Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm building a new work/welding bench and I'm using a piece of plate steel that is 30" x 72" x ½". The plate has surface rust, but is in overall good shape. So I'm looking for a way to clean the rust off and wanted some opinions, this is what my search has turned up so far:

Wire cup on an angle grinder with WD-40
Flap disc
Belt sander
Grinding wheel on an angle grinder
Electrolysis (not going to do this)
Naval jelly
CLR
Muriatic acid

I'm leaning towards the wire cup/WD-40...THOUGHTS?

Thanks - Charlie

How bad is the surface rust? If it's light enough I would lean toward the cup brush on a grinder, too, but leave out the wd-40... seems like that would get airborne and become part of a cloud of junk that you don't want to breathe.

WD-40 is basically kerosene in a spray can. It's not a very good lubricant, but it does displace water. For heavier rust naval jelly would do the trick, but you'd need to take precautions like protect the floor of your workspace, and wear heavy rubber gloves. Wipe it on, then use a scraper or blade to push it toward the edge of the surface, and let it fall into a trash can.

I too would use a cup brush on your grinder and leave out the WD-40. Take the plate outside if you are afraid of breathing the rust and getting your shop dirty. I keeps tables coated with Eagle brand Anti Spatter, the soy based kind. Does great at keeping the table clean and free from welding berries. Also seems to work good as rust protection.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote: Does great at keeping the table clean and free from welding berries.
-Jonathan

Dude, you definitely should have used dingleberries instead of welding berries