Has anyone tried a rust converter such as the one made by Kleen Strip in lieu of trying to sand out small chips before applying touch up paint?

My second-hand TL has a number of "small" chips on the front end that seem to go to bare metal with slight surface rusting. These are so small that sand them out would make the area to be repaired 5 times or more larger. It would seem to make sense to use the rust converter rather than trying to sand these out.

Anyone have experience with this? Supposedly the converted rust acts as a primer (as per product label). Did you prime over it anyway and then apply touch up and clear coat? Any downsides?

Thanks,
Steve

PS - I did search the forums, but I'm not too impressed with how the search function works. Seems you end up with a million hits or zero.

 

I can't say that I have used this stuff before but I'd be interested in how it works out for anyone that does try it out.

 

I ventured forth in trying this - I don't believe there is a real downside... or if problems crop up, it will be well down the road.

I used the Kleen Strip product in the 8oz (?) bottle. The instructions warn you to put some in an alternate container to apply from as (apparently) getting rust into the bottle will deactivate the entire container. I put a wee bit in a plastic bottle lid. Consistency of the product is rather like Pepto-Bismol, except tan in color.

I used a toothpick and applied as small a speck as possible in each target chip. Mostly this was more than enough. I did this even for the chips that didn't seem to have any visible rust. The instructions say to allow the product to dry 24 hours before coating.

I just looked at the spots I applied the product to. Where the product touched rust or possibly bare metal or primer, it turned black - as the instructions stated (for rust). The small amounts that got on surrounding paint appear to have dried clear.

Once the 24 hours have passed, I'll complete with factory touch up - probably using the "pen" applicator. Depending on how that looks I may sand it down lightly, may apply clear coat on top of that or may just use a little polishing compound to finish out. Duragloss 105 will follow down the road.

Steve

 

Does the factory touch-up come loaded with clear already? I was under the assumption that the clear is already mixed in with the factory touch-up paint.

 

Apparently not. The instructions say to apply clear coat after drying 24 hours. On the other hand, the paint itself is fairly shiny - at least in Anthracite Metalic. The size of the repair may be the best guide to clear coating or not. Pin head size flaws may draw more attention with clear coat... I don't know, I'm experimenting

Right, wrong or indifferent the clear coat that I will use is from Duplicolor. I would think/hope it's compatible. As an aside, the factory touch up came in the same type 2 in 1 applicator (roller ball & brush) as the Duplicolor.

Steve

 

I wonder if this is any different than "Navel Jelly " which has been around for years.

 

Great question. I know about Naval Jelly, but never used it. Wikipedia says phosphoric acid is the active ingredient in NJ and that rust (iron oxide) is converted to a phosphate compound which is water soluble. Therefore I believe it is NOT "Naval Jelly-like".

Rust converters apparently use tannic acid to convert the iron oxide to iron tannate, which is stable.

And no, I'm not a chemist - but I know how to use Google effectively http://www.alan.net/prgshoptips/rustconv.html

Steve

 

Just to follow up on questions about factory touch up paint and clear coat - as per Acura's instructions on the touch up paint bottle, I overcoated it some clear coat. I used Duplicolor clear coat.

For at least Anthracite Metalic, the clear coat does help the touch-up blend in. I felt that the touch up paint was somewhat lighter than the original paint, but applying clear coat over it seemed to darken it somewhat. It may not be actually darker, but may affect how the light reflects off of the paint. It blends in better after clear coating.

I'm still experimenting with the best method of touching up. Right now I'm lightly wet sanding the touchups with 600 grit, then 1500 grit wet/dry silicon carbide paper. The 1500 WILL leave scratches in the original clear coat. I then use some Turtle Wax POLISHING (not RUBBING) compound to polish these out - they come out fairly easy. After the paint has cured for a few weeks I'll go back and apply Duragloss 105 on them - actually I'll probably just reseal the entire car.

Can you see the touch-ups? Yes - IF you look for them. A casual glance from 3 feet or more and you won't see anything but the worst one (maybe 3/4" x 1/16" gouge). From 6', unless you have good eyes, the light is right and you're looking for them, I don't think you'll spot them. As far as I'm concerned, they're much better than they were and mostly it's just cost me time. I have definitely learned a wee bit while working on these chips. My advice to anyone trying this is to just take your time. I'm dinking with these over a period of days... not sitting down and trying to fix everything at once.

Steve

 

excellent info dude love your posts as you are so detailed and methodical. I have some chips with rust which I'll try to take out this weekend.

Thanks,

 

Thanks. I've learned a lot from everyone else's posts, so I'm just trying to return the favor.

Enjoy the weekend!
Steve

 

Thanks Steve I see that "Defective HFL" is removed from your sig - does that mean it's resolved?

 

No, HFL is still mostly dead. Will come to life sometimes, but won't bond w/phone. Module is $400 to purchase, installation is easy... but I don't have that in my budget right now. I have a 'WTB' on Craigslist in my area, but I'm not holding my breath. Ironically I ran across someone else on Craigslist looking for the exact same thing. I've never tried annoying Acura customer service. Replacement under 'good will' was denied (I would have thought they would have at least offered to split the cost).

So... dead HFL doesn't bother me that much. I have a hood repair and bumper repaint that I'll tend to first. But before that, I have to get re-employed.

Thanks for asking!