8 Best Rust Removers

Key Specs

• Type: Chelating
• Form & Application: Liquid soak

WD-40 might be most well-known for its lubricating spray, but its specialist formula is an industrial-strength, nontoxic, rust-removing soak capable of stripping off the most stubborn rust at an incredibly affordable price. Best of all, there’s no scrubbing or scraping needed beforehand. Just soak the affected item for the recommended 24-hour period and rinse it off with water. Better still, a single soak can be reused multiple times until it loses its effectiveness, which contributes to its affordability.

Unfortunately, this formula is only useful on metal, so it lacks the multipurpose functionality of some of our other selections. Also, being a chelating agent, it doesn’t work as quickly as many chemical-based formulas.

Key Specs

• Type: Converter
• Form: Liquid, direct application

When you have a large amount of heavily rusted items to deal with, Corroseal’s rust converter can cover it all with a paintable surface that protects against future rust formation. Although you would expect an industrial-strength formula to be an acid-based solution, Corroseal is completely nontoxic, so you can use it indoors and out.

While it’s technically a rust converter, and not strictly a rust remover, Corroseal can be used to eliminate the toughest rust that other formulas may not be able to handle. The downside? It’s somewhat more expensive than other rust removers, so you may want to reserve it for the most intractable cases of rust.