remove rust stains from paint, external rust.... oh great wise peoples

Joe
Try - PLUS "Rust Converter& Primer" www.plusrust.com
Mike

From bitter experience I have found the best way to fix it is clean it all off when you drill the holes.

Have used cutter to get mine off or very fine 800 wet and dry paper

Worth a shot is whats called 'detailers clay'. Comes in a box set (Meguiars the most common, but there are others) with the clay and a lubricant. All directions are in the box, dead easy to use. Should be about $35-$40 from Ripco/Super Crap or Bursons etc....

Make sure you wash the car well first, then hit the spots with the clay. This will hopefully get rid of the swarf particles. Then I'd hit it with a light cutting compound to remove any remaining stains/marks, something like Meguiars Scratch-X would be ideal (no, I don't work for Meguiars, they're just a reasonable product at a reasonable price that are also easy to get hold of). Again, follow the directions on the pack but both these should hopefully solve your problem for under $60 + an hour or so, and do no further damage to your paint.

In a perfect world, I'd also finally wax the area that has been clayed, but up to you and how much effort you want to put in.

Good luck.

Joe,

Have a read of this LCOOL thread it has some great info about detailing.

Cheers Kev

Hi. On the boat I work on we use a product called MARINE CLEAN. It is an acid so be careful. Try it on a small area first where it can't be noticed if it leaves marks. It takes all the rust stains off. But be careful it is an ACID.
Best of luck. Brian

Hi Joe.
Yes Marine clean will treat the rust stains but you may need fine wet and dry paper to loosen the swarf. Careful to remove loosened swarf frequently.

Marine clean is usually phosphoric acid which converts iron oxide (rust) to iron phosphate which will inhibit futher corrosion. Phosphoric should be used carefully but is actually and ingredient of a famous cola drink ( thats why it cleans copper coins!) use diluted at least 1: 10 parts water and rinse after. read the directions.
Cut and polish after.

Cheers SOLo

Hi Joe
From a girls perspective I'm not sure if this will be of any help to you but a trick for removing rust stains on clothes, tiles etc, it to squeeze fresh lemon into the stain and cover with salt, allow to dry and then wash off, the rust is absorbed by the salt after the juice disolves it!
As I said just a girls perspective, may not apply to your needs.
Cheers
Suellen

hi joe,i work on commercial boats and we use descale to wash decks and get rid of rust stains,it will eat small particles of metal,you can buy from marine shops,its good for steel ,alloy and fibreglass boats that have been painted,ive used it on the troopy to get rid of bad rust stains from my roof rack,,,,it is an acid so please follow instructions and youll have no dramas,it goes by many names,,rust rinse,descale,deckies mate,deck wash.
any probs just ask
dave