I'm working on cleaning up the Jeepie, when I bought it the Hi-Lift Jack was mounted on the hood, I've refurbished the entire jack and its mechanisms, they were rusted badly. Unfortunately the bolt holes on the hood, as well as some of the area under the hood (the top side of the interior shield) is rusted as well.

I'm looking for some kind of rust remover, eater, stripper which is clear and not a paint. I want to actually remove the rust, not just cover it.

I've read a bit about using phosphoric acid and then rinsing well with water, I've never used the stuff though and I really don't know about it or how it actually affects metal and its integrity.

Would I have to remove the hood to use any of this stuff?

If so, is there a way to take the plating off that I could wet sand it to get rid of the rust? It's all up the threads too, which I can't really sand.

 

Rust Bullet makes a rust remover, but you still need to paint it afterwards.

 

I got into a situation years ago with a rust remover on my Chevy Silverado. It removed the rust alright. But why I did not know was how much was rust versus how much was metal.

Ended up with a quarter panel that looked like giant Swiss cheese. Since then I've been a fan of POR which seems to be a nice middle ground between paint and "omg I'm gonna need a whole new hood".

 

Gems rust killer. Sherwin Willaims can order it in for you. Turns rust back to black metal. Do not get it on bare aluminum it could lead to tarnishing.