Quadrafire Isle Royal rusting

[roc1784y]

Hello,
I have a quadrafire isle royale stove that has surface rust (I have an old dog that licks the stove). The stove is matte black so I plan on using a wire brush and vinegar to remove the rust and then re-paint it with stove paint.

The question I have is that the top loading part, the griddle, is not matte black and also has rust on it. Once I clean it should I coat it with something? If so what?

Also is vinegar ok to use to clean rust off of a stove?

Thanks,
roc

 

[Woody5506]

If you just clean rust off something without recoating it, especially cast iron, it's just going to rust again. Clean and recoat ASAP.

Vinegar would work to clean, I prefer something with a little more kick like lacquer thinner.

 

[jetsam]

That's a hardcore dog!

If you clean it with vinegar, wipe it with baking soda solution to neutralize the acid,. After you do whatever paint scuffing you are going to do, clean off the baking soda with water. Dry it off and and paint with stove paint.

What was the original coating on the griddle? Paint? Porcelain?

 

[Woody5506]

Cast iron is so porous, I wouldn't wipe it with water. Skip the vinegar and baking soda altogether and just use a solvent like lacquer thinner or mineral spirits and be done with it.

It's the same way metal parts that get soda blasted need to be treated afterwards prior to being recoated.

 

[begreen]

Agreed. Skip the vinegar. Wire brush it down well to remove rust. Then wipe down with a solvent. Alcohol works too. The paint is acetone based. Paint it in an area with very good ventilation at a temp above 60F. Do light coats and let dry for 15 minutes between coats. Wear a vapor mask if you have one. Stove Brite paint is good stuff but it eats brain cells.

Don't paint the griddle top, just wire brush it down and may follow with some steel wool.

 

[roc1784y]

I am not sure what the original coating of the griddle was, I think it was some kind of oil. It had a wax paper cover you peeled off of it and an oil-like substance that eventually burned off of it.

I never had a problem with rust until the dog started licking the stove this summer (she is senile).

 

[begreen]

You could give the griddle a very light coating of oil, but it's unnecessary if the stove is going to be burning soon. It'll just burn off. Vegetable oil might be the most pleasant.

 

[roc1784y]

My wife thinks that since the surface rust is very light and she is afraid will will scratch or damage the metal with wire brushes. The rust is not heavy at all, it is not flaking or built up. Could we use some rust removal spray and wipe it off? She said this is what her parents did with their stove growing up. I am just concerned about how the a rust removal spray will react to the heat of the stove and or damage the paint.

Is there spray we can use to just wipe the rust off or would it be best to use a wire brush and repaint.

 

[jetsam]

You get to breathe the burned fumes of whatever you spray on there. What's in the spray?

If you're worried about the wire brush scoring the surface, use one with brass bristles. Any scratches you see from that are in the old finish (brass is softer than iron or steel).

I wouldn't worry about using a steel brush though, the scratches won't be visible after it's painted.

 

[Woody5506]

You're kinda making a science project out of this. If the rust is that light then use a brillo pad, wipe down with thinner to clean and then paint it.

 

[Woody5506]

And for what it's worth I'm a foreman in an industrial metal coating shop, if that makes my advice any more or less valuable...lol

 

[begreen]

I'd use steel wool, wipe off the dust, then wipe down with alcohol and paint.

You get to breathe the burned fumes of whatever you spray on there. What's in the spray?

The fumes are acetone, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene vapors. As the paint dries they dissipate. The fumes as the paint bakes in are not the same and though obnoxious, they're considered safe. The MSDS goes into detail about risks and chronic exposure.