Rust On Flywheel?

B

Bill Lee/Virginia

Senior Member
I live in a year-round high humidity area near the ocean. My engine, mounted on an engine stand, has developed bright orange rust on the inner rear surface of the flywheel. What materials and tools is best used to clean off the rust? What can I put on the flywheel to keep the rust to a minimum? Thanks for your info and advice.
Bill Lee/Virginia Peninsula
 
I think I would just sand the rust off and apply some oil. If you put oil on the disk surface, just clean it before use.
 
I do what Patrick said for bare metal surfaces. I often wipe them with oil or grease. On something such as starter drives, before I install the starter I'll clean the helix on the Bendix and just give it a light coat of thin oil.
 
I've use straight Penetrol to protect the bare metal on the faces of the flywheels on my hit and miss engines. Had it on some of my engines for years now and it still looks great. Also is a good coating to protect polished brass. It is a paint additive one can get in most any hardware store. Makes oil based paints flow so brush marks don't show. It is listed as a bare metal protectant on the label.

Perhaps another option would be to use a 50/50 mix of boiled lindseed oil and turpentine.
 
If you want long term preservation, nothing beats bees wax. Oil/grease are ephemeral and attract dust and grit, but wax is not and will last a very long time. I use a a highly-refined microcrystalline wax ("Renaissance" brand) on precious metal plating that I want to preserve while in storage. Museums use it for priceless artifacts.

For cast iron machine tables and such (table saws, drill presses, flywheels), beeswax or paraffin works well. I coat the ends of collected wood specimens (for pen turnings, etc.) with beeswax to slow the drying process and to prevent cracks. Heat or solvents like Brakleen will remove the wax when a flywheel in needed for service.
 
Mine gets a slight rust film as its on a stand but an angle grinder with a wire wheel in it cleans it up right and smooth. Ive heard wiping some clean oil on it with a rag will keep it from rusting.

What are your guyses thoughts on using a product from Birchwood Casedy called Barricade. Its meant for firearms to prevent rusting and doesn't foul up guns. It works great for firearms i must say. Its about $7 a spray can of it. Leaves a thin oily/waxy surface coat once it fully dries out (sprays out in a liquid and if left sit for an hour it will be a slight film over it all. Then id just use some gun scrubber to take it off.
 
If I read this right you are saying you have rust on the engine side of the flywheel? If this is so buff it off with wire brush or wheel. If it's the disc side sand it off with sand paper with or with out a DA. The spray SeaSlugs might be talking about is TriFlow. It comes in a can like WD-40 but it much better and more expensive than WD. It has teflon in it ans is much more slippery than WD and does leave a coating on it that does help protect against further corrosion.
 
LPS rust inhibitor can't be beat. Leaves a wax film, also great to spray inside door panels as a rust protection on modern vehicles. Its the first thing I do when I get a vehicle, especially the door bottoms. Repeat it once a year and your door bottoms will stay like new. Yes, even here in the King of the Rustbelt.
 
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