Rusteco Gel Application
Rust on Steel with Powder Coating

Rust on Brake Backing Plate
The brake backing plate from the GreaseMaster section has popped back up, this time for rust removal, of course. This was the first thing I ever tried with the Rusteco Gel and it took some time for me to figure out how to make it work effectively. Click image to enlarge.

Derusted Backing Plate
As you can see, the rust is gone from the backing plate and the powder coating is still in great shape. Through several trial-and-error applications, I figured out how the Gel worked and how to make it do what I was looking for. I think a pressure washer would be ideal in this application, but I don’t have one. Instead, I used a rag and a brush to remove the hardened Gel as well as ultra fine steel wool (0000) for more aggressive rust removal in areas where it wouldn’t damage the powder coating. Once dried, the Gel becomes hard, very much like an epoxy, but unlike an epoxy, it will come off with water and agitation. This definitely wasn’t the ideal test to show the most effective way to use the Gel (as I utilized several application and removal methods during this test), but it does show how well it works on steel and that it doesn’t harm powder coating in the process. Click image to enlarge.

Close up of a Backing Plate Pad
I finally decided to try a different method on the other drum (top image) and first sprayed it with the Liquid, let it soak in and scrubbed it before working in a thin coating of the Gel and scrubbing that. Then to finish it off I applied a thick coating of the Gel, letting it start to change and scrubbing it when I had the opportunity, applying more Gel when needed for coverage or washing it off with a wire brush and water when it got hard (such as overnight when I just didn’t have enough time to dedicate to the rather labor intensive process). That worked the best cutting the derusting time with the Gel as compared to the thick Gel coating by 2/3rds (that is applied over the spray-soaked rust and removed with a wire brush and water after it has dried). All told, it took approximate 15 coats of Gel to do it the “thick coat” method (bottom image) versus five coats for the more labor intensive “apply/scrub repeat” method. I would definitely use the liquid on deeply rusted cast iron (see the rusted rear end weight above in the Liquid section for more information) for both speed and cost, but if you can’t dip the part and you can’t sand blast it, I don’t know of a better way to remove this kind of nasty rust. Click image to enlarge.