Muriatic Acid for rust killer

[Studebeggar]

Does anyone know about Muriatic acid to get rid of rust before painting ? someone said that after applied you can not get rid of it ,even after cleaning and painting it will come back to haunt... Has any one used it before ? Spencer , Bishop , Ca.

[Ccar]

I'm also interested in hearing about miratic acid use in rust removal. Working on a old gas tank from a scooter. Lots of sludge and some rust. Will I have a problem if I use the acid. <P>Any other suggestions??<P>Chuck

[palbuick]

I tried using miratic acid years ago, on some rusted parts. It will remove rust, also remove metal. It ate the rust away and some of the metal. I let parts set in solution too long. Mix with water about 3pts water to 1 acid, use a plastic bucket, for small parts. DO NOT USE INSIDE GARAGE OR HOUSE, the fumes will attack any metal finish and<BR>ruin it, even tools. For a gas tank I suggest a good radiator shop, have it done professionaly.<BR>Use only outdoors, wera a good mask or respirator, if you have any respioratory or<BR>health disorders do not use.<P>palbuick@aol.com

[Mike Bartlett]

I used muratic acid in the past to remove rust as well.It works very well and is cheap.Diluting the acid is a must,and caution should be used in handling.The condition of your parts must be observed when it comes to the length of time the pcs. remain in acid.A few hours(or less) will take care of almost any rusted part.Rinsing and priming must happen asap,or you will have rust once again on those pcs.If you should get a little splatter of acid on you rinse and wash immediately.I no longer use muratic because I have a bead blast cabinet. regards,Mike

[ply33]

In the past I have used acid to de-rust parts. And I have had parts ruined by leaving them in too long. So mostly I use mechanical means to remove rust nowadays.<P>However, I came across an antique tool web site that tells how to <a href="http://members.nbci.com/nlindsey/restoration/Electrolysis/Electrolysis.htm">remove rust using electrolysis</a> that seems to be easy and safe and use things that a car collector would have around the house. Has anyone on this forum tried this?

[Guest c.johnson]

A friend suggested a product called TSP (I think it is Trisodiumphosphate, not sure.)<P>Anyway, you can get it in just about just about any hardware store and it's less than $10.00 per box. Mix with water, and it removes a remarkable amount of grease, and quite a bit of rust - unless rusted through.<P>Works well on transmissions & stuff you don't want to use a blaster.<P>cj

[24T42]

I do not usually reply to anything technical - that's not my strong point. However, I found this on the Internet awhile back and thought it might have some merit. It uses a safe process for removing rust, mainly small parts, using a bucket, a battery charger, and Arm n' Hammer Laundry Soda, which can be found in your local grocery store on the laundry soap isle. I have not tried it but it might be an alternative to worling with acid. If anyone tries it be sure to let us know how it did. The link is -<P><A HREF="http://www.oldengine.org/members/billd/electrol.htm" TARGET=_blank>A simple rust remover using Arm n' Hammer Laundry Soda & battery charger</A><P>24T42<BR> <A HREF="http://www.aaca.org/bntc/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.aaca.org/bntc/</A><p>[ 08-22-2001: Message edited by: 24T42 ]

[Guest Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL)]

I have used the baking soda/battery charger set up. It works OK, but is rather slow if you have several parts to do. It may be possible to rig up several wires going to multiple parts, but I did not try that.<P>The parts are not going to be shiny and clean when you remove them. This process just sorta "softens" the rust. It turns it black and makes it much easier to remove by hand with a wire brush. <P>I have determined that the Tim "the tool man" Taylor "MORE POWER" approach works best for me. I just use a knotted wire wire brush on a right angle grinder. It makes lots of dust, but will leave you with a shiny, rust free part unless there are some really deep pits. I then wash the parts with soap and water, wipe down with a paint preparation solvent then paint.

[Guest]

I have used citric acid to remove rust from parts. I buy it from an industrial supplier in Tenn called Kano Labs. They call it exrust. The citric acid will dissolve the rust but not harm the metal. A number of material processing plants use citric acid to clean their delivery pipes ( which is where I found out about it.)

[Guest COMPACTBC]

About a year ago I was surfing the web and on an antique tractor site I found the following formulae for rust removal. 6 parts water to 1 part Molasses. It is not real fast, it might take several days, but it's very effective and does not hurt the metal. Be sure to buy the Molasses that DOESN'T say "Sulfur Free"

[Ccar]

Certainly many ideas about rust removal. I had forgotten about the KANO products located in TN. Talked to them today and was referred to their "Exrust" as the product to use for my gas tank cleaning. Ordered a gallon (requires 3-1 mix with water) to see what happens. Will post my results after trial.<P>Keep the ideas coming, I'm sure many of us will print this thread for future use.<P>Chuck

[Guest]

CCar: I have used exrust on nuts, bolts and small parts and it does work very well. Dissolved the rust and ready for painting. I have never tried it on a larger piece like a gas tank, so I would be interested in hearing the results.

[Guest trevor ward]

just finishing a resto on my old crate, and along the way i have had to de-rust and prep many large bits and i have had these blasted, but for smaller items such as engine bolt ons ( brackets, nuts n'bolts etc )i have used a strong phosphoric acid solution, which came from a cleaning company selling chemicals for industry and domestic use. All that is needed is a plastic pot to pour into and just dunk the offending item in it for a couple of days and it will quite literally dissolve the rust and leave a clean part ready for paint or whatever, and if left in for a longer period, will NOT ever eat the good metal...tried and tested!!<P> TREVOR.........<BR> '64 LE SABRE 4 DR. ............