best for bare metal?

[dodgerover]

Have always used red lead or similar, the original stop rust was brilliant did a rusty draw bar on a caravan once, the draw bar was fine when scrapped 20 years later, not sure what the current formulation is like as it probably enviromentally friendly.
Tractor places sell red lead in 5 litre cans which works out much cheaper, although be careful over painting it. Too much paint at once and it will react badly.

[cairyhunt]

If its already a bit rusty then por15 from frost.

Sticks like brown smelly stuff to a large linen cloth!

[Mantasport]

I only use Hydrate 80 from www.bilthamber.com on bare metal, by far the best thing i've found.

I did a test about 4 years back on a sheet of normal 1mm thick steel that had been sat in a damp corner and gone rusty all over. I ground clean a strip 1" high across it, then used a wire brush on an angle grinder to clean a 1" strip above that. Then i tried 4 different things in vertical lines (so over all 3 bits ground clean/ wire brushed and rusty)
I used Hydrate 80, Kurust, loctites rust killer and Bilt hambers zinc primer. Then left it in the back garden through 2 yorkshire winters.
The Kurust didn't last 2 months, loctite did a little better about 3 or 4 months. But neither are visable at all now its just rust.
The zinc primer after 4 years is getting rust eating in from the edges of the painted area, the Hydrate 80 still looks mint.

So thats all i use now. 3 or 4 coats of that followed by either their zinc primer (if i want the extra protection) or just Rustoleum with a couple of layers of stonechip under the car.


Most stuff like red-oxide primer and similar have been watered down by the health and safety idiots so they don't work as well as they used to.

[retrojoe]

brilliant! thanks for the replies guys. now i know exactly what to look out for:)
thanks again.
Joe