Rust removal from shocks

[Bikekid786]

Hi fellow Hubbers, does anyone have any methods of removing rust from fork shock stanchions? I've been doing some research and found many people using coca cola or white vinegar and aluminum foil to scrub off the rust.

[Alouette3]

Scotch brite, or progressively finer grade sand paper.

 

Unfortunately when those stanchions rust it goes through the chrome and ruins the fork, buggering the bushings.

 

If it's not bad yet you lucky. Pop the lowers off, then sand down the rust spots on the stanchions and keep it oiled or even spray regularly with some silicone spray so the rust doesn't get worse. Might prolong the life a little while you save up for a replacement.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Alouette3

[Bikekid786]

Thank you for the advice @Alouette , going to try this. I was trying my luck before I spring for a fork. Going to try the tricks tomorrow and post the results here.

[Chadvdw67]

I have used Coca-Cola and green Scotch Brite pads successfully to remove surface rust

[lyslexic]

metal polish works

so does foil 

[Bikekid786]

So I tried out the vinegar trick today and was really surprised at how well it works. I poured some white vinegar into a bowl, then dipped some pieces of aluminum foil into the vinegar and began scrubbing away at the rust on the stanchions. Its about 80% clean and I can actually see the original shine. I applied a generous coat of Q20 afterwards and will keep them oiled regularly. Some areas were a bit too bad so the trick didn't work but its looks much better than before. Image attached

[Bikekid786]

Image

[Bikekid786]

Another view

[Bikekid786]

View 2

[Bikekid786]

The before shot