Thread: Rust removal from steel shelves

Hello, I’m looking for advice on the following project, the picture quality isn’t very good but I think it should be enough to get some suggestions.

I made these shelves about 15 years ago, and from what I remember, the main material was 2mm or 3mm mild steel, and the curved sections were cut up from an old steel drainpipe (there’s a chance the drainpipe was something different but I think that’s unlikely, I remember it being around 3mm steel. The underside of the shelves are also closed off with a plate of steel.

As you can imagine, these are heavy and not particularly practical, but I like how they look, and I’m looking to clean them up and continue using them.

I’m wondering what the best process would be to remove the rust you can see. I imagine it’d be a quick job with some kind of sander or buffer, and I’ll probably hire a tool to do this if possible as it’s not something I’ll probably have to do again. I’ve also thought about trying to do it with wet/dry paper, although that looks like hard work, and I can just see myself scratching the whole surface up.

The second question is whether there’s any kind of laquer or coating that I can then put onto the metal surface to protect it from rust. I remember using some kind of finish when I originally made the shelves, but it’s worked better in some places than others – I like the overall dull metal effect, but the cup marks are obviously a problem. I’d like to find some kind of coating that last another 10-20 years.



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Hi Samuel, welcome to the Forum.
That is a hell of a lot of work for some shelves but I do like the look of them.
To clean up metal like that I use a Scotchbrite type of disc in an angle grinder, they clean it up nicely without removing metal.

I agree, a Scotchbrite wheel would also be my choice as it will also leave a satin finish..

In terms of a clear lasting finish I would look at an auto clear finish although I doubt anything will last for 10-20 years under normal wear and tear.

Home sandblasting or better and probably cheaper is to get a car panel place to blast it, but would leave a light grey look, not shinny.
It leaves a lightly ruff porous feel but after a few coats of clear it would be smooth and would be the best preparation to hold the clear on I'd think.

Sent from my 5007U using Tapatalk

Personally I like the existing patina , and would just give them a wipe over with acetone then a couple of coats of Penetrol.
It will seal up any rust and leave the used look it already has.
Also doesn’t peel or flake and easy to touch up or paint over down the track if required.

If you want to get back to a completely uniform fresh steel finish over the whole thing then sandblasting is the only practical way IMO, as anything else (other than perhaps orbital sander) doesn’t leave a consistent finish and would look horrible with clear on it.

Steve

I also think that Scotchbrite is probably the way to go, and depending on how pitted the worst parts are, it may be quite practical to just do it by hand. Some years ago I had a badly rusted shaper table to clean up, and I found that Scotchbrite and Rainex, a phosphoric acid based rust converter cleaned it right up like brand new, all be it with considerable elbow grease expended. If you do find that you need some mechanical assistance either an angle grinder or orbital sander to take Scotchbrite would do, but I think that it would best be finished by hand to get rid of swirl marks going every which way. A hand finish would allow for a nice brushed finished look, and if done with a finer Scotchbrite pad or even steel wool, it should come up tickety-boo.
Congratulations on your original handiwork by the way, those shelves while maybe not the most practical and economical use of material, do look great, and the workmanship looks most impressive too, they are definitely worth re finishing for the next generation.
I'm not sure what hire companies you have nearby, but you may find that it is cheaper to buy something like a Ryobi or Ozito tool, than to hire one for the job. I am not generally in favour of cheap tools, but I have known several builders who say that they have used Ozito tools like drills and angle grinders, and built several houses with them without too many, if any failures. If they were to fail they would send their wives in to have it replaced under warranty. The wives went in because the tools were not for professional use, so a female returning the tool raised no suspicions with the supplier.
I can't advise what to protect your finish with except to say that I have had several jobs done by professional metal finisher/electroplating companies, and in every case, the items retained their shine with minimal upkeep thereafter. one job was a set of crank case covers for a Honda CB72 motorcycle, and I only ever needed to just wash the bike and they retained their polished shine for years, and the same could be said for a brass fire side set I had done for a friend. In that case she had used Brasso polish every week or so to try to keep the brass looking good, but it would tarnish in no time. Once the metal polishers had done their work however, the fire side set never needed attention for years. There was no visible coating on either of these jobs, perhaps there was some kind of wax sealant, but whatever it was, it lasted for years, so a chat to people in that profession may give you some clues as to what to use. Good luck