The difference between rust inhibitor, rust oil, and rust remover
April 19, 2023
Literally, rust inhibitors, rust preventive oils, and rust removers are all related to rust and have similar aspects, but there are still significant differences in their principles and applications.
Purpose Rust remover: Remove rust stains that already exist on metal workpieces. Rust inhibitor/oil: To prevent metal workpieces from rusting during storage and transportation. Effect Rust remover: rust removal and anti-corrosion, loosening and lubrication, cleaning and drying, and improving conductivity. Anti rust agent/oil: anti rust lubrication, loose rust penetration, dehumidification and cleaning. Advantages and disadvantages Rust remover: mainly divided into three types, namely acidic, alkaline, and neutral. Strong acid rust removal is fast, with obvious effects and fast rust return; Strong alkalinity, strong corrosiveness, difficult to operate, high requirements for operators, improper operation can easily cause burns; The neutral speed is fast, the effect is obvious, does not harm metal, is green and environmentally friendly, and is easy to operate and use. Rust inhibitors: divided into water-soluble rust inhibitors, oil soluble rust inhibitors, emulsified rust inhibitors, and vapor phase rust inhibitors. Water soluble rust inhibitor: Water based rust inhibitor, free of chloride and phosphate, environmentally safe, worry free to use, limited rust prevention cycle, several days to several months. If there are certain packaging or storage conditions, the time can be more than a year. Oil soluble anti rust agent: Anti rust oil is a general term for it, which can be commonly divided into 7 types: volatile anti rust oil (solvent diluted anti rust oil), sealed anti rust oil, dehydrated anti rust oil, displacement anti rust oil, emulsified anti rust oil (water-based anti rust oil), lubricating anti rust oil, anti rust grease, etc., which will not be explained in detail. Emulsified rust inhibitors: divided into oil-in-water emulsions and oil-in-water emulsions. They are free from cleaning, have low consumption, low overall cost, low skin irritation, have high water quality requirements, require specialized personnel for maintenance, and are prone to bacterial growth. Vapor phase rust inhibitor: reliable performance, long rust prevention period, simple operation, convenient use, easy to decompose in strong acids and alkalis, and also easy to decompose in light and humid environments.
How to select If the workpiece has already rusted, rust remover can be selected. If the workpiece has not rusted yet, water-based rust inhibitor is the main rust inhibitor between processes, and long-term rust prevention is mainly based on rust preventive oil. Compared to rust preventive oil, water-based rust inhibitors are more green and environmentally friendly, with good washability. They can be removed or directly processed when entering the next metal processing step, and have good compatibility with other water-based processing media such as cutting fluid, grinding fluid, cleaning agents, etc. They can also be added to the same water-soluble industrial media products to enhance the overall rust resistance of the system.
