Citrus Acid??

[TxGasser]

Have any of you ever tried powder citrus acid
to clean rusted old parts? I me a guy at a swap
meet last weekend he had a trailer with a TT cab
and a 27 tallboy T body on it plus a bunch of
finders, doors, etc! He told me if I buy some citrus
acid powder and mix it in a tub of water till the
water has a citrus taste, and soak the parts
overnight and hit them with a wire brush in the
morning they would come out with out the rust
and with a grey color, with all the rust gone!
Have any of you tried this?

Let me know,
Johnny!

 

[TxGasser]

Here's a pic of the action so far (12 hours)!
It's a 25 T front cowl for my
1925 T bucket hack project!

I'm going to use a wire brush
on it and see how much comes
off!

Johnny!

 

[rooster57]

Another way is with baking-soda and a pan (plastic) of water then make yourself two copper electrodes on each side of the pan. Then connect your battery charger to it and in 24 or so hours the rust is gone.

 

[fluidfloyd]

Have any of you ever tried powder citrus acid
to clean rusted old parts?

Johnny,

I'm not sure about citrus acid but I have used muratic acid (swimming pool cleaner) mixed with water. It will strip rust, hot roll scale, weld backside scale or blister and cad plated bolts. When you are through just delute it with more water and pour down the drain. You do need to nutrilize it as it will keep working. If the parts are completely excessable then you can scrub it clean and get by. If you have chambers you can't reach into then you really need to soak it in a baking soda and water mix then rinse with water.

George

 

[Ted Brown]

I also keep a small plastic jar with muratic acid in it, works great to clean bolts that you want to weld, just rince well with water after about 10 seconds, no more cad plating.. don't get any on ya..

 

[oldtman]

I used to take parts to a shop that used phosphoric acid to dip bodies in the big tank but the enviromental regs made it too expensive to update so he closed down.

 

[TxGasser]

Yes, those were great!

 

[Screaming Metal]

OK, Ok,........we're waiting TxGasser.....how did the wire Brushing go????? If we don't hear from you in a few hours....we're gonna call in the paramedics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TxGasser]

Maybe so, Maybe not ????? :sad:

Johnny!

 

[Track-T]

Hmmmmmm Acid....

 

[Yogi]

60's flash back there Track-T?

 

[40ford]

Acid...........Look at all the pretty colors

 

[Track-T]

Wee bit of orange sunshine sounds about right...

I remember most of the 60's :ciao:

 

[TxGasser]

Dam, I'm getting high just reading this post!!!!!!

 

[fluidfloyd]

I completely forgot about these guys in Arlington, Texas. They are just south of !-20 on South Cooper. Check them out. I have no idea about cost.

George

www.metalrehab.com

 

[TxGasser]

Many Thanks!

 

[GizmoJoe]

Hi guys.

A newbie sticking his nose in here...
I have some experience with this stuff but it's only non-professional so take it as you will.
I did a VERY quick search first and didn't find a lot here but I hope I'm not repeating too much info.
Acids work well, even apple cider vinegar, but they NEED to be neutralized or they keep eating away the metal. Acids are not nice because they don't care what they eat.. rust or good metal.
Electrolysis (or properly: reverse-electrolysis) works very well by removing only the rust from bad metal and not attacking the good stuff. A hassle with this method is that it is line-of-sight between the metal you are trying to save and the sacrificial steel you are depositing the rust on. Also there is an issue of hydrogen embrittlement meaning the metal is harder for a while after the process. Either cook it out or wait a week.
Molasses. Yes, I typed molasses. If you haven't heard of this method of rust removal.. look it up so you don't think I was testing the acid while I was playin'. If you dip a piece of rusty metal into a molasses and water dip for 2 weeks yes, 2 weeks, you will see that the rust is gone. Stinks BIG time after it starts fermenting. Cover it up well.

As I say.. I've had some experience with all of these. We have MEGA rust problems here.
I have more info but I expect many of you have more info and experience than me.
A couple of pictures... Model A box I'm fussin' with.
I know, I type a lot.

 

[LumenAl]

Can't argue with results... that A box looks clean!

 

[TxGasser]

What kind of molasses???

 

[GizmoJoe]

Yes, electrolysis does a good job in most cases.
The metal comes out as black as night and the residue really will stain anything.
I simply wire-wheeled the black off.

As for molasses...
Some folks go to feed stores and get it. You can get it liquid or powder.
Many people say it has to have sulfur. Others say it's not needed.
I've gone to the cupboard and poured some into a container (shhh, don't the missus), mixed it with water (1 part molasses to 6 parts water), dunked the part after a SERIOUS degreasing (important as it really slows it down otherwise) and covered it for a week. So just about any molasses seems to work.
After a week, open it up OUTSIDE.. man it's stinks, wire brush it if you can, rinse with water, dry and put it back in.
You can find people on the internet dunking whole bodies (car.. not good for getting rid of unwanted guests).
Do a search on the net for "molasses rust".

An advantage of molasses or other liquids over electrolysis or blasting is that the liquid gets in everywhere.

Oh.. Evapo-rust and Safest Rust Remover also need some checking into if you are in need of getting rid of rust. They rock but cost more than molasses.

I'm not a know-it-all guys.. just been checking into this for a while.