. (that used to be a thing, never worked for me)

[Bill McNiel]

Allen,
I too use Naval Jelly on large, mostly flat surfaces that don't lend themselves well to immersion. Given an option, I prefer the Evapo Rust. With NJ one has to scour the surface with steel wool where as ER just needs a thorough rinsing and wipe down. I just did some Chrom-Vanadium plane irons the other day and am very happy with the results, all the rust is gone and I like the finished patina. ER does a good job getting into the little nooks and crannies that are such a hassle with NJ.

Didn't know about Esprit until this thread, so no opinion there.

[Allan Speers]

Thanks, Bill.

One things about naval jelly, though: What I do is, after the rust is all killed, I dunk or wash the item with a solution of water & baking soda. This doesn't just neutralize the acid, it also makes a lot of the black stuff sort of "pop off" the good metal. (due to all the tiny gas bubbles that are created.) Then the rest mostly comes off with a brush of some sort.

- But ER must be slightly different from "Metal Rescue" because I just used the latter for the first time, and it left a LOT of darkened steel. It even darkened a stainless steel shaft that didn't have any rust, and the dark stuff wouldn't wipe off. I had to sand it.

Then again, maybe I left it cooking for too long. I've read that ER can do the same, if you wait too long.

[Allan Speers]

BTW, Regarding that Espirit concentrate:

I was curious why they give such a wide range of ratio options (drastically affecting the actual price) and which ratio would most resemble E.R. For what it's worth, (probably accurate) here is the "Rust Depot" company's response:

--------------------------------------

"The strongest mixture is used primarily for very heavy rust (not rust scale) and the weakest, for flash rust. Since the water holds the by-products of rust removal, the strong mixture will have less useful life; the weak mixture will last longer.

To make the approx. equivalent strength of evapo rust:
1 quart of Esprit with 9 quarts of water, yielding 2 1/2 gallons of useful fluid.

As you can see, the 'optimum' ratio can be varied. Something you cannot do with evapo rust. The 'thinner' ratio, (5 gallons) is used primarily for flash rust, however, given enough time, it will remove a bit heavier rust. One often overlooked aspect is the hardness of the underlying metal. The rust and its removal is proportionately 'hard'. Esprit provides the ability to mix stronger to deal with harder metals and rust removal."

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ALSO NOTE: Based on the above info, it seems to me that one can extend the useful life of a solution past where it gets really black, simply by adding a little more water. The idea being that there is probably still some sulfur complex left for freeing up the chelating agent, but you need more "free" water to hold the iron molecules.

I did a quick experiment today which confirms that this does work. I had a small tank cooking in the oven at 200º for about 12 hrs. It was engine oil black, and all the bubbling had stopped. I added a few cups of hot water, and it immediately started bubbling again. Not vigorously, but a significant amount, and that kept going for a few hours.
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ALSO NOTE: If what Rust Depot wrote is accurate, then their concentrate is definitely a bit less expensive than the pre-mixed stuff. (As you would expect.) HOWEVER, they warn against using really hard water, and recommend distilled water if you do have hard water. I happen to have extremely hard well water, so when I figured-in the price of buying distilled water, the price evened out.

The only reason I might still buy some concentrate is so I can make a slightly stronger solution, for heavily rusted areas. (Although in those cases, diluted naval jelly works just fine and costs less.)

[David Kumm]

Allan, my experience with Esprit confirms your info. i like that I can vary the strength, or more importantly, not measure carefully. I have a tub that I keep full with the solution and keep adding either water or Esprit until I get so much crap accumulating on the bottom that I have to clean the tub out and start over. I keep some Evaporust in my other building but I would guess the Esprit goes about 8-10 times as far, especially if I soak rags with a weak solution and cover old cast iron tops to help with all that sanding. Dave