i already removed mine once because one of the bolt heads broke off, so i had to remove the other bolt with the heat shield, then drill and tap out the rusted bolt, then i replaced mine with stainless hardware, which is a good idea and recommend it to everyone before their's rusts up. plus it looks better than the old rust. and to get the rust off of the heatshield, just take it off (or leave it on) and steel wool the entire thing, it should make everthing nice.