Anyone tell me how to remove really bad rust which is stopping me removing the fittings for bath mixer tap?

Question

The fixings under the bath are so rusted on one of the tap fitings that the plumber said he couldn't undo it. His only suggestion was to have a new bath fitted!

Answer 1

As a plumber I have come across this problem many times, sometimes nuts etc. are just too tight to turn. Ignore all that coca cola rubbish, If your plumber knows his stuff he will heat the joint with a blow torch, (the same torch he would use for his solder joint)
car mechanics also use this method for releasing nuts from bolts at garages. Obviously if your unsure dont try this yourself but I like I say, heat up the joint well then turn, continue this process until the joint is cracked open. Remember, if a plumber cant turn this joint with spanners then coca cola wont do it.

Answer 2

I am the wife of a Master Plumber, and sorry but he is not here to help answer you. Besides a plumber, he is also an Engineer so the US Government took him to rebuild parts of the US.

But in an effort to help you.....I know that at Power Plants where he is put working most of the time, "workers" have the same problem with rust on huge fittings! My husband has shown more than one person how to get it off without using a torch or cutting tool! Get a wrench and turn it in the opposite direction......anything "over torqued" will snap the fitting! Bolts, nuts and fittings will snap when turned the "wrong" way!

Hope you save your bath! For smaller rust problems, use Steel Wool (not for dishes) which is purchased at a Home Depot kind of store....but you must use gloves because the fibers will cut through your hands......and also purchase a good brass wire brush (also sold at the same store). Your plumber was also trying to get you to purchase more, as he could have taken a torch to the pipe and cut off the bad section.....the pipe would get replaced anyway!

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Get the plumber to destroy the taps with an angle grinder. Plumbers don't like using angle grinders, so insist,
Any rust stains on the enamel can be removed with gel bought in a chemists.

Answer 4

Wrap a piece of cloth around the fitting tightly, then soak with car brake fluid for a week or so...check the fliud does not dry out daily. If you can get a blowlamp under SAFELY, use that while turning the fittings. If you take this method, when you come to use a blowlamp get someone else there with a hose...just in case of fire.

Answer 5

Go to an automotive store and buy one of many spray rust removers. The sprays work very well to loosen engine parts for me and I have small hands. I spray it on and walk away for an hour or so, then it dissolves the rust I come back and the bolts or hose clamp comes off really easy.
I would think it would work for plumbing also.

Answer 6

I know it sound crazy, but I agree with loh1379 and seaside_girl_03. I'm not sure when I heard about it, but, apparently, it works. As seaside_girl_03 says, though, it can be rather messy.

I bet the plumber would have been fast enough putting his name forward if you'd opted to have a new bath fitted.

Answer 7

He's trying it on just to get more work. Try a bit of "Duck Oil" on it. If the that doesn't work, what's wrong with cutting them off or something equally forceful?

There's nothing that brute force and ignorance can't move.

Stainless or brass fittings should have been used in the first place, make sure he replaces the fittings with one of these materials.

Answer 8

Coca cola, bit sticky, bit messy but so full of chemicals it'll do the job. Try soaking a cloth in some and wrapping it around the fitting for a while.

Answer 9

Ace hardware sells a rust buster spray that works for me.

Answer 10

i try a limescale remover ie flash or mr muscle one there are so many around but dont leave it on too much,and read the instructions on the bottles.That might help .