Thats pretty much all you can do unless you know someone with a sand blaster. I have a ladder stand that has been out in the woods since i bought it 4 years ago and theres no rust on it. And we have even an older one, I think its like 10-15 years old in there somewhere, I finally had to take that one down, clean it up a bit and wire brush it a bit and repait some spots. other than that I think ladder stands last for ever as long as they are taken care of.