I rescued a bar and a bunch of plates that had sat out in the dirt and mud for years, and were almost nothing but rust. I soaked them separately in pure vinegar, for about a week. First the plates in 5 gallon plastic buckets. I removed them one at a time and blasted them with water. (Next time I'll follow you're example and wear gloves) Then I wire brushed and scraped them and followed up with various rotary wire brushes on my drill. Let them sit in the summer sun to dry thoroughly, then sprayed 2 coats of Rustoleum Hammered with several days to dry between coats. Flipped over and did same thing other side. Daytime temperature was between 100° and 113°and I just let them bake for days in the sun. Now they are better than new and beautiful. Soaked the bar in a long skinny tub made from cardboard and 3 mil plastic. Afterwards I wire brushed it, sprayed with WD-40, let sit overnight, then applied 3-in 1 oil. It's not an Olympic bar, it has threaded ends, but it looks like new
I’m a garden gym owner!!! I’m the UK!!!! 😲 It rains erm..... now and then, and so my bar is a little rusty to say the least. This helps a lot. Cheers 👍
I use a raw steel Ohio Power Bar. It took a while, but I got used to the sharp knurl and really like the center knurl for squats. I live in a dry climate, so rust hasn't been an issue.
I'd recommend a product called Evapo-Rust. I haven't used it on a bar but it works great on shop tools. You won't need a wire brush and it's safe to use. If you could figure out a way to dip the whole bar at once, maybe a pvc tube, a 5 gallon bucket would be a lifetime supply for any gym. You reuse it until it just doesn't work anymore and then you can just flush it. I get a 5 gallon bucket at an auto parts store for around $120. You could use it by dampening a towel or paper towel too but it'd be hard to recover the product. It would still be way cheaper and easier to use than that spray bottle.
I have a couple of old power bars that I acquired recently for about $60. Working on the split sleeve one (I think it’s a Mac Barbell- no center knurling). The bar itself is a little warped, but it’s a pretty solid deadlift bar! Anyways, used a punch set to get the sleeves off. The barbell is really coming to life! Got most of the rust off from the area covered by the sleeve with some vinegar, wd40, and some wire brushes. As I’ve slowly brought it back to life it’s really shown a lot of character. Can’t wait to finish cleaning it up.
To be honest, the gym I am a member of is kind of a lower budget place. The equipment isn't really high quality stuff like EliteFTS or Rogue but it's really affordable for a monthly membership. They have a bar with pretty aggressive knurling I like using for S, B, and OHP. That bar has the word "CAP" on the sleeves I think that's the brand. Not great but helps get the job done. Then there's another bar I like for deads the knurling isn't too sharp but there isn't a center knurl and it has snap rings keeping the sleeves on instead of allen bolts that you have to tighten every time you re-rack. Like I said not great but it fits my budget and helps get the job done.
I've got a older York split sleeve style steel barbell for my garage gym! I've been working on restoring it as it was just complete rust when I got it!
Rogue Euro Oly Barbell! It has a bit of rust on it (1 year since purchase). I'll be using this method and see how it works. Thanks for the good details!
I use a degreaser spray like Simple Green. Most of the stuff on my barbells is dirt and grime from people’s hands. I then use a brass bristled brush so as not to scratch the finish. It’s probably overkill, but better safe than sorry. Then I wipe down with paper towels. I haven’t used oil to protect the barbell, something about putting oil on something I want to grip seems wrong. But again, I’m sure that’s just me. Great videos!
It's hard to tell and I'm interested to know too. Bare steel bars will "patina" over time and will be less shiny than brand new and Joe's bars sort of look like that and it could be because these bars get a lot of use in an open and possibly not air conditioned gym. If a bare does have a coat on it like black zinc, most people recommend using a brush with nylon bristles rather than steel bristles to avoid damaging the coating.
I'm using an ATX Ram Bar for my garage gym. It's a very good power bar for a decent price here in Europe. I've used it for over 3 years already and still going strong :)
Thank you for the great video. I appreciate you commenting on the importance of wearing gloves. I also recommend putting on a pair of safety goggles. I work as an EM doc and complications from chemical burns to the eye can be devastating (ex. corneal ulcer, corneal perforation, blindness).
I used a wire brush I had purchased some time ago, and used it to remove a small rust on a "black oxide" 7 foot Hampton Olympic Bar, Weight: 44 lbs, 700 test, and my finish looks lighter.
I conditioned my bar with a rust dissolver, then added the 3-in-1 oil. The next day my bar was already brown and rusty. I think its flash rust: do I just need to use more oil next time? Also: can you use rifle blue to recolor the barbell if it's patina is brown???
@@SzatStrength I don't have much experience with barbells to have a favorite one. Tbh, the only Bb I've ever used is my no brand barbell, at my home gym
whenever you post video please post it with full info what brand was of the rust remover you didnt even mention link in the video which might be useful for someone
How often should you use 3 in 1 oil on a Texas Power Bar. It's my own bar I use in my garage. I Train 6 days a week. I don't put chalk directly on the bar. So how often should you wipe the chalk off and put the oil down the collars? Thanks
I need to do this! Though I may try a green scourge pad thingy. Mines pretty bad, it can start to make your weights rust too now they're gonna be spanking new looking 😀
All I have is the fringe sport wonder bar with bushings. Unfortunately there is no center knurling nor is the knurling aggressive. But it works. I have to clean it recently and I used the 3 in 1 oil from rogue.
How does this work for a ceracote covered bar? I have an Ohio power bar covered in blue ceracote. I oil it pretty regularly but the crud still builds up. Been afraid to use a wire brush on it for fear of scratching it up. May try the coke or vinegar solutions!
Have you found an answer? I have a cerakote and ecoat bars can't find a video on how to clean them properly, especially the ecoat is getting some light rust on the shaft
The again faster team barbell. I was into olympic when i got it cheap with the crump bumper set. Good oly bar, horrible for lowbar squats tho. (no center knerling) Saving up for a ATX ram with thin plates.
Favorite barbell. My Ohio Power Bar for squats and bench. Ohio Bar for deadlift and OHP. I need a specific bar for my newly refound Olympic habit. I don't have really have to clean bars because mine are black zinc coated. Just keep the chalk off and I am good.
@@SzatStrength my RM4 Fortis Rack shows up Tuesday. Can't wait to get it up. Road trip to Columbus to pick it up. A tank of gas in my truck is cheaper than shipping. Plus Schmidt's Sausage Haus is a nice detour while in the 614.
I just bought a Rogue Echo bar for use in my garage. It costs less than the Ohio bar but it's easily the nicest bar I've ever used. I guess I should look into starting with the preventative oil lube?
I have the same one, tried to remove some stains from the heat and humidity were i live with vinegar and got flash rust and the whole bar is stained. Any suggestions?
I use WD-40, a Bronze wire brush, 3in1 oil and old Microfiber cloths. All of which I have laying around my shop. Spray bar with WD-40 to loosen the rust. Wipe away WD-40 with microfiber and spray again. Brush (bronze wire brush) in circular motions (both clockwise and counter clockwise) spray again with WD, wipe clean again with the old micro fiber cloth. If the bar is still rusty at this point repeat brushing until all rust is gone. When the bar is free of rust treat with a heavy bead of 3 in 1 oil. Rub that bead into the whole bar by hand and then wipe away excess with another old microfiber cloth. WD-40 will promote rust if not wiped away. While the 3in1 oil with inhibit rust.
Soak some towels in vinegar and wrap it around the bar for 30 minutes then wipe it down. Job finished no scrubbing necessary - unless you have a lot of crud/chalk all over it
Try to put some plastic wrap over the soaked paper towels and leave it overnight. The cling wrap does make a big difference as it will help vinegar to not evaporate and emulating the "submerge with the water" (which require alot of vinegar and water). I reckon this is the more efficient way to clean the barbell. Brush it off after and wipe
'ATX Ram Bar' Powerbar Joey. European make of bar. Top quality, i like it. One question about using a wire brush to rub it down; I heard that can mess the knurling up. Don't know if it's true or not but i read that somewhere. If it doesn't then i'll get me a wire brush to use on my axle which has knurl.
Found a bar thrown out the other day, I've been looking for a bar to work out with but they're like 150$ +, it's like pretty rusted up and my dad wants me to scrap it for a few bucks lol but I want to keep it, the ends that hold the weight spin and I don't know how to fix it, also it has clips but they're sucky and I need to clean the rust off them, I need to buy like 5 gallons of vinegar and try to find a tub to put it all in, and then after that I need 3 type oil or whatever it's called then u need to get some plates but the bar is legit like brand new it's super nice but it's rusty, doesn't have end caps, and the ends spin. If anyone has suggestions on how to make the ends stop spinning lmk
I love my Bare-naked bar from Bells of Steel. Knurling feels good, didn't wipe out my bank account, and is just as sturdy as my Ohio Power Bar, which I've had for years. The only reason I'm not still using it is because it was mauled by a moving truck :(
Great video, will do this! What kind of wire brush do you recommend? I have steel and brass. I have two bars, my favorite is the Ohio bar with black zinc.
Szat Strength yes sir it’s good for garage door tracks and springs as well. If you have a garage door at your gym pour that on your springs at least every 6 months
Ummm, at 3:53 you said Erode the rust but AKSHUALLY the term is Dissolve. Erode is what caused the rust in the first place *pushes glasses up* lol, just messing with ya. Leaving a comment for the metrics
Next time try Bar Shield @ barshieldusa.com. I've used a bunch of different cleaning products including the Rogue and Bar Shield is by far the best. i use it on my Eleiko olympic bar (my fav), my Rogue PB and all of my specialty bars including the Rogue MG-3.
