Methods for Preserving Metal

[alpinewinter]

I'm working on cleaning up my PET 2001 which at some point sustained some liquid damage inside the chassis and seems to have been stored in a humid environment generally.

I thought about sanding and painting the spot inside the case, but I don't think it would look that great and I'd like to do as little as possible to the machine in general. I'm also a little concerned about the surface rust on the transformer.

My question is what would be a good preservative to put on the surface of these components to basically prevent any further corrosion, or at least slow it way down. I thought about something like paste wax, but I'm hesitant to use a petroleum based product on the paint and also when the transformer heats up I imagine it would have quite a stench to it.

Any ideas for something mild that will stick around long enough to protect but also not stink and collect a lot of dust? Does such a thing exist?

 

[Chuck(G)]

I don't know what the surface on the sheet metal is; looks like hammertone paint, which should be easy to redo.
As far as the transformer goes, sand off the rust and coat with a good polyurethane varnish.

 

[homeline]

On the chassis, soak the rusted areas in white vinegar, and let it sit for a few hours. That will get rid of the most visible rust. Rinse off with water and dry thoroughly. Oil can be wiped on to slow down further rusting, but you are right....it will collect dust. The flat areas could be waxed. Spraying on a clear coat would work too.

Evapo-Rust works better than vinegar, but for best results you need to fully submerg part being treated.

The transformer...I would leave it alone. Was probably that rusty when 6 months old.

 

[NeXT]

It looks like just surface rust. I'd leave it alone entirely as there is no risk of it getting worse.
Otherwise I'd rub them down with steel wool, tape off what I didn't want to get painted and rattlecan the spot. Done.

 

[olePigeon]

If it really bugs you, you could spray it with some matte black Rustoleum after you've cleaned it. That'd protect the exposed metal and would at least kinda-sorta match the rest of the black.

 

[rlerner]

If you wanted to go a bit crazier, actually fix the rust, and spend a bit more time doing it, you could always media/bead/sand blast it and repaint the entire case.

If that's not something you can take on, vinegar or rust convertor are your other best options, neither look good without more effort tho.

 

[Chuck(G)]

I think the gray area is painted--note the texture. You can see the paint flaking in the damaged area.

 

[alank2]

Aren't there museum grade polishes that can be used to apply a wax type surface?

 

[ziloo]

Dremel type tool with various brushes is your friend!!

 

[Chuck(G)]

Aren't there museum grade polishes that can be used to apply a wax type surface?

Sure, microcrystalline wax, such as Renaissance is pretty much standard in the preservation biz. Not cheap, however