Working on the brake system of an old truck. Everything is cast iron with 40+ years of rust. Nothing too serious because of the desert environment. What works well?

Are you talking penetrating oil? Kroil or PB Blaster seem to be the top choices.


Rust remover for metal surfaces? Navel Jelly is one I've used. Not the greatest but it does work.



Good luck!

thx, I was thinking of the products that claim to turn rust to iron without the elbow grease LOL They used to call it alchemy.

Have a camper in southern Texas,used corroseal on the frame and jacks. The local marine guys swear by it.been on the trailer for two years,so far so good ! I did paint over it as one told me it will last at lot longer that way. Gonna do the CJ this summer with it.

I'll have to look at what I've been using on parts of my ZJ, it seems to work pretty well. Got it off Amazon.

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How big are the parts and do they need to be treated in place? I recently discovered that regular vinegar is amazing at removing rust. I bought some mild steel weld coupons for very cheap (TIG practice) because they were hot rolled and covered in mill scale. Soaked them overnight in vinegar and the scale just fell off. No crazy reaction or bubbling, just fell off.

I hear really good things about EvapoRust too.

If you want to turn the rust back into iron look up electric rust removal. Uses a battery charger and washing soda. I think part of the reaction turns rust back to iron... but I'm not 100%.

If you want stuff to make rust turn into primer, I've used Rustoleum Rust Reformer. It works well. If you don't coat it in something, rust will eventually start to come back but it takes a couple years.

And forgot to mention POR-15 is still the gold standard but pricey.

thx, seems the eco-friendly stuff gets a bad rap

EvapoRust works really well from my experience. When I was flushing the coolant system I poured a gallon or two of it in the water jackets in my 4.0 and let it soak for a few days and it came out looking like it was sandblasted.

Rust Kutter is what I've been using on spots on my ZJ.

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The biggest part is the caliper, about twice the weight and size of a ZJ.
The brakes use something like the sliders on a ZJ, but the divots don't occur. I want to smooth out the sliders, stop the rust and make the pads move easily.
I initially thought to wire brush the sliders and massage grease into the cast iron. My second thought was there has to be an easier way.


Thanks everyone for the replies.

I use the Evapo-Rust myself.
Seeing how it says right on the container safe for your eyes you might think how good can it be.
Well it is.
Use it mostly for hardware. Pour some in a plastic container and throw whatever in.
I help it along with a quick wire brush here and there while soaking. When done just rinse it off with water.
You can reuse the stuff. I put used stuff in a separate container to use at a later date.
Sometimes I add new stuff. Sometimes I don't.
The fresher the stuff the faster it works. When using used stuff you just let whatever soak a little longer.
It does get to a point where it gets real black. And that time you dispose of it and start all over again with fresh stuff.
A before and after shot of the tube part of a hitch I used it in.
This I helped along with a long screwdriver scraping up and down the sides in the tube filled with Evapo-Rust.

Attached Images

There is a video test of all those liquid rust removers on u tube somewhere.

Here is one.

Project Farm has the answers!

My Rust Kutter must be a step beyond Krud Kutter.

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