Rust removal

I have always used vinegar in the past to remove rust, brilliant stuff. 18p for a bottle of Asda cheap stuff....few hours in that and parts look like new and are ready for painting.

Anyway, this weekend I am going to revamp some rusty coilovers and wondered if vinegar would be ok on them? or would it be a bit harsh? The other option that seems to work very well is electrolosis, but I haven't tried that before, just seen results.

Opinions?

I want to get every bit of rust off to give a long lasting finish

Long last finish? impossible once that peice of metal has rusted, the whole peice is infected and needs to be cut away or replaced, the rust particles will build up and appear after a while. I suggest a coat of oxide primer on the bare metal to seal it as best as possible.

Last time I used vinegar for de-rusting, the part came out all pitted and nasty. Probably the better answer is to whizz it off with a wire brush, then seal it with rust preventative, depending on the complexity of the part.

Yeah I have never done it on large pieces. I watched a video on youtube of a guy using it on beetle parts and they look great when they came out, and he left them in the vinegar for a week! I have only ever left them in for a few hours and only done small parts.

I think I may try the electolysis route and it only takes off the rust and doesn't effect the metal underneath. I will be putting an oxide primer underneath though