Cheap easy rust removal

[evil 340]

i ve spent a lot of money in the past on fasteners. i m sure a lot of other people have too. i ve been using muratic acid to clean metal for a long time. i also a lot to clean tools from work. some will argue about this method, b/c they say it removes metal, and b/c of the flash rust. usually u acid dip something. it looks beautiful, u rinse it, and when it dries,,,,,it instantly starts to rust. PROBLEM; u need to neutralize the acid, and coat it with something to keep it from rusting. i soak the part in acid til the rust is gone, then soak it in soapy water with baking soda in it. then i soak it in a different container with a mix of water and "RUST-BAN". after that. just dry it off and thats it.
this method works well for me.
as far as the fear of removing metal? i put a paper thin set of washers in the acid with some other parts for hrs. and hrs. still got em... they re just shiny and bright now. i like this process because i don t have to babysit it. i can dunk stuff, and walk away. normally it only takes less than a 1/2 hr. to clean rusty bolts and stuff. then u can paint em. here s what i use:
1. 3 plastic coffee containers with lids
2. first container has muratic acid(not diluted)-(just deep enough to submerge parts)
3. second has mix of dish soap, baking soda, and water
4. third has 20-1 mix of water and RUST-BAN.
i picked the rust ban up from my local powerwasher company. it just keeps the metal from rusting, i ve used this for years. it s the magic ingredient for keeping the metal from flash rusting.
I RECOMMEND DOING THIS WHOLE PROCESS OUTSIDE OR SOME PLACE WELL VENTILATED. THE ACID FUMES ARE HORRIBLE. I D WEAR A MASK, GLOVES, GLASSES. THE FUMES CAN ALSO CAUSE BARE METAL IN THE SURROUNDING AREA TO FLASH RUST. SO BE CAREFUL. it does work great though.

 

[George R]

The stuff works great, but a word of caution regarding hydrogen embrittlement resulting from acid.
I never use the stuff to clean rust off structural parts and definately not structural fasteners. It's OK on bumper brackets etc, but not on your front end parts.

George

 

[Map63Vette]

I saw a long time ago on a TV show where you can put parts in a mix of water and washing soda (not baking), with a copper strip (I think) and a battery charger set to a low level, like 1 amp or something and it's supposed to remove rust. I forget the full details, I'd have to try to look it up again, but you hook the positive of the charger up to the part and the negative to the copper strip (or vice versa, I don't remember) and let it sit. It's supposed to reverse the rusting reaction and when you're done you can just throw the water out. It was a pretty nifty little setup and could do big parts easy, you just need a big enough tub and enough water to fill it.