Beyond the cosmetic impact, rust and corrosion can be major headaches for aquatic facility operators, maintenance technicians and pool technicians.
As TMI’s field/repair technician, I have seen my fair share of oxidation & corrosion in and around a number of pump rooms and pool areas. The rust you see is almost always the “tip of the iceberg” once you spot it. If you dig in further, you will generally find rust inside equipment, on hinges, and in some cases on the circuit boards that make everything work!
A good portion of the items that are sent in to us for repair do so because they just “stopped working” and often times this ends up being due to corrosion. We see it all, from the mild to the extreme, all of it needing to be cleaned, pacified and protected. Causes of corrosion are widespread, from high humidity & chemical off-gassing to chloramine intrusion and lack of bonding. Suffice to say, it can occur in any pump room, in any facility and it can be a very ugly issue to deal with.
Rust-Oleum “Rust Reformer”
One of the products that I use to treat this problem is “Rust Reformer” by Rust-Oleum™. I have found this to be a cost effective, and relatively quick fix to treat rust in areas where maintaining the original finish is not a priority. I have used it to treat everything from rusty bolts around diving boards & pump anchors, to uni-strut and internal components in our chlorine generation equipment. Once treated, the Rust Reformer will coat the surface in a black, hard shell that is fully paintable. If treated properly, the rust should be held at bay.
(view product info at the following website: https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/paint-chemicals/rust-reformer-spray/ )
As always, verify the application before using the product, but if you are dealing with a rust issue, it might just do the trick for you.