[cgrocen]

If you want to try soaking the parts in a rust removal solution, you might want to try a mixture of water and molasses. I have used it with great success. 1 part feed grade molasses and 9 parts water. Soak the part for about 2-3 weeks, and the rust is gone. You can buy a 5 gallon pail of feed grade molasses for about 30 bucks. You will have to wash the parts thoroughly after you remove them from the mixture. The parts will flash rust when dry. After the parts are dry I spray on a coating of POR-15 Metal Prep. It contains phosphoric acid. It etches the metal preventing any flash rusting. Pros: cheap and it works. Cons: It takes a long time, weeks, and the solution reeks! Bottom line IMHO it is economical and it works great. It is not acidic and won't harm good metal. Here are some replacement panels that I bought that were covered with surface rust. I made a "container" to hold them in for about two weeks. Last photo shows clean bare metal after pressure washing them, but before coating with metal prep.