Help Me Out

Dang man! Lost that thread where the guy had a tank he hooked up a battery charger to to derust things. Anyone help me out on this? Scott

I can't find the thread, but here's the website it mentioned: http://www.antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

Seems to me it would be quite expensive (and messy) to do. Can you say steam powerwasher and sandblast?

I guess you don't call sand blasting messy.I would think that after your initial investment, the tank would be the better option. I know the antique car people talk about tank dipping as the holy grail of rust removal. Scott

I can sweep sand, but the gooey, icky tank foam looks blecky! BUT... Yes, I can see where the tank method must do a simply perfect job.When I said expensive I was thinking for the electricity. But, well, sand isn't cheap either. Give 'er a go & let us know how it works out!

Citric acid will take rust off very quickly, it is safe to handle and is non hazardous. Mix it with water and toss your stuff in and let it sit, pull it out and rinse and you are done.

Can you tell me more about this. Would it be economical to do a boiler or base? Scott

stokerscot wrote:Can you tell me more about this. Would it be economical to do a boiler or base? Scott

The stuff is about $.90 a pound, you will need a tank big enough to hold what you want to clean. It could even be done half at a time I suppose (I did some Mopar C body springs this way as I didn't have a long tank). Basically fill a tank with water and throw the citric in and give it a quick stir. You want to bring the pH down to about 3.0 or so but it isn't critical. Put the rusty stuff in and the citric does the work. It may take an hour or ten depending on the strength, just check on it every hour or so. I don't think it will take the paint off of it, but if there is rust, it will be gone pretty quick without any real work. Rinse it with fresh water, the citric will leave a film. By the way, don't forget about it for a week or so, it may not be there if you do.

I use it at the plant to clean the Ultrafilters. The original machine was carbon steel and after 15 years of acid washes it would spring a leak everytime I washed it. I built two more.... out of stainless, the citric can't eat it.

coaledsweat wrote:

stokerscot wrote:Can you tell me more about this. Would it be economical to do a boiler or base? Scott

The stuff is about $.90 a pound, you will need a tank big enough to hold what you want to clean. It could even be done half at a time I suppose (I did some Mopar C body springs this way as I didn't have a long tank). Basically fill a tank with water and throw the citric in and give it a quick stir. You want to bring the pH down to about 3.0 or so but it isn't critical. Put the rusty stuff in and the citric does the work. It may take an hour or ten depending on the strength, just check on it every hour or so. I don't think it will take the paint off of it, but if there is rust, it will be gone pretty quick without any real work. Rinse it with fresh water, the citric will leave a film. By the way, don't forget about it for a week or so, it may not be there if you do.

I use it at the plant to clean the Ultrafilters. The original machine was carbon steel and after 15 years of acid washes it would spring a leak everytime I washed it. I built two more.... out of stainless, the citric can't eat it.

Could this method be used to remove the rust from cast iron cooking grates? I need to remove the rust and re-season them.

Hollyfeld wrote:Could this method be used to remove the rust from cast iron cooking grates? I need to remove the rust and re-season them.

Yes, it removes rust from anything that rusts.