Cleaning the Seat Rails and Accelerator Bar

Feeling OK about my little paint process I removed the access covers to the wheel wells, the defroster vent caps, the radio speaker grill, the visors and latches and the rear view mirror. I also took apart the seat so I could paint the metal brackets.

As I was looking at the various parts and brushing off all the loose dirt and rust I could see that some parts could be treated like the Air Vents (Blast, Prime, Paint) but others would need to be treated for rust and then primed and painted. I head read that the seat rail were actually a dark bare metal when new and to acheive the look I would have to dip them in phosphoric acid and then clear coat instead of painting. .

The little jar of Naval Jelly I had used for the vents was never going to work so I set about trying to find where people who do this on a bit larger scale source their Phosphoric Acid. BTW - Phosporic Acid is H₃PO₄. and once I knew this I found SOOOO many products with varying percentages phosporic acid in them -- too many to list from Jasco Products (the only one I found that was 100% Phosphoric Acid) to pool cleaning supplies.

I spent the next few days reading everything I could find on the web about phosphoric acid, rust removal, and product types. Most everyone on the Ford sites were encouraging me to use either Ospho (75% Phosphoric Acid) or POR-15 (A rust encapsulator).  I looked around and learned Phosphoric Acid is a rust converter like Rustoleum's Extend which actually converts rust to , whereas POR-15 is a rust encapsulator- meaning it does not make rust go away, just keeps it from progressing. I liked the idea of removing the rust and the process of the phosphoric acid converting reddish-brown iron oxide, Fe₂O₃ (rust) to black ferric phosphate, FEPO₄ seemed more complete than simply surrounding the rust with a protective shield.

I found an old article on one of the old archived newgroups that explained Milkstone Remover was actually Phosphoric acid and that it could be purchased at any farm supply store. I went down to the corner Tractor Supply and started looking around ... sure enough in the COW section were gallons of the stuff all labeled with 'Active Ingredient Phosphoric Acid ....75%) '

Phosphoric Acid

Ospho (75% H₃PO₄) costs about $12.00 for quart (Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware)
Krud Kutter Rustex  (45% H₃PO₄) $25.00 for 1 gal

MilkStone Remover (75% H₃PO₄) $12.00 for 1 gal (Tractor Supply Co. and other farm supply stores - used to clean milking equipment)

The bolts from the seat were rusted and I dropped them into some 15% phosphoric acid diluted , I also brushed as much of the dust and dirt off the rails and dropped them into a 37% phosphoric solution as well. I diluted the solution mostly to increase the volume in order to cover the bigger parts by pouring 1 Gallon into a big plastic container and then adding 1 more gallon of water.

Grungy Seat Rail

Drivers Side

I left both rails in overnight and the next day pulled them out of the solution to let dry. I wiped the white stuff left on them from the solution off with a dry cloth and was pretty much amazed at the outcome. The rust was gone and the color of the metal had turned a rich silver.

Acid washed rails

Driver Side Rail ready for install

I cut new little paper washers out of the thin cardboard of a refried bean box and shot the rails with matte clear coat to give them a little protection.

The rails were looking great and looking in the cab I see the rusted accelerator and brake pedal bars. I decide to clean them up as well since I already have the equipment out. I pull the accelerator pedal by slipping the connector at the top of the bar from the cable end point, and from the engine bay side of the firewall squirt the two bolts with WD-40 and let sit for a couple of hours. I returned and tap the bolts 3 times (to let Old Blue know I need these!) and crank them out 1/4 turn at a time .. uuuuuuggggghhhhh.

Rusty Pedals

After many arm wrenching minutes I hear the accelerator pedal drop to the floor inside  the cab. Idrop the metal into the bucket of Phosporic Acid and take a look at the brake pedal. The connectors are much more complicated than the accelerator pedal and I decide I do not want to pull the master brake cylinder, etc. so I take a spray bottle filled with 15% dilution of phosphoric acid and spray the pedal. metal. I do this a couple of times, wiping off the white residue between treatments and soon the metal is rust free and black.


The next day I took the accelerator pedal out of the bucket and used a wire brush to clean off the little bits of rust and dirt still on the metal, i wiped down the whole thing again. The metal was a soft silver hue and I hit it with a coat of clear and remounted it in the cab.