How to remove rust from Cocktail legs ?

[Level42]

OK, decided to start some work on my cocktail restoration.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=49668.0)

The legs are badly rusted, all spots. The metal used to be blank metal/shiny. I want to restore these as much as possible and possibly powder coat them in the end.

What would be the best way to get rid of the rust and get a smooth result:
Sanding (excentric sander) or sandblasting ?
I can't do the sandblasting myself though...

[Animeka]

If you're thinking of getting them powdercoated, most places offer to sandblast the metal prior to the coating... For better adherence/making sure nothing's left...

Marc

[NightGod]

Personally, I'd sand them as best I could, use some of that Rust-Oleum Rust Converter paint to help prevent any futher rust and then either use Bondo to take care of the pitting or holes and then sand is smooth and paint from there.

That's assuming you are planing on painting it yourself, as Animeka said, most poweder coating companies will do the sandblasting for you.

[krick]

Before you resort to sanding, you might want to try this...

Turtle Wax T-280R Chrome Polish and Rust Remover
http://tinyurl.com/zz2zl

Or this...

GS27 Scratch Removal Kit
http://tinyurl.com/j4mgg

I remember the TV commercials...  "GS-27 Scratch Remover is so effective it will remove even ugly surface rust from chrome bumpers"


You should also try using fine steel wool to polish and remove the rust.

[NightGod]

The chrome bumper thing reminded me of an episode of Mythbusters. End result of it was-Coke + tin foil work amazingly to get rust off of chrome.

[MaximRecoil]

Damn near anything will take rust off chrome. I used one of those green dish scrubber things to take rust of a chrome BMX frame when I was a kid. The problem is, a lot of times it is rusted through the chrome plating and/or the plating is peeling, in which case the chrome is ruined.

[original_maxlamer]

Try rust converter with dish scrubber followed by metal polish with a rag and see how it comes up, being that its the legs and you probably wont look at them much so you may be satisfied with the result.

If not all the chrome will need to be sand blasted off then rechromed/painted.  You cant just paint over chrome as the paint wont stick to it and will scratch off easily.

If you go to rechrome get more items togather to rechrome as it gets cheaper per item the more items you want chromed at the same time

[londonbabe]

I have the exact same cocktail cabinet as you, and got rid of the rust on my legs with a wire brush attachment on an electric drill. It's possible to get it right down to bare metal in next to no time but you have to make sure the legs are securely held. And wear eye protection, and some heavy duty gloves.

The wire brush also did an amazing job bringing the adjustable feet back into commission.

I think the original finish was satin or brushed steel, so rather than rechroming I spray painted the legs with a dark silver aerosol can. Didn't use a clearcoat as I wanted the slightly satin finish, and it worked pretty well. Finished off with new end capping pieces in grey.

[Level42]

Wow thanks for all those tips !!!

I like the Mythbusters solution, very cheap HAHAHA

Londonbabe, do you have any pictures of your work ?? Would be great !

What kind of wire brush did you use, something like this:


or this:



Doesn't this method make scratches ?

My cocktail came with one leg missing......currently I put a set of Pinball legs under it, but it looks wrong (too big). Industrias Lorenzo seems to carry the cocktail legs, but I can't buy with them directly. http://www.industrias-lorenzo.com/g3repository/PRODUCTO/219561F0.PDF

Not 100% sure these are the right ones though...

[RayB]

Surface rust comes right off with an SOS pad.

Then go for the more heavy-duty options mentioned above for any remaining "tough rust".

[londonbabe]

I tried both kinds of wire brush, but the first sort I found more effective at getting into the corners, so I stuck with it.

Edit: changed the pictures so you can actually see how the legs turned out. The last one is obviously the before!

[RandyT]

I picked up a High-Speed pinball a little while ago and the legs were in really bad shape from living in the guy's barn for so long.

I went to work on them with a wire brush (like the first one in the above post) attached to a horizontal buffer / grinder.  Took the rust right off (even the heavy stuff) and after about a half hour of worth of work, they looked almost new.  The only thing I would recommend is a good cleaning afterward and a coat of clear, rust resistant paint (or powder coating).  Once you strip all that rust (and surface metals) from the legs, they will want to start rusting again.

You might also look into some "faux chrome" powder coat.  It's amazing what they can do with that stuff nowadays and it will be cheaper than chrome.

RandyT

[Level42]

Hey Londonbabe, HOLY SH*T ! FANTASTIC !!!!

Those legs look TIGHT !!!

May I ask where you got the new end-rubbers ?

When I compare your cocktail to mine, your legs looked actualy even worse then mine. The "woodwork" and metal casing look a lot better on yours though. What did you do to fix the black metal so tightly ?

Looks yours had a broken glass ? My glass is still intact, but the paint has come off on several spots, and are still coming off. What would be best, cleaning all the old paint and re-paint or touching up the old paint ?
How did you paint the glass ?

.......sorry for all those questions   Anyway, very well done restoration 

Randy: Yes the powdercoating "chrome" looks great. I once got a PM from a guy here who has a powder coating company....take a look here at what he did with some pinball legs:
http://www.powderperfect.com/example.asp

But I sure do like the look of Londonbabe's legs too (that's his cocktail legs  )

[londonbabe]

To be honest I liberated the end rubbers from a desk at work! (pulled them out of the side that was against the wall )

With the black, there was some rust taking hold on some parts such as the door hinges, so that got the wire brush but mostly very light rust that I took off with sandpaper. I used coarse sandpaper to key up the black finish, and sprayed it all with a couple of coats of satin black. Buy a large can.

Replacement glass was

[Level42]

To be honest I liberated the end rubbers from a desk at work! (pulled them out of the side that was against the wall )

Whahahahaha shhhh....any spare desks left ? Guess, they should be available here then, standard stuff....
 

With the black, there was some rust taking hold on some parts such as the door hinges, so that got the wire brush but mostly very light rust that I took off with sandpaper. I used coarse sandpaper to key up the black finish, and sprayed it all with a couple of coats of satin black. Buy a large can.

Wouldn't have guessed you'd done that with a can, nice job !

Replacement glass was

[londonbabe]

Yep, got rounded corners and polished edges done for

[Level42]

Well that's not bad for a finished glass like that.

Yeah, mine will too need that stuff on the edges. I wonder why no T-molding site is selling this stuff. Either it's impossible to get, or it's at every DIY store around the corner...

Well, my original monitor still works, although it probably needs a cap-kit. I hope to be able to use it. It will be vertical shooters only with 2 way movement only....

[pmc]

I just tried aluminum foil and coke (well, Diet Pepsi anyway) on rusty joystick handles. I was suprised how well it worked to remove large black stained areas.

I put the stick handle in my drill and spun it while I worked it with the foil. Finished off with 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper at high-speed.

I'm happy with the results.

Thanks to this thread for the inspiration.

-pmc