Towel Rail Rust

thomasross20

No, not the name of a cool new band. 

I thought it'd be cool to get heated towel rails in the house but I regret it now.
You really need to dry them well or you get water spots easily. 
It is such a pain to clean in the grooves. 
Mine have started showing some form of surface rust. 

I've read about wiping it with tin foil (tried - meh), bi-carb soda/vinegar solution (tried - meh) but the rust remains. Anybody got any tips? Maybe I'll leave it to "Rust in Peace" #Megadeth and just get in replaced in future. 

Riveting Wednesday conversation!!

fields5069

Tin foil and diet coke works for my chromey 70s bike forks.

ToneControl

are they chrome or white or none more black?

Nitefly

Rust never sleeps...

thomasross20

They're chrome just fyi

boogieman

Metal polish, then coat with clear lacquer afterwards and it won’t rust again. 

thomasross20

Coating is definitely a good idea. I can't be doing with this every couple weeks.....
Metal polish, you say? 

boogieman

thomasross20 said:

Coating is definitely a good idea. I can't be doing with this every couple weeks.....
Metal polish, you say? 

Yup, metal polish will get the rust spots off. It won’t get rid of any pitting, but there’s not a whole lot you can do about that. 

BeardyAndy

We generally have so many towels on it that you cant see what colour it is!

Cant say rust has been a major issue, i guess quality varies?

Strat_a_tat_tat

It's annoying how a lot of manufacturers cut corners when chrome plating steel.  The chrome layer is naturally porous... so if you just apply chrome to steel, the steel under the chrome will rust.  Properly done chrome plating requires the steel to be coated with a layer of copper... then a layer of nickel... then the chromium.  Many manufacturers fail to apply enought copper and/or nickel.

tony99

Don't be so quick to have everything spotless and clean, the clinical and sterile look has had its day. Gritty and grimey is gonna be the in thing, rust is gonna be massive next year. Also skidmarks.

ToneControl

Never had any trouble with my towel rail btw
You could complain....

tony99

ToneControl said:

Never had any trouble with my towel rail btw
You could complain....

Could try Watchdog but I think they'll have bigger fish to fry.

fields5069

I'm telling you that tin foil and diet coke works just as well as any metal polish. It needs to be diet coke or you'll end up with a sticky mess.

notanon

boogieman said:

Metal polish, then coat with clear lacquer afterwards and it won’t rust again. 

I posted about similar issue a few months ago. Used clear lacquer and completely rust free. I used it on a steel framed wicker type basket which would show rust within weeks.

viz

Paint them brown

spark240

Ive had mine for at least 10 years...not a sign of rust...something odd going on there

Strat_a_tat_tat

spark240 said:

Ive had mine for at least 10 years...not a sign of rust...something odd going on there

Could be that yours has better quality plating?
Does anybody manufacture rails using stainless steel.... or chrome plated brass?

steveledzep

I used to sell these when I was designing bathrooms.  Excellent stuff, but at a cost.  They certainly do stainless and IIRC minimum 5 year guarantee on all products.
https://www.zehnder.co.uk/products-and-systems/decorative-radiators/products

exocet

I used stainless steel when I installed mine....not cheap, but 10 years later they look as good as the day they were installed.

boogieman

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

spark240 said:

Ive had mine for at least 10 years...not a sign of rust...something odd going on there

Could be that yours has better quality plating?
Does anybody manufacture rails using stainless steel.... or chrome plated brass?

Brass would probably expand too much and cause issues.

I imagine a lot of stuff now is made down to a price so the plating is either really thin or is done straight into the steel with no nickel coat inbetween.