How To Prevent Rust From Ruining Your Metals
Admin • November 29, 2017
Rust is an annoying type of corrosion. It stains your clothes, messes up your tools, makes your car look old and ugly and even ruins your outdoor decorations. But rust is much more than just a minor annoyance. It can be detrimental to buildings, bridges and any type of metal that is exposed to the elements.
The best way to combat rust is to prevent it before it even happens. Here are a few ways to do this.
Keep Your Metals Dry
Rust is the result of the combination of iron, water and oxygen. If you want to prevent rust from occurring, keep them dry. Keep your tools, bikes, guns and everything else you have that is metal out of the rain.
If you have to get your metal items wet, wipe them down as soon as possible. Not only will wiping them down remove the rain water, but it will also remove the salt and moisture on your hands that you transfer from handling the objects.
Coat Your Metals
Another way to keep your metals dry and safe from the elements is to paint them with spray-on wax or an oil coating you can get from your mechanic or car shop. This coating was made to be used on cars, but it can also be used on tools and any other metals that need protection from the damaging effects of water.
Make Your Own Coating
If you are a do-it-yourself person and prefer to make things at home, then you can make your own coating with ingredients found in your garage. All you have to do is combine 1 part lanolin with 5 parts paint thinner. Once you have those combined, you can either brush it on or dip your metals into the mixture, then allow them to dry.
Remove Trouble Spots Immediately
Once your metal starts to rust you must act quickly. A small rust spot is often the start of a bigger problem. Remove the rust with a razor blade to pick off the spot of rust, and then wash the spot thoroughly with mild soap and water. Follow that up with a thorough exam of your metal to locate any other trouble spots or potential hazards.
Buy a Dehumidifier
If you live in a humid climate, then you understand better than anyone how rust can affect your metals. To prevent the moisture in the air from ruining the metals in your garage or shop, buy a dehumidifier to keep in there. By controlling the moisture in the air you are controlling how much moisture reaches your metal and slowing down the oxidation process.
Store your Tools in Oil and Sand
One way to prevent your tools from rusting is to take left-over oil from an oil change, or any type of oil, and dump it into a bucket of sand. When you're not using your tools, keep them in the bucket. The sand will keep them dry, and the oil will give them a protective coating for when they are being used.
Replacing old rusted metals isn't always an option, but rust doesn't have to ruin everything. Take these preventative strategies from the moment you purchase your metals and they will have a long and happy life.
If you have taken all of these steps and are still dealing with rust, or if you have a piece of metal that you don't think will survive, call the professionals at Sam's Welding, Inc. If we can't fully remove the rust then we'll replace the affected parts with new pieces and have your metals looking as good as new in no time.
Most Popular Types of Welding
Are you hiring a welder to get something fabricated or repaired? Sam's Welding Inc. offers the following types of welding in El Cajon: Gas metal arc welding. Perhaps the most popular of them all, this method is also known by its abbreviations GMAW or MIG, for metal inert gas. It’s an average of five times faster than electrical arc methods and includes four material transfer options: spray, pulsed spray, globular and short circuiting. Shielded metal arc welding. A form of stick welding commonly known as SMAW, this process uses electrical current to form an arc between the rod and metals in production. Uses include industrial fabrication such as the construction of iron and steel structures. Gas tungsten arc welding. This method is known as TIG or GTAW and requires the most skill, as heat is continuously regulated by means of a foot pedal. If amperage is set too high, you can end up burning holes in the metal. If it’s too low, the weld won’t flow properly. It’s especially useful for combining thick pieces of stainless steel and ironless metals. Flux-cored arc welding. Unlike MIG and TIG, FCAW keeps contamination out by means of a flux. This process doesn’t require a shielding gas, can be done outdoors and is quite efficient. Working with different positions such as horizontal, vertical and tee joints requires different machine configurations. Serving San Diego, CA Whether you need several hundred pieces or just one, we’re happy to take on the project for you. We are combat veteran owned and have more than two decades of experience handling military projects with success. We serve El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, and the entire county. We have expertise with the design and fabrication of gates and fences. You’re welcome to walk into our San Diego shop or call us anytime at 619-281-2709 .
Whether you have some new projects lined up to modify and enhance your home or there are some significant repairs that need to be done to some of the metalwork, you want to have a professional metal welder on the job. There are numerous specific instances in which having welding done by a certified military group such as Sam’s Welding Inc. in El Cajon is worth your investment. Perhaps you need a car welder to perform some precise car part welding or you need to ensure the safety of a premises with some security door welding . Of course, not everything that involves metal fabrication or repair is on a large scale. More often than not, welding is needed for smaller things that see use on a daily basis, such as: Staircases Hand railings Gates Fences As far as stairs are concerned, our professionals can help with anything from a new hand railing to a completely new and complex spiral staircase. Even if the work needs to be done outside on fences and gates where the materials need to be more durable, our nearly four decades of experience in the field have given us the knowledge of how to complete jobs in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and keeps you and your loved ones safe. Serving El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee Metalwork, whether it is basic framing or a more elaborate fence job, has a large impact on our lives every day. Therefore, when the time comes in which you decide to invest in modifications, fabrications, or repairs, you’d better be sure that you have qualified people doing the work. That’s what you’ll get when you call Sam’s Welding at 619-281-2709 . If you live in El Cajon, La Mesa or Santee, ask about our walk-in and mobile services to maximize our availability to you.
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