removing rust from headers

[beermonkey9417]

i recently bought some hedman shorty headers offa mcss and there really rusty but not rotted through. whats some good methods of getting it off without hurting them? my buddy said use a emory cloth but i dont even know what that is. i wanted to use a corcle grinder with a steel brush wheel on it to get it off but im afraid imma take off too much metal and bust a hole in it. what have you guys done?

 

[custom442]

wow, sounds like a lot of rust... I've just wet sanded and then painted with high temp paint in the past. Read the can, some need specific primers and others don't

 

[beermonkey9417]

heres a few pics of em'

 

[custom442]

Ya, heat paint should work. buy a few cans at NAPA or somewhere and ask the guys there if you should use a primer

First you'll want to clean them up. remove the bolts and tubing first, then attack it with some wet/dry used for sanding to bare metal (wet sanding is just my preference, the paper lasts longer that way), something like 300 grit. All you need to do is take off the surface rust and have it smooth enough to paint. There's no sense in doing a high dollar job because they'll just rust again in a few years. Heat paint usually needs some heat cycles which you can do with them bolted to your engine or in your home oven (but it smells bad)

I've done this on old chrome pipes so it didn't need a coat of primer to stick to

 

[hp3445]

That is a lot of rust to be sanding off... If you got the patients and extra band-aids for your knuckles..
Can I make a suggestion and take them to a body shop and get them blasted.. it will save you so much time!!! and frustration. The only way to really prevent them from rusting is to get them ceramic coated.. inside and out.. It's not cheap.. but it will reduce the heat under the hood and also last alot longer than paint.. I had a brand new set... they rusted, I took the rust off and painted them over, now they are rusted again.. I should have spent the few extra bucks and got the coated or ceramic ones.

Oh well. . . live and learn on my part...

Good luck...

 

[3XBrownCutty]

Yeah, get 'em blasted. Try to find a friend or someone who has a blaster before you take them to a body shop or something. Even the guys at your local junkyard might have one.

 

[custom442]

you could sand blast them and get a special high buck coating.

And then sand/coat them again in three years

Or you could do it the easy and cheap way

And sand/coat them again in two years

take your pick

 

[dedub]

I have some suggestions...
I've dealt with rust on several levels and have come up with tested procedures that work and some that don't. You have to consider what blasting will do to already thin metal that's already rusted pretty good. Here are some other options.
1. I would go with the electrolysis method. Google electrolysis rust removal. I don't want to get into a long rendition on the procedure but basically it takes some water, a large container or bucket, a battery charger and some sodium bi-carbonate (baking soda) THIS WORKS! It turns Ferrite Oxide (rust) into Iron Phosphate. This is the procedure that's used to restore sunken treasures and will not further harm the metal. You can also youtube TONS of videos of guys doing this. I did this on an old set of manifolds, brake parts, control arms and more.
2. Option 2 is a little more expensive but I have used the product and swear by it. http://www.tptools.com/Product.aspx?display_id=2553
No Joke, when it says it converts rust and WILL NOT chip, crack and is impervious to oil, gas ect they are not kidding. On that same page you can find a product called "POR-15 Metal Ready" This etches the metal or basically uses a mild acid (Muriatic Acid) to remove the rust but that defeats the *save what's left of the metal* procedure.
3. Last is lightly sand and spray paint like mentioned earlier but you will be guaranteed to see rust again unless you use the Bill Hirsch paint in option 2.

 

[megaladon6]

or send them to jet-hot for ceramic coating, they'll blast em' for you. plus the ceramic coating looks good, is durable, and guaranteed. (but expensive)

 

[beermonkey9417]

well i got a flapper disk for my dremil so i did a quick once-over with it and heres some pics:

figured out how to post pics! yay me! :lol:
i was doing it with some 80 grit sand paper by hand and this works alot better! 8) there isnt really any rust on the inside just the outside.