Best Rust Converter – Top 12 Reviews [2024 Review]

No matter how well you maintain your metal tools, you’ll see some rust once in a while. When that happens, you can choose to use the best rust converter to remove the rust immediately and save the tool or wait until the rust eats into the metal and you suffer heavy expenses in repairs or replacement.

We’d like to believe you’d go by the former rather than the latter.

Today, we will delve into the 10 finest rust converters on the market. That’s not all. We will also do our best to explain several related topics like how to use rust treatment products correctly and the things to consider when buying.

Note: If you don’t have time to read whole article, then you can choose any product on the table box below.

Our Best Rust Converter Reviews

Corroseal 82331 Water-Based Rust Converter Metal Primer

At the top of our list the Corroseal 82331. This has so much to offer with regards to flexibility, ease of use, effectiveness, and more. Let’s dig our teeth a little deeper.

The product was formulated specifically to handle the harshest of rust. It, therefore, is one of the most effective rust converters you can find today. If you seek the best rust converter for truck frame or any other problematic part of your vehicle or metal equipment, this product will likely be extremely helpful.

Apart from converting the rust on your metal object to magnetite and subsequently eliminating it, this Corroseal formula leaves a latex primer on the metal, thereby protecting it from rust at least for a couple of months.

If you want a rust converting product that doesn’t have adverse effects on your skin, the Corroseal 82331 would be a great choice. It is not only non-corrosive but also non-flammable.

Features

• Easy to clean up with water and soap
• Multiple application methods – brushing, using a roller, spraying
• Non-corrosive and non-flammable
• One step corrosion control in any application
• Highly effective – a gallon treats up to 200 sq.ft.

Rust Converter ULTRA, Highly Effective Professional Grade Rust Repair

Here is one for those who need something that is not only professional but also inexpensive. The Rust Converter ULTRA is so effective that after application, you don’t need to do any sanding or scraping.

This formula works by converting the rust to a black coat and sealing the metal with a protective layer that doesn’t let in moisture. By locking out the moisture, the layer formed by the product protects the metal from rusting again for a couple of months.

Drying time is a factor you want to think about, especially if you live in the Northwest or any other place where the humidity is high and sunlight limited.

For those living in such areas, This one will be extremely appropriate. The product takes only around 20 minutes or so to dry.

This is yet another rust neutralizer that features super-simple use. You have the option of using either a brush, sprayer or roller.

Features

• Covers a wide area – 500 sq.ft. per a gallon
• Dries quickly – around 20 minutes
• Easy cleanup with water and soap
• Forms a protective layer against rusting for a few months

VHT SP229 Rust Convertor Can – 10.25 oz.

Want the easiest to use rust converter? Try a good rust converter spray like the VHT SP229. Between brushing, rolling, and spraying, the latter happens to be the easiest method of application.

While applying the product on rusted areas, the spray is clear, but after settling on the rust for a while, it turns black.

This is proof that the product is not some kind of black paint but rather a true rust stopper that works through chemical processes.

The black layer is capable of offering your metal object protection against rust, but as that’s not permanent protection, we recommend you paint the surface.

There is one downside though – the product takes too long to dry (24 hours). If you live in a high-humidity area or a cold place, you won’t find this product very helpful. However, if you live in a warm area, the drying time will not be much of a problem.

Apart from taking a long time to dry, the rust treatment is very effective when it comes to removing rust.

Features

• Easy to apply
• Produces a black protective coat
• Sands to an even finish
• Effective at eliminating rust
• One of the most inexpensive

PlastiKote 624 Rust Converter

There’s so much to say regarding the quality features of the PlastiKote 624. It is, without a doubt, one of the best with reference to safety and effectiveness.

Sometimes you will paint a metal object in an effort to protect it from rust, and that’s a great move, but then you spot the rust bleeding through the paint. Isn’t that just annoying?

Yep, it happens. But, with this PlastiKote rust neutralizer, you have a chance to boost the effectiveness of the paint.

You can first apply the product on the metal object to neutralize the rust and then apply the paint. How does that work?

The rust stopper forms a coat over the metal object. This coat gives the paint a boost as protection from the rust.

It’s good to always wear a pair of gloves when applying a rust converter but what if the gloves tear and the solution comes into contact with your bare skin? Or, what if it touches another uncovered part of your body? This is why it’s important to go for a product that is not very toxic.

This rust converting primer is non-toxic. It might cause a burning sensation when it comes into contact with your skin, but you need not worry about adverse effects like blisters.

Features

• Non-toxic
• Non-flammable
• Environmentally friendly
• Doesn’t bubble or foam
• Leaves a protective coating on a metal object

Rust-Oleum 215215 Stops Rust Reformer

You care about the environment, and you’re looking to purchase a product that won’t pollute it, right? As the Rust-Oleum 215215 does not contain hazardous chemicals, it doesn’t have adverse effects on the environment.

This rust stopper is extremely effective, making it unnecessary to sand the metal before application. All you have to do is remove the dirt quickly with a brush then apply your rust converter.

Drying up in under 40 minutes, this Rust-Oleum rust killer spray would be perfect for you if you want fast drying times.

Once you have applied the converter, you then have to wait for 24 hours as the product cures before applying the paint. Don’t worry; as long as the product has dried, curing will happen uninterrupted.

We can never adequately emphasize the importance of the method of application in the ease of use. We will say it again – spraying is the easiest method of application. Thus, if you don’t want to use too much effort when applying the product, and if you want to do it as fast as possible, try this Rust-Oleum spray.

Features

• Environmentally friendly
• Dries up quickly
• Creates a paintable surface
• Treats up to 12 square feet

Permatex 81849 Rust Treatment

If you look to get one of the most inexpensive but highly effective rust converters, you can never go wrong with the Permatex 81849.

This product contains two major active components – an organic polymer and an acid (Tannic).

The acid reacts with the rust to form a stable dark-colored layer called iron tannate while the organic polymer creates a protective coat on the surface of the metal that stops further rusting.

Therefore, the rust neutralizer is not just for eliminating rust; it’s a good shield. You can count on its shielding action to prevent rusting for a couple of months but don’t wait till its effectiveness diminishes. Consider applying a high-quality paint to offer the metal robust protection.

Luckily, the coat left by the converter is paintable, and in fact, it has incredible priming power, helping your paint to hold on to the metal in a more stable manner.

It works on all metal objects, removing the rust within minutes. It vanquishes rust on fences, valves, decks, garden equipment, tractors, and more, and it’s particularly good for cars.

Another amazing pro is that you can use it in a wide temperature range. As long as the surface is not hotter than 200 °F, you can apply the rust converter on it.

Features

• Flexible application – spraying or brushing
• Destroys rust quickly
• Leaves a good primer coat for paint
• Usable in a wide temperature range

GEMPLER’S Eco-Friendly RCQ Rust Converter and Primer

Moving on, we have the GEMPLER’S RCQ. This product has virtually all the features you’d want in a rust stopper, from eco-friendliness to effectiveness and ease of use.

First, the product works both as a rust converter and a primer. As it neutralizes the rust, it creates a sturdy layer on the surface of the metal that acts as a good priming surface for the paint. That way, regardless of the metal’s ability to hold paint, the paint will stick there, providing active protection against rust for years to come.

The application process is a no-brainer. You just remove the loose rust and the dirt and apply the product by use of a brush or a sponge. Amazingly, it is super effective, and just a quart will treat up to 125 square feet of metal.

After applying the product, allow it up to 48 hours to dry and cure, and then apply the paint.

You can use it on a wide range of metal items, including cars, metal pipes and tanks, agricultural machinery, even porcelain and rust-stained concrete driveways.

Eco-friendliness is also a vital factor due to the passion and duty of protecting the environment. This rust converting primer from Gempler is eco-friendly and hence won’t impact the environment negatively.

Features

• Eco-friendly
• Non-flammable
• Easy cleanup
• 1 quart treats up to 125 square feet
• Easy to apply

Loctite Extend Rust Neutralizer

The Loctite Extend is very effective, transforming your metal objects and making them appear new again.

What’s more, it doesn’t need you to work too hard to remove the rust. It’s a spray-on solution, and remember what we said about spray-on converters – they’re the easiest to use.

When you spray the product on the rust, chemical reactions take place that transforms the rust and the converter into a black layer. By following that up with paint, you’re able to make a moisture-repellent surface, and as moisture is a major player in rusting, you’re able to protect the metal from further rusting for a long time.

The product is manufactured by a company that has been around for over 55 years. Over this extended period, the company has invested heavily and learned a lot regarding fighting rust and providing world-class quality. Therefore, if you want to buy from a truly reliable brand, the Loctite Extend would be an excellent pick.

Features

• Spray on, 10.25 oz
• Easy to use
• Leaves a protective coat against rusting
• From a reliable brand
• Most inexpensive

AdCoat Rust Converter and Primer

How would you like to transform a heavily rusted metal surface to a nice black surface? That might not be the original color, but we’d like to believe that an evenly black surface is a lot better than an unevenly dark-red rusted surface.

The AdCoat Rust Converter and Primer is designed to transform your rusted surface to a nice black surface on contact.

Before applying it, remember to remove the loose rust with a wire brush. This will increase the chances of the converter reaching the deeper rust.

The product works pretty well, but we’ve seen a few complaints from people who found rust spots a day after the application. Here’s what we discovered – two applications often work better than a single one. Try it and see how it works out for you.

This is a rust converter as well as a primer. If you’re looking to paint a rusted object as a means of dealing with the rust, realize that the rust might bleed through the paint. But, by applying a converter first, you deal with the rust, and you create a nice surface where an oil-based paint can attach itself steadily.

So, who is the AdCoat Rust Converter and Primer for? We found this product to be the best rust converter for cars. Why? It contains leveling agents that fill up those tiny dents and cracks on the body of your car. And with its rust conversion chemicals, it clears up the rust.

Features

• Eco-friendly
• Converter as well as primer
• Effective
• Contains leveling agents
• Prevents entry of oxygen and moisture

CRC Rust Converter

The thing with sandblasting is that it is uses lots of effort to get the rust off of surfaces. Sanding also requires lots of elbow grease, not to mention all the time it takes to remove the rust. Rust remover chemicals are easier to use, but then they remove some of the metal along with the rust.

Do you know what the best option is for someone who’s looking for ease of use coupled with safety for the metal? A good metal rust converter like the one from CRC.

CRC Rust Converter is so effective that it almost instantly stops the rust, transforming the surface into a tough black surface that locks out the air and moisture, or rather the agents of rusting.

It is a good primer, presenting a sturdy bonding surface for your paint. With the converter acting as a primer along with good paint on top, your metal object stays protected from rust for more than five years. Durable enough?

Some rust converters take days to dry. With such a timeline, anything could happen to stop the drying process, especially if the object is not protected by a roof (like your fence or driveway gate).

This converter is different. Its drying is a straightforward process that doesn’t need leverage and happening in just one hour, it makes it almost certain that nothing will interrupt your efforts to rid your metal object of rust.

Lastly, the product has a long shelf life. If you keep it sealed tightly in a cool, dry place, it will still be viable for use a year later.

Features

• Short drying time – an hour
• Works almost instantly
• Durable – provides protection for years
• Long shelf life – up to a year
• No sanding or scraping

RX32 Rust Converter from Krud Kutter

When you apply the RX32 Rust Converter to your rusted surface, it changes the rust chemically to form a product known as iron phosphate, which is inert and tough, and capable of locking out the agents of rusting.

The resulting black layer not only cancels out the ugly appearance of the rust but also provides a good priming surface for the paint by increasing the adhesiveness.

As the formula is water-based and biodegradable, it suits virtually any paint system.

This happens to be one of the easy to use rust inhibiting products. In that regard, you could apply it by use of a mop, roller, brush or sprayer. Feel free to use any of these options, but we’d recommend you spray it on if you want to go the easiest way.

Perhaps your driveway is inflicted with rust stains, and you’re wondering what to do about it. You have tried using a hose or even a pressure washer, but they don’t seem to cut it. Give the RX32 Rust Converter a try.

A most amazing fact is that the product treats up to 600 square feet, so just a can (containing a gallon solution) might be enough.

It works for a whole range of other applications, including mechanics tools, garden equipment, and machinery, but we’d not recommend it for threads. Why? On threads, it might bring about dimensional changes that would render them useless.

All in all, it’s a good rust converter for metal, porcelain, and concrete driveways, taking up to 24 hours to dry and become ready for painting.

Features

• Easy to use
• Multiple methods of application – brush, mop, sprayer, and roller
• Boosts paint adhesiveness
• Treats up to 600 square feet

Ospho 605 Metal Treatment

When a rust converter has been around for over 40 years, you can only guess how many times the manufacturer has improved it to ensure it offers you the best results.

Having been around that long, the Ospho 605 has undergone tremendous improvements to make it the effective, safe, and easy to use metal rust converter it is today. It does not just remove rust; it also forms a good foundation for laying the paint.

With its high effectiveness, the product not only removes rust but also prevents further formation of rust. But, as usual, be sure to remove the loose rust and dirt with a piece of cloth or brush before applying the solution to prevent interference from these contaminants.

From our experience, this rust converting primer has a pretty huge coverage. For instance, a one-quart bottle can cover around 80 feet of a metal pipe. That is good for ease of use as well as efficiency.

Being a thin liquid, the Ospho 605 is ideal for spraying. By connecting a sprayer or using an aerosol can, it becomes incredibly easy to apply.

And even if you decide to use a brush, we’d like you to know that the product spreads effortlessly and uniformly.

It penetrates the rust perfectly, making the whole process effectual and preventing the spread of rust to other areas of the metal.

The only con we noted is that the solution doesn’t adhere well to vertical surfaces, and we guess it’s due to the low viscosity. We, hence, recommend it only for horizontal surfaces.

Features

• Spreads easily on the surface
• Acts a great primer
• Inhibits the spread of rust
• Has a huge coverage
• Good penetration
• Dries in 24 hours or so

Things to Consider Before Buying a Rust Converter

There are many rust converters on the market, but since not all of them are worth their salt, it’s good to know how to differentiate the effective ones from the ineffective ones. Here are a couple of things to look for.

1. Ease of Use

Typically, rust converters come in the form of a liquid in a container. That way, you can choose to either apply the converter with a brush as though painting or connect a sprayer pump.

The best brands, however, have simplified things for you by presenting the product as an aerosol. This is great not only for ease of use but also saving on use. Moreover, an aerosol is easier to apply as an even coating, making the application more effective.

Ease of use is also about the thickness of the liquid. With a thinner liquid converter, the application becomes easy, but with a thick one, it becomes a little hard.

2. Clean-Up

A rust converter reacts with the rust, forming a black substance. Now, depending on the ingredients present in the product, it may be more or less difficult to clean the black layer.

That being said, the cleanup difficulty will depend on the item you’re cleaning the layer off of.

If it is something like a porcelain sink, cleaning off the layer might not be very hard, but if the layer is on something like a concrete rough concrete driveway, it might require lots of efforts.

Cleaning it off of garments might be impossible altogether.

Fortunately, some rust converter brands have improved their formulas so much that cleanup becomes easy with some water and soap.

3. Drying Time

Ordinarily, you have to give the application around 24 to 48 hours to dry before painting the surface or using the object as usual.

However, there are superior rust converter products that dry much faster. You could even paint on them two hours after application, and without any unfavorable effects on the converter, the metal or the paint.

4. Toxicity 

Most rust converters are phosphoric-acid based, and the good news is that phosphoric acid is largely known to be safe. Okay, we’re not talking about ingesting it here, but the point is, this rust conversion active ingredient is not something you have to dread.

Nonetheless, the acid is used in different concentrations and volumes in different rust converter products, and again, there are other ingredients that are present in some products and absent in others.

If you want to be safe, consider getting your rust converter from amongst the ones listed in our review; we went only for the safest.

5. Flammability

Like toxicity, flammability is a factor that is related to safety, and it also depends on the ingredients present. Some brands include additives to make the product non-flammable, but it’s important to note that the aerosol products are the most flammable.

We mentioned that aerosols are the easiest to use and for some people, the aspect of being more flammable might seem like a deal breaker.

But, we think aerosols are great, and as long as you apply good safety measures (like not lighting a flame or a cigar while using them), there’s really nothing to fret about.

6. Durability

Some rust converters claim to be extremely durable, leaving a layer that actively protects the metal from further rusting for years. From our experience, the longest your metal can stay protected is a few months.

Granted, some converters can protect the metal for a one three months while others can do it for five months.

Our recommendation is that you seal the metal with paint, as this might protect the metal for years. However, if painting the surface is not an option, then you want to go for the most durable rust converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does a Rust Converter Function?

A rust converter contains chemical compounds that get rid of the rust by reacting with it to form a black substance known as magnetite.

Is There Any Difference Between a Rust Remover and a Rust Converter?

Yes. While a rust remover works as an abrasive that sort of scraps out the rust, a rust converter reacts with the rust, forming an entirely new compound, which can ordinarily be washed out with water and soap.

How Long Does a Rust Converter Take to Dry Up?

Some products will take 20 minutes to an hour while others might take up to two days. It all depends on the chemical composition of the converter.

Wrap Up

The best rust neutralizer is defined by several aspects, among them ease of use, safety, effectiveness, and convenient drying time. You will find most of these aspects in the products we’ve reviewed, but they are present in varying degrees.

For instance, while the Ospho 605 Metal Treatment dries in around 24 hours, the Rust Converter ULTRA takes only around 20 minutes.

All in all, if you need the best rust converter, know that we have lots of confidence in the products on our list.

We wish you all the best in trying to rekindle the glow of your metal or porcelain objects or concrete driveways! Don’t forget the safety precautions we talked about.