muriatic acid, OK for carb soaking?

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I was talking to a guy at a car show yesterday and I mentioned water spots (I have hard water) on aluminum and he said to get some muriatic acid and dilute it. He takes his chev cavalier (I know) to a car wash and they spray it on his aluminum wheels and cleans them right up.
No thanks.
 
JoePole1 said:
I was talking to a guy at a car show yesterday and I mentioned water spots (I have hard water) on aluminum and he said to get some muriatic acid and dilute it. He takes his chev cavalier (I know) to a car wash and they spray it on his aluminum wheels and cleans them right up.
No thanks.
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It might work but I don't think I'd trust anything a Cavalier owner says LMAO. Mag wheel cleaner in a spray bottle is acid-based, works fantastic on cast aluminum but I want to say it's phosphoric not muriatic and it's also pre-diluted the proper and safe amount. Just need to quickly rinse with water though or it'll start to etch and eat through. Also if you touch the freshly treated aluminum with bare hands it'll leave fingerprints.

Fun fact, iirc from high school biology muriatic/hydrochloric acid is what's in your stomach that digests food. Obviously diluted quite a bit because fully concentrated HCl will dissolve pretty much anything very quickly.
 
Muriatic acid is good for etching concrete not cleaning carbs.
 
I gave you the best cleaner in post #20. Cheap, easy to use. Brush on leave, leave for 20 min, brush/hose off. Comes out natural colour.
 
Rapid Robert said:
saw a utube vid on this, either 4 or 6 to one with water/muriatic acid. is this stuff to stout for metal cleaning? it sure made the metal come out bare!. RR
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When I was in the Air Force, I was using the auto hobby shop at Clark AB in the Philippines. A guy came in and tore down his volkswagen engine block and put it into the large parts cleaner tank on a Friday, then came back on Monday to pull it out and begin the rebuild. When he opened the tank lid, there was silver floating on the top of the tank but no engine block! The auto hobby shop had to buy him a new engine. I used that same tank to clean cast iron parts, and that solution was wicked indeed.
 
When I was racing Go Karts, I used muriatic acid to hide illegal engine modifications. Lately, I have used it for sidewalks and to kill moles.
 
Do not know why anybody would use Mur Acid on a carb when there are other products, & easier to get too. MA eats metal.
 
I've had good results with SNO Bowl, which has dilute hydrofluoric acid. Not SNOW Bowl, which is a knock off.
It is especially good at removing electrolysis (white crust from chemical reaction between water and aluminum). Leaving it in the SNO Bowl too long will darken the metal.
It does nothing to remove varnish and other petroleum products.
 
I put muriatic acid in my swimming pool and then swim in it!!!
 
It's true, muriatic acid is used to adjust swimming pool water's pH. I might put in a quart in a 12,000 gallon pool to lower the pH to where it needs to be. It is severely diluted and I suspect one could dilute HCl acid enough to be safe for dipping a carb because I could throw it in my pool and it would last for a long time.
 
The problem with diluting HCL to preserve the metal is....that is now so weak it is ineffective at cleaning.
 
Brooks James said:
I've had good results with SNO Bowl, which has dilute hydrofluoric acid. Not SNOW Bowl, which is a knock off.
It is especially good at removing electrolysis (white crust from chemical reaction between water and aluminum). Leaving it in the SNO Bowl too long will darken the metal.
It does nothing to remove varnish and other petroleum products.
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are you talking about sno bol (brillo brand) and snow bowl (lysol brand) toilet cleaner?

the active ingredient is Hydrochloric Acid which you don't want anywhere near aluminum due to the chemical reaction that produces.
 
junkyardhero said:
are you talking about sno bol (brillo brand) and snow bowl (lysol brand) toilet cleaner?

the active ingredient is Hydrochloric Acid which you don't want anywhere near aluminum due to the chemical reaction that produces.
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Spelling error, I have cleaned many a carb with the SNO Bowl, never had a problem, or complaint from a customer. It is a weak solution of HCl, so weak that I don't need to wear gloves. If the carb has any electrolysis, it gets a 3-5 minute soak,
Pressure washing, then blown out with compressed air.
Yes , if left in the SNO Bowl, it will eventually dissolve the carb. I put an
Outboard engine carb in once and forgot. several days later the carb was partially dissolved.
 
Syleng1 said:
Is it good for bodies? Where do you buy it? I mean car bodies, car bodies. Lol.
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I soaked a fender once in the acid, due to lots of surface rust. Could not stop it from rusting after removing the fender from the acid. I tossed it. I have used it for cleaning stainless tools with good results.
 
You guys are making this way to hard, simple green, tap water, crock pot, boil it over night, done.
 
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