A good pair of weights can be one of the best investments you can make in yourself, helping maintain both your physical and mental health by working out and keeping active. For most people, storing weights is not something that is given much consideration. But incorrectly storing the weights can lead to them rusting and corroding away, meaning that you will have to invest in a whole new set.
In this blog post, we will be showing you how to clean the rust off of any old weights you have, and how to store them correctly to prevent rust from appearing in the future.
Clean the Weights
The first thing you will want to do is get rid of any large bits of rust you can with a steel wire brush. Rub the handle and the weights themselves firmly to dislodge any large bits of rust you can. This will make the removal process later a bit easier, as there will be less rust to deal with.
The stage after this one involves the use of some pretty strong chemicals that are needed to remove rust, so before doing that, you will need to make sure that you are staying safe. Equip yourself with a pair of safety glasses and some rubber gloves, and make sure to not come into direct contact with any of the rust removal products.
Remove the Rust from the Weights
The next step is to pour a good amount of Jenolite Rust Remover Gel into a plastic container, and then using a paint brush, spread the jelly onto the weights - both the weights themselves and the handles. Make sure to pay specific attention to any areas visually impacted by rust, as this will need the most gel to remove.
This gel will react with the rust, and work to remove it. Keep brushing the gel into the rust until it has turned into a dark grey colour, and then leave it to react for half an hour, before rubbing both the gel and the rust away in one go using a clean, lint-free cloth.
This should remove the majority of the rust, or all of it. If there is any left over, simply repeat the process, focusing on any areas still affected by the rust.dumbbell
How to Remove Rust from Dumbbells
To remove rust from a set of dumbbells, you will need to firstly take all of the weights off of the bar to be cleaned separately, as you will need to not only clean the weights, but the bar itself.
To remove rust from a dumbbell bar, you will need to fill a plastic container with a good amount of Jenolite Rust Removal Liquid, and submerge the bar in the liquid for 20 minutes, to give the liquid time to react with the rust and remove it.
To remove rust from dumbbell weights, you will need to fill a plastic container with some more of Jenolite Rust Removal Liquid, but this time use a paint brush to scrub directly onto the areas of the weight that are being affected by the rust. Keep scrubbing the rust remover into the rust every five minutes until the area turns a dark grey in colour, as this will signify that the rust remover has worked. Then clean the dumbbell weight with a piece of steel wool to remove the rust completely, and then wipe the surface clean with a clean, lint-free cloth to remove any leftover liquid.
How to Remove Rust from a Barbell
To remove rust from a barbell, you will firstly need to remove the weights from the bar, and clean them separately. Starting with the bar, fill a plastic container with some of Jenolite’s Rust Removal Liquid and then using a paintbrush, work the rust remover into the rust on the bar until it turns dark grey, before wiping clean with a lint-free cloth. This should remove the rust from the bar, but if there is any left over, just repeat the process until all of the rust has been removed.
To remove rust from the barbell weights, repeat the process used to remove rust from the bar by filling a container with rust removal liquid, and using a paintbrush, work the remover into the rust before wiping clean.
This process should help you fully remove rust from both the barbell bar and the barbell weights, but if there is any rust still visible, repeat the process using a bit more liquid to fully remove the rust.
Prevent your Weights from Rusting
Preventing your weights from encountering any rust is the key to only having to do this rust removal process once. The easiest way to prevent your weights from rusting is by storing them correctly.
Being stored in a cold and wet garage or being left outside to battle the elements is definitely going to cause your weights to rust, so making sure to store them somewhere clean and dry is the first step. Potentially look into purchasing some bags to store the weights and the bar in while you aren’t using them, as this will also prevent rust from appearing.
We hope that this guide to removing rust from weights has been useful. While you’re here, why not check out some of our other guides?
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