I have some surface rust built up on some unpainted suspension parts. Whats the best way to clean it up so I can paint it.

 

Pull the part, sit it in Evap-o-rust, then paint it:

Eample:













Doing it ON the car is next to impossible. If you want it done right, it needs
soaked, prepped and painted.

 

I use muriatic acid. You'll need to have a tank for your acid solution then a tank with your baking soda solution to neutralize the acid after the acid bath. It works great but you need to be careful not to let your parts sit too long in the acid because left too long, it will absolutely dissolve your parts. I learned that one the hard way with a cast iron Y-block 4bbl intake manifold I forgot I had put in the tank. When I remembered about it after almost a week it literally apart crumbled in my hands. But done correctly it is wonderfully effective and cheap. Usually no more than an hours soak in the acid will have your parts looking new. Maybe a little longer for really crusty parts. It depends on how strong your solution is.

Depending on which parts you are wanting to paint, a wire wheel on a drill does the trick also.