Will Sadler asks:
> I know that these things don't work really, but can someone recommend
> a decent product for putting on rust to help keep it under control.
I was waiting for more replies before I offered any comments.
I used to work for Chesebrough-Ponds in their R&D Labs in Trumbull
Connecticut as a research lab technician (this before my computer career).
One market the Cheeseburger (Chesebrough-Ponds) wanted to explore was
auto products such as rust preventatives and treatments. We had to
evaluate competitive products too. I don't remember all of them, but
the best one was "Extend" by a company called Duro.
"Extend" comes in a brown plastic bottle usually. Its a creamy-white
coloured liquid. Supposedly you just brush it onto the rust and it
converts the rust into something you can paint over. As it dries and
cures it changes into a hard black polymer. It depends on the depth of
the rust, of course. Typically you should brush off as much of the surface
rust as possible --- not necessarily down to the bare metal.
Now, realise, this is not a magic product. Once rust has started it
will eat away forever. "Extend" will slow it down. You'll have to read
the product label. After testing it over a length of time I decided it
was a good product and I have used it on my cars for those odd small
spots of rust that inevitably show up. Obviously its not practical to
fix up large holes with this stuff.
Another great rust-preventer is Vaseline Petroleum Jelly (made by
Chesebrough-Ponds). Just smear Vaseline all over everything (before it
rusts!) and it'll never rust!!!! Mind you, some owners may not like their
greasy paint jobs :-)
My 1984 Toyota Tercel (104,000 miles now!) formed a rust hole behind the
name-plate on the hatchdoor. I was going to fix it last summer, but never
found a free wekend to do it. I "patched" it until I could get to it.
I smeared GE Silicone goop all around the area. This also acted as an
adhesive to keep the name-plate in place. Know what? The rust never
got any worse. Its only a small area and mostly hidden by the name-plate
so its not too unsightly. I _will_ fix it this spring. But the silicone
goop seems to have acted as an adequate rust inhibitor for the interim
even through the Northeastern winter weather.
Garry Archer Esq. {yale, uunet}!hsi!archer -OR- archer@hsi.com
3M Health Information Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S.A.
"An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose." - A.P.Herbert
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