Stabilizer rail rust prevention?

[Trick]

3rd season with my saltwater pool. I noticed rust on my stabilizer rails. It's just a few spots and not bad at this point but only going to get worse.

Do they make a wax or something I can run on my rails to help protect and condition them?

Wax is the only thing I can think of, can't grease or oil for obvious reasons.

 

[Rs242]

I have major rust on my top rails. I'm not on salt


Above ground 15x30
Sand filter

 

[Vickery]

Look for a "rust converter". Most home centers will carry it as will a good hardware store, though they might not know they have it. Rustoleum, Corroseal, Ospho are several brands. It is NOT just a paint, though some will also work as primers. The phosphoric or tannic acid will convert the rust to a stable state and can then be painted. Otherwise you have to sand or grind down to bare metal. Rust never sleeps, so you have to kill it! Salt is sodium chloride - it is the chlorine that will accelerate the corrosion, regardless of the source - bottle or salt. For appearances, you might sand it down to smooth out the top prior to converting, then paint.

 

[woodyp]

There is a product called Instant Cold Galvanize. Also known as "Spray Galv." It is 95% zinc. I'm replacing a couple of rusty top tracks that are white and coating them with that. Gonna remove a few more......."one at at time"........sand and spray them as well. I went around the inside edge last year, sprayed it in a cup and used an artist brush to paint on some bad spots. Removing them one at a time is gonna be a whole lot better and easier. Replacing some top cap plates as well. Will also be recoated. That Chinese galvanizing is just too thin.

 

[Vickery]

I have used cold galvanizing with good effect on freshly revealed metal but I don't know if it will halt rust once it starts. Rust never sleeps. On the Battleship North Carolina we use a tannic acid based converter (unfortunately not sold retail, though a similar product from The Rust Store is available online) because grinding is prohibited in some areas and a battleship is just too big to sand! It converts and seals, providing an excellent primed surface.

 

[Cmarks]

I have an above ground salt water pool and half of the support stabilizer bars and brackets have rusted badly. To replace them would cost over $600! It’s a 13 year old pool so I don’t want to invest that much.

Has anyone had luck with removing each piece, sandblasting and then coating them with a rust converter?

Also, any ideas on how to get all of the rust out of the bottom of the pool?