Every car owner has encountered such a phenomenon as the formation of rust on the body of a vehicle. You can remove red spots from the surface yourself using folk remedies. Very often you can hear the question: how to remove rust from a car body without damaging the paint? Unfortunately, this is not possible. After all, rust does not form on the surface of the paintwork, but on the metal.
Main stages
How do you remove rust from a car body with your own hands? This process can be divided into several main stages:
- Vehicle wash. This allows you to remove all dust, stains and dirt.
- Drying the car.
- Removal of corrosion.
- Processing of individual sections to protect the metal.
- Puttying and sanding.
- Coloring of treated areas.
Vehicle preparation
In order for the removal of rust from the car body with your own hands to be successful, you must carefully prepare all the damaged areas. The vehicle should be thoroughly washed. This can be done manually or by means of mechanization. In this case, it is recommended to use special sprayers. The body should be cleaned of dirt inside and out. It is also worth washing the luggage and engine compartment. This will allow you to carefully inspect the metal parts of the vehicle.
For best results, you can use a car shampoo. This tool allows you to remove not only dust and dirt, but also grease and salt. At the same time, car shampoo is able to protect the paintwork. The composition of such a drug does not contain toxic components, formaldehydes and phenols.
Body drying
Do-it-yourself rust removal from a car body is a process that requires careful preparation. After washing, the vehicle must be thoroughly dried. To do this, the body should be wiped several times with a sponge or cloth. This will remove any remaining moisture. Otherwise, stains may form as a result of natural drying.
After the car is ready, it is worth carefully inspecting it and identifying all damaged areas. Then it is recommended to install protective covers, which are designed to protect entire body parts from paint and chemicals.
Basic Rust Removal Methods
So how do you remove rust from a car body? Folk methods in this case may not help. Therefore, it is recommended to choose one of the traditional methods:
- Chemical.
- Mechanical.
You can remove rust from the car body with your own hands in the garage. The main thing is to decide in advance on the method and prepare everything you need.
Mechanical and do-it-yourself painting
To begin with, the area on which rust is present should be carefully rubbed with a metal brush or sandpaper. In this case, care should be taken, since the material that has undergone corrosion is easily destroyed. When processing the surface with sandpaper, you can resort to a wet or dry method. You can moisten the material with white spirit or kerosene. Grouting should be started with a coarse-grained sandpaper, and completed with a sandpaper with a finer structure. This allows you to achieve smooth surfaces.
You can also use a grinder to remove rust. Clean the damaged area until smooth. After processing, there should be no traces of rust on the metal.
If you choose a mechanical cleaning method, then you should use protective equipment: gloves and goggles.
Sandblasting method
This is another mechanical way to remove rust from the body. Sandblasting is considered the most effective and safe for metal. Cleaning of the material from rust is carried out thanks to a jet of air containing particles of sand. At home, this method is not available to everyone. After all, a sandblasting machine is required for work.
This method allows you to completely clean the damaged areas. When using a sandblaster, it is also recommended to protect your eyes and hands.
Chemical method
Chemical rust removal is carried out using various reagents. Such tools help prevent the development of corrosion in already damaged areas. At the moment, there is a fairly large range of rust converters. The list of the most popular includes:
- Rust neutralizer with VSN-1 marking. After surface treatment, the rust gradually turns into a gray substance, which can be quickly and easily removed with a rag.
- Orthophosphoric acid. This substance is not only sold in its pure form, but is also part of a variety of rust converters.
- Zinc spray, for example "Zinkor-auto". This product allows not only to remove rust from the surface of the body, but also to create a protective film.
Removing rust from a car body or special compounds is a simple process. In this case, the surface is protected from further damage. As for rust, it is converted into a substance harmless to the metal.
Further processing
After stripping, the treated areas of the body must be degreased and covered with a layer. This is required only in cases where the metal is completely free of rust. If the material remains covered with the factory primer, then it is not necessary to apply another layer of primer. This tool allows you to protect the metal from corrosion, as well as provide better adhesion to the means that will be applied to the surface of the body. Primers are as follows:
Puttying and further painting
After the surface is prepared, it is worth applying a layer of putty. It also needs to be leveled and made smooth with a moisture-resistant skin. Putty can be applied in several layers. Each time its surface must be leveled with sandpaper. Each area must be level and smooth. After that, it is recommended to apply another coat of primer so that the paint adheres better to the treated areas.
After that, you can proceed to the choice of coverage. The shade of the paint must match. It is best to select the color in a car workshop. You can find out the coverage number in the vehicle passport. Staining of treated areas should be done with a spray gun. At the same time, at least three layers must be applied. Do not forget about protective equipment.
Properly carried out cleaning of the body from rust, as well as its painting, significantly increase the life of the vehicle.
