On Mon, 25 May 2020 07:19:36 -0700 (PDT), Sonny
wrote:

On Monday, May 25, 2020 at 1:58:29 AM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Asking for a friend...

The image below is part of a steel weather vane. As you can see, it's rusty and
getting worse. My friend wants to remove the rust then clear coat the piece to
prevent the rust from coming back.

You can't really tell from the image, but there appears to already be some type
of (uneven) clear coat on the piece already.

What's the process to remove the rust and existing coating without damaging the
metal and what's the proper product to prevent the rust from coming back?

https://i.imgur.com/bk3eTz5.jpg

Thanks!

Have it sand blasted, using walnut shell or similar blasting medium. I've had several small items sand blasted for $10-$20 each. Those blasting guys know how to take care of delicate items, if/when need be.

Another option, use a 3M ROLOC disk in whatever you've got. Ideally
it's a die grinder but you can chuck in a Rotozip or a router motor or
whatever you've got that will take a 1/4 inch shaft and can be
adjusted to run below 20,000 RPM. It will work in a drill but it's
happier if it's running faster.

National Auto Parts has a nice little starter set for around (IIRC) 12
bucks that usually hangs in the paint section. Tell the person behind
the counter that you want some ROLOCs and if he or she isn't
completely new on the job they'll know what you're talking about.

There will typically be some fine residue left--it's just dust, clean
it off with whatever you like to use for paint prep.

Personally I wouldn't go with a clear coat--clear coat doesn't have
any UV resistance to speak of, even if it says it does, and any of it
is going to break down after a while. Personally I'd give is a coat
of ZRC Cold Galvanizing (order it on Amazon--there's a similar
Rust-Oleum product that is not generally as well regarded) and then
paint it whatever color I liked--if you want it to have a metallic
appearance there are metallic paints in rattle cans.