When is Rust Too Much Rust

[Pete7072]

My dozer plow attachment came with my 1200. It looks like to me that it has been stored for the past 20+ years outside in the elements. I started to hit it with a wire brush attachment on my drill in an attempt to get it down to bare metal and repaint it. I started thinking to myself, should I not even bother and hope it lasts, or should I continue through ?

[J-Mech]

Keep wire wheeling it off and paint it. That is cleaning up nice, it will be fine.

[Pete7072]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Keep wire wheeling it off and paint it. That is cleaning up nice, it will be fine.

Pretty much just disregard the pitting, remove the rust, paint and prime ?

[Mike McKown]

If you want that to look nice and hold paint, I'd media blast the rust. Wire wheels aren't real great about getting rust out of the bottom of the pits and around coil springs.

[john hall]

Certainly what you have there is salvageable. If you are going to use it you don't have to strip off the good paint, just the rust. Obviously will look better if you take it all the way down. Faster method is a 4" grinder with knot wire brush, be careful as those things don't play (if they kick it can get bad fast) and they tend to throw wires into your clothes and sometimes yourself. You could take it to a sandblaster and have them take care of it for you. There are products you can buy that are rust converters, but you have to be real careful with that stuff and they are certainly not a magic bullet.
Here is a pic of one of my rust buckets. Long story short it sat outdoors for 60 years before I got it. We had it running and driving in about 8 or 9 months, life got in the way so painting may be a never happens thing. We did clean and paint most of the engine components along the way while it was apart.
Cleaning for painting is a mundane task. I don't really care if I ever paint anything again, just turning wrenches is good for me. To keep you encouraged, here is another pic of one of my toys. We wire brushed everything on it--took forever and a day. I used a rust converter on most everything.

Not trying to hijack your thread here, just saying been there done that, and questioned why the entire process, so know that you aren't alone.

[Pete7072]

Yes, I was actually thinking about getting a portable sand blaster just for this project.

[Cub Cadet 123]

If the rust pits bother you, then you can get a small plastic scraper and some JB Weld in a tube at Wal Mart to fill the holes in (or bondo or whatever you normally use--not worth debating what is the best), then lightly sand over before you paint. LOL (Lots Of Luck) on your project.

Cub Cadet 123

[zippy1]

Originally Posted by Pete7072

Yes, I was actually thinking about getting a portable sand blaster just for this project.

It'll take a lot of work with a portable blaster, and a bunch of media. I use Black Diamond. It cuts well, but takes time and patents. And you'll be getting sand where you normally don't.
If you want to do it yourself, scrape as much of the flaky stuff off first. If you aren't going to be using the blaster for much more than the blade, you may be money ahead to just have it done professionally.
It would also be easier to get everything cleanly blasted and re-painted if you disassemble the blade, springs from the subframe.

[Yosemite Sam]

What Zippy1 said.

I do my share of blasting, but if you don't already own the equipment, you may want to take it to someone with a big honkin blaster. They can clean that up and really make it look nice.

Many times their prices seem kinda high on the surface, several dollars a minute, but they can finish that blade (just the blade) in about 10 minutes.

[finsruskw]

For the small stuff, parts/bolts/nuts/springs etc.
Toss 'em in a bucket/tub/tote w/enough vinegar to cover everything.
let sit overnite/or a day, whatever.
The rust will turn to mush and wire brush right off.
Prime, and paint it w/Rustoleum Canvas White and it'll look like new!
Good Luck!

BTW, that blade ain't got no rust compared to many I have seen!!