How to remove rust from cast iron fire insert

[Dianne]

Hi,we have bought Liberon Paste to restore the black insert but the arch looks rusty.

Is there a product I should use before using the Liberon on the arch or should I just use a wire brush?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Dianne

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm not aware of any magic rust removal solutions, though that's not to say they don't exist somewhere. Depending on the extent and severity of the rust I'd probably start with a wire brush (try buying a pack of different types and stiffness to find the best one for your job in hand) or some emery cloth. There are also abrasive pads of various grades that might be useful. Also steel wool might be worth a try. At least experimenting is unlikely to do much damage cast iron

If the rust is very bad then grit blasting might be an option, but this is quite a major procedure and might not be easy in situ so best avoided if possible. I'd try to do the best I could with a wire brush of emery cloth and then apply the blacking paste and see if the result is acceptable. If not, start again but with a more aggressive method.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

 

[Kearn]

Wire wool or for larger / more stubborn areas then you can get various attachments for a power drill. Just be careful about too using too high a speed / pressure. Cleaned up all of my wrought iron windows this way when I stripped them back to restore. Slow, but very rewarding

 

[skier-hughes]

I used various wire brush attachments for my drill to clean ours, including some stubborn paint.

 

[Tony.]

A dremel like tool could be useful