I’ve been testing Evapo-Rust for the past couple of months to see how effective it is and I’m impressed with the results. Unlike acid rust removal methods, Evapo-Rust removes rust via chelation which only targets rust. This is a massive advantage over acid techniques which will attack good metal as well as rust.

Evapo-Rust works fairly quickly although speed isn’t too important as there are no issues with leaving items in longer than needed. This is another advantage over acid based removal where items need to be checked and removed as soon as the rust is gone.

Once done, a quick rinse under some water and dry off and the item is rust free. Evapo-Rust does seem to leave a darkened surface to metal but this can be cleaned off. Evapo-rust does not seem to cause flash rusting (a common issue with citric acid).

Below is an example of a before and after with some rusty plane parts. The lever cap came out really well given the initial state of it.

The only negative to Evapo-Rust is the price. In the UK it is expensive, buying 5L works out about £6.6 – £8 per litre.

As an alternative, I’m testing the Restore rust remover is around half the price and claims to not be acid based. So far, it appears to work but it does seem to have an issue with flash rusting which is not ideal. There’s also electrolysis rust removal which could be worth exploring as a cheaper alternative.

If you want to remove rust from rare, valuable or delicate items, Evapo-Rust is definitely recommended but for everyday items, the high price tag is harder to justify.

Rating: 5/5 (effective but expensive)