Cleaning up small rusty items?

[steven c newman]

Haven't got the $$ for Evaporust at the moment......and have quite a few small items to derust. Looking in to using vinegar soaks to derust. is it White Vinegar? How long to soak? Have lots of old sockets and bits to clean up...too small for the wire wheel. There are a few files in the "to clean" pile, as well...

Not worth the cash to buy a charger to do the electro stuff as there just isn't enough parts to do. Simple Green just makes a mess, too....

[Jim Koepke]

I have never used vinegar I do know all vinegars have acetic acid. Not sure if the white vinegar has less other stuff in it than the other types of vinegar. For a stronger mix use a photo stop solution. It is a much stronger acetic acid. It would likely have to be diluted.

I have used citric acid. Others here on SMC have used one of the powdered concentrated lemonade products. Check the labels.

If you start in the morning, check it throughout the day. I usually do not do a citric acid bath more than 24 hours.

jtk

[Phil Mueller]

I've heard Apple Cider vinegar to work better...I've used both for small screws, nuts, etc, and both seem to clean the same.

[Charles Wiggins]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHKxJTxyzP8

[steven c newman]

Have the parts soaking in white vinegar right now......we'll see how this goes....

[mike holden]

Steven, we ran comparison tests at two different meetings of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers between electrolysis, citric acid, evaporust, molasses, and lemon-lime koolaid (w/o sugar). Consensus was that all worked equally well for surface rust. Evaporust was the simplest to work with and cleaned up easiest. Electrolysis was the messiest and hardest to clean up. Citric acid found in the canning area of the supermarket and lemon-lime koolaid were the cheapest.
Just FYI.
Mike

[Robert Engel]

Very easy to put together a small electrolysis tank.
Not that big a deal to clean up.

[Prashun Patel]

For me the best is to soak in citric acid solution. Even better is boiling it. After removal of the parts, hair dry them. Finally wire brush them with a wire cup on a drill press wearing leather gloves.

[steven c newman]

Have soaked all afternoon. Did the rinse, and the baking soda, then some Kerosene. Wound up using the wire wheels anyway.

Was just using what I had on hand.

Drill bits came out the best, sockets....meh. Kitchen sink drains are cleaned out now, as well. The BIG bit for the #131 Yankee screwdriver is now like new.

I did the soaking outside, sitting the bowl of stuff on the Potting Table out there. Plenty of air flow, and a bit of sunshine.

May try this again..sometime.

[Gary Cunningham]

I soaked a Bailey 5c in vinegar a bit too late long. It actually started to etch the metal.

[Phillip J Allen]

I you are not in a rush try soaking them for 2-3 weeks in a closed container with water and potatoes. It works well but it will stink!

Phil

[Allan Speers]

Oxyllic acid also works great, if you have any around.

[steven c newman]

This is the second time I've tried the vinegar routine......worked a bit better this time. 4 hour soak, then the rinse. Next time, I'll add some shaking to the mix. needs to agitate things to get into the insides of the sockets. At least the kitchen drains are cleaned out, as well. Vinegar and baking soda down a drain.....no more clogs.

[Mark AJ Allen]

If access to materials and dollars is a concern ... Coca Cola will also do rust removal in a pinch. Is it faster, better than other acidic solutions? Not sure .. but I don't see it mentioned too often.

[Mike Henderson]

Oxyllic acid also works great, if you have any around.

Thanks for that pointer. I have some oxalic acid. I'll try it out.

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Just don't put vinegar and baking soda together down the drain ;)

[steven c newman]

Yes we do.....couple spoonfuls of the soda, then wash it down the drain with the vinegar. Cheaper than Draino.

[Patrick Chase]

Have soaked all afternoon. Did the rinse, and the baking soda, then some Kerosene. Wound up using the wire wheels anyway.
May try this again..sometime.

You might try going the other way in the future, i.e. reduce the really nasty stuff with the wire wheel first, then soak. The theory being that the solution has less rust to penetrate that way.

[Trevor Goodwin]

You might try going the other way in the future, i.e. reduce the really nasty stuff with the wire wheel first, then soak. The theory being that the solution has less rust to penetrate that way.

The number I've times of used rustbuster or similar on a plane or saw and then polished it with sand paper, only to realize that the sanding removed rust more effectively than chemicals... Abrasion is a very quick and easy way to remove rust on flat surfaces. I've experimented with lapping a plane with a dash of rustbuster (Phosphoric acid) and this cleans up any rust in the crevices/pits while you're lapping.

You can wire brush the rust off of small objects with a bench grinder or power drill brush attachment. Then buff it with something like brasso or stropping compound, followed by a thin coat of 3-in-1 oil. Yeah soaking is one way to go, but often you'll have a residue or new coating (eg. "phosphorous of iron") that is easiest to clean off with abrasion.

My brother is into restoring old Jap bikes and he always uses abrasive methods to clean up rusted parts. He'll use a rust remover just before re-painting a part, basically after all the visible rust is gone.

[Jim Koepke]

You can wire brush the rust off of small objects with a bench grinder or power drill brush attachment.

For small parts like screws it is easier to chuck the part in a drill motor and use a hand held wire brush while it is running.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Drill bits...Sockets sets, and the like. Hard to get inside a socket to clean them out.. Ever see a ratchet with a hex drive? If so, I now have a set of sockets to match. Some were new....APEX impact socket took awhile to clean. The Cresent sockets still have junk inside them...