Did you know that rust is the result of the oxidation of iron? The most common cause of this is when metals have prolonged exposure to moisture. Therefore, any metal that contains steel or iron tends to bond its atoms with the oxygen atoms in water, leading to a layer of iron oxide a.k.a. rust.

Rust will then start increasing over these surfaces and speeds up the whole process exponentially – which is why upkeep on your part is vital. Cleaning rust off metal isn’t very difficult. and this article will clarify this for you.

1.     Cleaning Rust Using Acidic Solutions

Soaking In Vinegar

Vinegar is a non-toxic acid that can be found in most households. It can work wonders against rust. All you need to do is to submerge the rust affected item in some a container full of vinegar and leave it there overnight. Finally, you will only be left with the chore of scraping away the loosened rust in the morning.

Cleaning Rust Using Lime or Lemon Juice

Lime or lemon juice works particularly well for the rust stains that have formed over your clothing. That said, it can also work effectively over objects that have formed rust. To do so, you will have to first sprinkle the affected area with some salt and then soak the object in lime or lemon juice. After an hour or so, you can go ahead and scrape the rusted surface using a crumpled aluminum ball.

The citric mixture would’ve done its job!

2.     Cleaning Rust Using Pastes

Making a Paste with the Cream of Tartar and Hydrogen Peroxide

Here, the consistency of paste will have to be the same as the one in the former method by adding more cream of tartar as opposed to hydrogen peroxide. Once you have made this paste, you can go ahead and apply this over the rusted surface. Now, again, you will have to work the rust off the surface using an abrasive object.

3.     Cleaning Rust with WD-40

This multi-use product has been known to be a great counter agent against rust and as a preventative measure as well. All you will have to do is soak the rusted item with WD-40 and then scrub over it using a wire brush.

You can go ahead and test small areas of the rusted object to check whether WD-40 damages it. If you apply WD-40 regularly on surfaces that are prone to rust you will never see the rust return. If normal WD-40 products don’t seem to work as efficiently as you imagined, then you can also get yourself the WD-40 Specialist Penetrant. This product has been specially designed to penetrate grime and rust so that they can be easily removed from any surface.

There you have it, folks; with the right household tools in your arsenal, you will never have to deal with rust again!

To follow all the news of WD-40 Africa, follow us on Facebook and Instagram !