When your outdoor mailbox is exposed, it can react with the elements in the atmosphere, causing a process that is known as oxidation, and that is responsible for the formation of rust on a variety of different types of metal surfaces. Mailboxes tend to be particularly vulnerable when they are left untreated or unprotected because they are fully exposed to all of the elements, including rain, sun and snow.

If your outdoor mailbox is experience a rust problem as a result of oxidation, then you should that removing the rust is something that you can do. After you remove the rust from your mailbox you can take steps to prevent a further build up of rust by painting your mailbox or sealing it with a rust-proof finish.

For this process you are going to need heavy duty steel wool or a wire brush, white vinegar and baking soda, a chemical rust remover, lemon juice, a pair of rubber gloves, a thick shop rag, a mask, paint and a paintbrush.

The first step in the process is to remove the rust, or at least as much of it as you possibly can using the steel wool or wire brush. If you can remove your mailbox, do so, so that you may work on a shop bench or some other sturdy surface. The biggest flakes of rust should scrub off this way. To deal with the trickier rust, you can either make use of a commercial and chemical based remover or you can create your own home made solvent. The materials needed for both are listed already in this article.

Non toxic solvents that you make at home work well for this purpose. You can apply white vinegar much in the same way that you would apply any other chemical cleaner. Scrub the mailbox using the shop rag so that you can get the more resistant rust out with scrubbing. You can also sprinkle baking soda and lemon juice onto the rust areas before scrubbing with the vinegar for good measure. The vinegar and the baking soda will react, creating a foam, and the foam will be powerful enough that it can eat through some of that rust for you. You should plan on doing some decent scrubbing though, because rust really can be persistent. The rust certainly is not going to remove its self.

The next step in the process is going to be to take a brand new, clean shop rag, wetting it down and rinsing off the mail box. Make sure that you dry the mailbox thoroughly following the rinse down to make sure that you do not give the rust a chance to form again.

Finally you are going to want to prevent your mailbox from having rusting issues in the future by applying a rustproof finish or painting it. Both of these options is capable of protecting it from sustaining any further rust, though you should plan on refinishing or repainting occasionally to keep it in good shape.

Photo Credits: Brandy Shaul

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Categories:

Clean, Handy Man, Mailbox, Remove

Tags:

duty steel, elements in the atmosphere, good measure, heavy duty, lemon juice, mailboxes, mask paint, metal surfaces, oxidation, paintbrush, proof finish, rubber gloves, rust problem, rust proof, rust remover, steel wool, sturdy surface, toxic solvents, vinegar and baking soda, white vinegar