Lubricating Items Properly

Kettler recommends a drop of oil periodically on the bearings of its products, and, we add, especially if they are always left outdoors. On wagons with grease fittings, it will take a long time with a lot of use to really need to relube the wheels. On other wagons with ball (or sleeve) bearings infrequent oiling will do. My favorite lube is heavy synthetic gear lube intended for marine stern drive units. (We use synthetic lubricants a lot.) The SAE 90 rating is thick, so it won't drip after the initial wipe and then will stay on the bearings. More readily available motor oil of SAE 10W-30 or similar is rated by a different viscosity standard and is almost as thick as gear lube. If you find that the greased fitting wheels on small wagons feels like there is too much drag then purge them with a spray solvent/lube.


Defeating Rust

Rust is an oxide of iron, chemically Fe₂O₃ and other oxides. We have some experience with rust, with vehicles from northern climates where salt is used to melt snow.  We have used products from RustOleum, mar-hyde "One Step", Klean-Strip and Dupli-Color directly on rust with good results. One noticeable outcome is that it does not work over paint, remaining a clear coating that later peels off. Another interesting characteristic is that the material cannot be applied by dipping a brush into a can, rather only by spray or squeeze bottle onto a brush. Any flakes of rust contacting the supply will catalyze all of it, ruining the material.

After many years, two available rust treatments have emerged as favorites. For smaller areas of the worst or most critical areas of rust we use Klean-Strip brand Rust Converter. It comes in a black and white 8oz. bottle that is poured out and brushed on to form a hard, sandable black primer over encapsulated rust. Without gloves it will also discolor your hands in a way that resembles dark superglue. Rust Convertor is a good base for touch-up finish painting over it with conventional primers and paints. Tough areas like rusty bathroom vents that you can no longer replace have been brought back to new life. Rust Converter or equivalent is available at many discount or home center stores.

The other product works well on larger areas where over-application is not a contamination or cosmetic issue. "Rust Kutter" by Sanco Industries, Inc. in a quart size pump sprayer or gallon refill turns into a dark stable surface on rust and a chalky surface elsewhere. Rust Kutter can also be a fierce skin and eye irritant during use especially with the spray set for a fine mist. A drippy, acrid residue sometimes remains for a day or more especially where there is not rust prior to the product drying or is cleaned off. Up to three applications really seal the rust well to stop propagation cold. The oxide formed where rust wasn't can be ignored or cleaned off with scrubbing. Rust Kutter can also be damaging to any paint finish and to bright automotive trim so use only on actual rust and clean up promptly. It also marks plastic with white spots and leaves a chalky salt deposit where it drips onto concrete.

This effective chemical nicely blackens surface rust such as on classic car frames where the area is unprotected steel or deteriorated black paint. Other practical uses are on steel wagons and farm and garden tools of all sizes especially those that are stored outdoors. Rust Kutter is even used on highway bridges so it is likely available to pros in much larger quantities. In spite of the significant negatives the beneficial effects are appreciated.