Railroadman

Any thoughts or experience on using copper sulfate to de-rust parts? I had to get some stuff to kill roots in a septic line and it turned to to be just that. I had heard it will eat rust so for fun I took an old muffler clamp and put it in about a quarter inch of water and tossed in a few crystals. A couple days later the difference on the half that was submerged is quite noticeable.

How does this compare with lye? In the past I have used a 5-gallon bucket with a can of lye, and it works well. (just don't put an aluminum part in there, or you will wonder where it vanished to! :lol).

Frankie the Fink

Railroadman

First I had heard of that stuff, but it looks interesting. I'll pick up a gallon and give it a try.

Frankie the Fink

Its amazing stuff, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, not caustic and reusable - it does a great job:

jim lockwood

First I've heard of this process. Can you post before/after pictures?

alan drake

Here are a few more;Rid Rust now Safest Rust ultraoneusa.comEdgewater Industrial Park
112 East Avenue,Unit 8
Hackettstown, NJ 07840 ph=5.25 $25/Gal

Rust Clean by Amazing One in Howell, MI out of businessEvapo-Rust (com), also see orisonllc.com or orisonmarketing.com ph=6.1 done working at 7.0 ph=6.1 $21/gal
$18/gal @Harbor Freight + shippingMetalreseue.com 800-365-1117 ph=6.0 $25/gal

Kroil by Kanolabs.com pentrating oil that cleans rust also
ph = 6-7 $42/gal This may be the Evapo-RustNo Rust by WM Barr sodium phosphate (This may be the Rid Rust)
ph = 5-6 $10/galPH-Ospho-ric Plus @Home Depot
ph= ? $13 - 17.99/gal"Prep-n-Prime". @ Lowes by Jasco Co it’s the same sort of phosphoric acid/alcohol/detergent that ph= cleans and removes rust. $26/gal"Phosphoric Acid Cleaner” @ Home Depot by Miracle Co. ph= ? $27/gal

6X No Rust Concentrate by WM Barr phosphoric acid (see solutionex.com) ph =? 6-8 $30/galBenefit: Phosphoric Acid has a unique property of dissolving iron oxide quickly while etching very slowly. It also provides, through a chemical reaction/conversion with the iron oxide (rust), leaves a fine coating of iron phosphate which prevents rust. Downside: The iron phosphate coating is not very thick and not durable Then there are a host of home made products which work:The least expensive-yet-works solution for steel that is harmless to paint, chrome, plastic is simple: Molasses and Water, 1 part molasses to 10 parts water, drop it in and let it soak. Feed grade molasses is cheap in bulk. It will work on cast iron, also, but leave it in too long and it will begin to break down. Using store purchase of 16oz, water not included in price, $2.50/Gal
It works, I was surprised, better than electrolysis, though not as fastThere's a bunch of home remedies containing vinegar, lemon juice, borax, and so forth. (do not have details)
Electrolysis - Baking soda rust removal re: PowerblockTV.com 12V @ 2 amps
Steel rod is +
Part is – Liquid, water and baking soda 1tsp/qt works OK I used my battery charger. Will take some time!Used a plastic trash barrel to do some exhaust pipes which came out great. JUST Remember to turn power off before taking out to look at.

Railroadman

I just took a plastic margarine tub and put about 1/4" of water in it so it did not cover the whole clamp. Put a few crystals of the blue vitriol in, maybe half of what is in the bottle cap in the photo. Just left it for 2 or 3 days, rinsed it and wiped it off and a quick pass with a wire wheel which didn't really change much, you could probably skip that part. As I said, this was just playing around, not a serious attempt to restore anything valuable.

4 Speed Dave

Don't forget about vinegar, I had some real rusty parts I put in a tub with vinegar and water let it soak for 5 days and it worked really well. It isn't fast but it works and is inexpensive.

Frankie the Fink

GCD1962

Muriatic Acid - But be very careful using it.

Redbird

Evaporust did an excellent job on my frozen up heat riser today. I let it soak for about 5 hours. On other things give or take on time.

DansYellow66

That heat riser valve looks almost new.

SJW

That does look nearly new. Did you only soak it, then rinse? With water? Some post-soak wire-brushing, too?

Live well,

SJW

ejboyd5

Evapo-Rust. Simple, safe and effective:

alan drake

Just a note of caution, when doing nut/bolt especially the harden one's do not use an acid based cleaner it will make it brittle (bad!)
Best choice is the evapo rust, safest rust, or molasses

Redbird

No wire wheel on the heat riser, just an old toothbrush to get in the small places.

Frankie the Fink

The acidic stuff is caustic - it burns your hands, requires eye protection, has to be neutralized and can eat holes in your garage floor... Ask me how I know...

That plastic jug of green stuff at the rear of the car is Ospho - I'd have never used it if I'd known about Evap-O-Rust at the time...

Drothgeb

SJW

Holy smokes! That's awful. 'Guess it explains why you covered up your garage floor a while ago.

I've been messing around with rust removal agents for the past year or so, searching for something fairly tame that'll do the job. I'd settled on lemon juice, but you've convinced me to give Evapo-Rust a try.

Live well,

SJW

Frankie the Fink

Partially true - that Oshpo (and similar products) will make your garage floor look like the surface of the moon - even if you're careful... The floor tiles hide this along with lots of oil stains and other sins...

The Evap-O-Rust stuff is REUSABLE folks -- several times until the solution turns completely black -- unlike the once-and-done products mentioned above...