Rust removal with vinegar

[Frank Ollian]

Any metallurgist here? I tried this on an old head bolt, it worked great, took about a week. I'm wondering how this will affect the steel. Good idea or not?

Should it be nuetralized? If so with what?

I'm thinking of throwing the whole set of head bolts in, maybe other small parts, tail light brackets etc. Any reason not too? What do you guys think?

I'm sure many of you have tried it.

[tinlizzy]

I'm no expert by any stretch but vinegar is an acid. If you put tail light assemblies in it best be sure they are not pot metal as it will desolve if allowed to stay in there too long.

[Plymouthy Adams]

steel ok..keep vinegar off cast iron..will soften it...as vinegar is only 5% solution across the counter..simple rinsing should be all you need to do when your derust cycle is complete..

[Fernando Mendes]

Ok guys,not metallurgist but like this subject too.Another subject I had studied yesterday was about cast iron(2,0 to 3,5% cabon),steel(0,05 to 2,0% carbon),each identification(by emeryl),why to use one and other in the parts of truck?.Now asking to this metallurgist guys"Do you have a good table explaining this subject to us?"

[oldmopar]

I had use vinegar to clean up some mild rust in a p15 gas tank a few years back. Used about 6 gal left it in a week flushed with water. It worked well but a little slow but it does work and disposal is not a problem as it is not a chemical.

[greg g]

Moleasses and water works, Coca Cola works, (phosporic acid)so does electrolysis. I have used vinegar quite often on fasteners, and other small metal pieces.

Of the shelf vinager is 5% acetic acid, some restaurant supply houses will have it in a 10% stregth, and you can get phosporic from most home improvement stores used for etchig concrete for sealing or painting. Muriatic acid from the hardware store can be used but it's the smelliest, and strogest stuff so you need to use caution withit and use it outdoors or with real good ventilation.

[Don Coatney]

:DGuess I will be the first one to hyjack here. In the movie "The Worlds Fastest Indian" Burt Monro used the same water he used to quinch his titianum pistons in to make tea. It was mentioned by one of his galfriends that his tea tasted metalliac. So. After you use the vinager to remove the rusty stuff you can re-cycle the left overs to make rust flavored (and colored) develed eggs or other vinigrettes:D

[1949P17BC]

DC, drininking that concoction is proof you can put lead in your pencil

[Dan Babb]

I bought a product called Evaporust at AutoZone. Used it on a couple of my hemi parts and it worked great.

Here's a site where you can find info on it.

http://www.evaporust.com/

The site says it won't harm most metals - including cast.

When I pull my truck apart for the engine swap, I'll pull the tank and dump a bunch of this stuff in there to clean it out.

[Frank Ollian]

Thanks everyone for your response. Got a good chuckle from Don's as

i was thinking of filtering the used vinegar and reusing it, no need for iron supplements if you make your deviled eggs with this.

[JoelOkie]

:DGuess I will be the first one to hyjack ....After you use the vinager to remove the rusty stuff you can re-cycle the left overs to make rust flavored (and colored) develed eggs or other vinigrettes:D

Pickled pig's feet in rusty metal flavor.....might be a good redneck joke in the making. Joel

[JoelOkie]

Muriatic acid from the hardware store can be used but it's the smelliest, and strogest stuff so you need to use caution withit and use it outdoors or with real good ventilation.

I used some muriatic acid to flush a radiator a while back...plugged the lower hole and let it sit several minutes. I would have left it longer, but it occured to me that I didn't know if it was good or bad for that purpose, so I let it out and did an extensive rinse. It flat cleaned it up. After a while I blow dried it and painted with Eastwood's radiator black. It came out very nice, but I was kinda nervous there for a day or two, half expecting to open the hood and find my radiator had disentigrated, ect. Joel

[41/53dodges]

has anybody else used this "evapo-rust?" i have seen other rust removers that didnt work, so does this one?

[Plymouthy Adams]

you already have an answer on this product (Evapo-rust)..see entry number 9 post him a PM or he may elaborate a bit more on the how dids in this thread.......I have never tried it myself...bit curious myself to its effectiveness..mostly I use phosphoric acid (buy 85%) and mix it to the strength I need according to rust at hand..this product has been in my process for 25 years...

[oldmopar]

Not sure what % the phosphoric acid I get at home depot is but have been using it on frames and bodies for I guess the past 6 years on a recommendation from Tim Adams It works great cleans the rust. I am not a chemist not even much of a label reader but I would think most of the high priced wonder products just contain things like phosphoric acid or similar basic chemicals with some additives.

[thomas d]

hi all

try clr! its not real cheap but does a realy good job. the big drawback, it produces a white sediment(possibly calcimum) if you happen to brake the container this stuff is very slippery.

[TodFitch]

Over the years I've tried a number of different things. At present my favorite is the electrolytic removal process. Non-toxic, doesn't eat away at good metal, no smells, very fast, etc. Longest I've had to leave something it to get it totally clean was over night. A little more work to setup as you need a sacrificial electrode and you need to haul out the battery charger rather than just filling a bucket with chemicals, but well worth it.

For small parts like nuts and bolts I don't find the electrolytic method as good as there are too many things to wire up. So those go into the vibratory cleaner I got from Harbor Freight. I don't like it anywhere near as much as it's quite noisy and unless you have the right media very slow or too aggressive so you have to be a bit more careful.

[Flatie46]

hi all

try clr! its not real cheap but does a realy good job. the big drawback, it produces a white sediment(possibly calcimum) if you happen to brake the container this stuff is very slippery.

I'm about to use CLR in the cooling system on this old CJ-5 Jeep I bought. [unless anyone could tell me why I shouldn't) A friend said he put some in the radiator of his 68 Mustang and run it a while then flushed it, said it did it a world of good. I'll post the results of the experiment when I do it. I used the Evapo-rust on a flathead themostat housing and some horns from a 47 Plymouth that were very thin due to rust. It worked very well, removing the rust and not the metal. I'm thinkin' the bottle said it was biodegradeable. I filtered it and put it back in the bottle.

[Plymouthy Adams]

only one question..what is you neutralizing agent after the acid treatment..?

[Flatie46]

only one question..what is you neutralizing agent after the acid treatment..?

Me? I was just going to keep flushing the system out with water.

[moparmonkey]

has anybody else used this "evapo-rust?" i have seen other rust removers that didnt work, so does this one?

I've used it, it works pretty darn well. Heavier rust takes a day or two of soak, but I used it to clean up a bunch of brake hardware, including some backing plates, with very good success.

As far as head bolts go though, if they're that rusty I'd replace them. There's a chevy headbolt that's the same size as the Dodge headbolts for the 218/230's, you can get them from Summit in a box of 25 for less than a dollar per bolt. Part # is PG-362-25.

[Don Coatney]

Me? I was just going to keep flushing the system out with water.

What is the ph reading of this CLR? I know the solution to pollution is dilution but if the ph is not corrected to neutral there will be continual metal erosion. Suggest you purchase some ph test strips. You can find them at any tropical fish store. Baking soda might work as a neutralizer.

[Flatie46]

What is the ph reading of this CLR? I know the solution to pollution is dilution but if the ph is not corrected to neutral there will be continual metal erosion. Suggest you purchase some ph test strips. You can find them at any tropical fish store. Baking soda might work as a neutralizer.

Good idea, thanks for the tip.

[48Dodger]

What is the ph reading of this CLR? I know the solution to pollution is dilution but if the ph is not corrected to neutral there will be continual metal erosion. Suggest you purchase some ph test strips. You can find them at any tropical fish store. Baking soda might work as a neutralizer.

Ph levels 1-14, 7 being neutral (water, baking soda nuetralizes acid)

Strong acids have a PH level of 1-3, all acids are diluted for rust removal. I use the same as Tim adams.

Orange juice--------------3.0

Vinegar-------------------2.5

CLR-----------------------2.2 (citric acids and surfactants....)

Phosphoric acid 85%-------1.1 (most rust removal products are made with this)

Hydrochloric acid 38 %-----1.0

Hydrochloric acid 10%------0.5

Battery acid----------------0.5

48D

Edited May 2, 2011 by 48dodger

[PatS....]

hi all

try clr! its not real cheap but does a realy good job. the big drawback, it produces a white sediment(possibly calcimum) if you happen to brake the container this stuff is very slippery.

Zep makes a product that is identical to CLR but a fraction of the price. Most Home Depots carry it.

I use pickling vinegar for rust removal...7% as opposed to 5% for regular vinegar. I did use it it on cast iron exhaust headers before I knew I shouldn't but only left them in about 12 hours and rinsed them well...so far so good but I think hot tanking is better.

The only thing I don't like is the smell.

Works well, though.