On different forum, I saw where someone used a mixture of molasses and water to remove rust.
In all my years, I have never heard of this. Has anyone tried this method? If so, how well did it work?

 

The sugar acts as an agitator to get the rust off???

Haven't heard of it, but stuff like that works all the time (Coke as a chrome cleaner for example)

 

I honestly don't the science behind it. But if you something rusty and are patient, it looks like it works very well. There is a YouTube video of a guy testing it with a car rim. It came out great.
It might be a good way to clean the inside of a rusty tank.

 

Like Hamlin said their is plenty of YouTube videos of home rigged " cleaning juice". They have a eco friendly solution at autozone and harbour firefight that's works awesome! Comes in a dark gray container with a dark red top. I don't remember the name though.

 

Vinegar and salt works just have to neutralize the acid when your done.

 

anyone have any gel type suggestions for lots of rust on the headers? I've used Rust Remover from WD-40 (which is specially designed for rust removal) but that stuff is so liquid, I'd have to buy a large enough container to drown the headers in that stuff, not to mention I'd have to buy a an arm and a leg's worth of that stuff!

 

I would take a look at some of the video's out there on youtube concerning the molasses and water. One guy did a car rim and it came out looking pretty darn good.
It did take about a month of soaking for it to do it, but it's cheap and chemical free.

 

molasses it is then! and for anyone who's interested in which video convinced me:

 

that's the exact video i was referring to.
good luck.
one thing to keep in mind if you can, feed stores sell molasses that isn't food grade for humans. that route is super cheap.

 

good to know i got it right (those results look promising)
any feed stores in particular that you might have good experiences with? i'll probly just start looking around at whatever's closest as i don't have any pets except my f2

EDIT: I actually remember the guy saying something like that in the video > I rewatched the video > guy says the pet feed store molasses he used seemed to have less strength than the supermarket one that comes in a small bottle (although i suppose if you use it enough times it'll have the same effect....