Rust911: Rust Remover Concentrate 1-gal Makes 16-gallons

Trying to get an antique car back to running condition, and the gas tank had lots of rust inside. I got rid of the old gas and washed it out as best I good, but there was still lots of rust. Since this makes enough to fill the tank, I thought I'd give it a try. The key I found is that cold water won't work. I filled it up, but after 12 hours, not much had happened. Recommendations were to warm it up a little, so I put a 500 watt halogen work light next to the tank. Once the solution warmed up, it did wonders! Two days later, the solution had turned black as coffee and I couldn't even see the bottom of the tank anymore. Once I got the solution out, all I can say is WOW! It cleaned up the rust beautifully on a 77 year old gas tank. The sender was sitting in it, and the tank was as rusty as the sender. The bottom of the sender is pretty much how well the tank cleaned up.

I wish that I'd taken before pictures, but this product did a very good job of removing rust from several moderately rusted items that just barely fit into a 4 gallon rectangular tub. I only used 16 oz of the concentrate mixed with two gallons of water and then flipped the sides that were not submerged over after about an hour. Worked really well on the cast-iron heavy AC compressor bracket and brake pedal, and still quite good but not as great on the brake pedal bracket, made from thinner stamped steel that likely had some coating. Better results and much more cost-effective than Evaporust. I did hit all of the parts with a brass brush drill attachment first in order to not waste the chemical on stuff that could easily be removed mechanically. Very effective product that I'll buy again when I run out.

Rust 911 is inexpensive, safe to use, and kills rust, as claimed. It does NOT remove paint, primer, or body filler, but the manufacturer never claimed it does so. The parts to be derusted must be thoroughly stripped of paint before treatment with Rust 911, which can be a lot of work with today's wimpy paint stripper liquids. After treatment, the rust is transformed to a black film that must be brushed from the metal; I've found scrubbing with a stainless steel toothbrush works well. To loosen the film in hidden areas, like behind brackets, I pour a tablespoonful of steel BBs into the hidden area, tape off the holes, and vigorously shake the part. Then I remove the tape, pour out the BBs, and dunk the part back into the Rust 911 to flush the loosened particles. Several repeats of this procedure does a pretty good job removing rust from the hidden areas - slick! Even the non-rusted areas of the metal will have dark stains after treatment with Rust 911; they must also be scrubbed or sanded off. Then I rinse the metal with clear water and wipe it with phosphoric acid (metal prep) to prevent re-rusting. I also noticed if the part to be derusted is too big to be completely submerged, Rust 911 will etch a shallow groove into the part right at the waterline, which was a bit of a surprise. Overall, a good tool, but not magic.

Removes rust as described. It WILL remove "Light Surface Rust" in 30-60 minutes, but most of the rust I'm battling takes longer. On heavy issues, I've left for quite some time, including an occasional brushing and rinsing. While removal of rust will mean some material is being removed, I have not found that the product damages the remaining surface. It doesn't even remove the paint unless there was rust between the metal and the paint already. I'm not seeing it remove 'magic marker' as a general rule. It finally gives up its rust removal qualities with time, but you can use it for multiple soakings on multiple parts. It says it can be poured down drain and it doesn't burn skin (albeit I still rinse skin if contact). If you need multiple gallons of the solution, this format is the product to use as you're not paying for the water and extra packaging/shipping. Also note that you just use the amount stated as 'adding extra' does not increase effectiveness. Just wish i had huge container to dip extra large parts. Highly recommend. Will re-order.

Showing my gas tank when I dumped in Rust 911. I actually had 11 year old horrible buildup in my tank that required “step zero”. First I started with nails/screws/gravel/lacquer thinner and shook it around a bunch to initially break up the worst of it and dump that out. Then I added this Rust 911, filled it to the top with tap water and let it sit for 10 hours. The remaining residue is loose and comes off easily by hand, but the tank is plenty serviceable for reinstall. I’m a real customer doing this stuff in the back yard and I’m pretty excited I was able to salvage the tank for my 1992 Eagle Talon.