>The widow asked me what could be done to renew the excluders.

...

>Rust on queen excluders tears bees wings.

        I don't doubt that.

        One approach to rust was developed in NZ by a commission from the
(now abolished!) Ministry of Works to Altex Devoe, a USA-HQ paint mfr.   It
is called RIPO  -  Rust Inhibitive Penetrating Oil.  It creeps with
excellent capillarity to the end of any contiguous rust layer.  The more
volatile oils then evaporate overnight, losing about 7/10 of the original
mass of oils, leaving the rust embalmed ina  dark brown waxy layer.  RIPO
is standard among the people who drive 1906 Cadillacs hundreds of miles.
Its main use is in steel car bodies.  But it might be worth a try on a
rusted queen-excluder.
        By the smell, linseed oil is a main component of RIPO.  Rusty ships
have been painted with linseed oil.
        Anyhow filling the rust layer with oil would seem better than
removing the rust, a process which I guess might increase the gaps so much
that a queen could get thru.

R

-
Robt Mann
consultant ecologist
   P O Box 28878  Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
                (9) 524 2949