"Rust Buster" Spray Welder Fills Big Holes In Sheet Metal

"Rust Buster" Spray Welder Fills Big Holes In Sheet Metal WELDERS/TORCHES Welders/Torches 25-3-41 Do you have an old pickup that runs great but has a body full of big rusty holes? Rodney and Garry Rose think they can help. It took 20 years to perfect their wire-feed "rustbuster" Spray Welder, which fills big gaps in sheet metal by spraying molten zinc into the rusted-out holes. "You can repair auto bodies, augers, metal siding, or any other metal that's rusted or corroded," says Rodney, who operates a sand-blasting business in Portland, Oregon in addition to staying busy manufacturing and promoting his spray welder. Garry has a similar business in Salt Lake City, Utah. "We started with this idea in 1978 and finally had a machine that worked the way we wanted in 1998," Rodney says. To fill a hole, you first sandblast the area to be repaired. "All the rust or corrosion must be removed for best results," he says. Then you use the spray welder to rebuild the piece, filling in any holes and smoothing over pits. The spray welder actually melts zinc wire and sprays it over the surface. Once the surface has been restored by this process, it has about the same feel as 30-grit sandpaper. Once he's rebuilt a piece, Rose applies a primer on the surface and then smoothes it with a block sander. "Once that's done, it's ready to finish," he says. Besides being useful for auto body work and siding repair, Rose says it can be used to rebuild steel handrails, rusted pipe gates, or in restoring antique tractors and farm machinery. To demonstrate the machine locally, Rose completely refinished a 1975 MG Midget sports car. Both rear quarter panels were nearly gone because of rust before Rose used his spray welder on it. Now it looks like new. "I sanded it down and put a clear coat on the surface, so it looks like a galvanized car now," he says. The Rose brothers call their company Rustbusters. They sell the Spray Welder as part of a package that includes the Rustbuster name, the machine, training needed to operate it, and, importantly, rights to a protected territory in which to use it. They will bring the spray welder to you and give you on-site training in its use, all for a total of $25,000. If you go to Portland, Oregon, for training at the Rustbuster factory, you can get set up for $20,000. So far, they have assigned nearly 20 protected territories, mostly in the West and Midwest. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rustbusters, P.O. Box 341, Clackamas, Ore. 97015 (ph 800 600-3203; Email: info@rustbusters.com; Website: rustbusters.com).

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