Technical What to soak rusted assemblies in?

This isn’t car related, but I have some castings with an eccentric bolt in side, I need to free up. Think of it like a rusted up adjustable wrench.
I wonder if Citric acid mix would seep in? Or?
Here’s some pics.

 

I've used citric acid with good results, let it soak a couple of days.

 

Citric acid will work. White vinegar will also work. If you use vinegar you can neutralize the part with baking soda and water if you need to.

 

Citric acid
Vinegar
Molasses
ATF and diesel / varsol
There is also citric acid with a sacrificial anode to speed things up if you desire

and most of these recipes to better with some kind of agitation “ aquarium pump “ etc.

lots of different recipes,

basically you just need the part to be submerged , after the rust removal I would probably do an atf soak to get everything moving again .


What is it ?

got beat to the punch by the top two !!

 

Lookup Rust 911 you can get a jug from Amazon something like $30 something. It is to be diluted with water. You will have enough for several projects.

Get a sturdy, proper sized, corrugated box to make a 'tub'. Using a large heavy-duty trash or 'contractors' bag, secured with tape, will render the box water tight. ( follow dilution instructions )
Let that piece soak about a week, and see how it looks. May take more time but the good metal won't be harmed. I used it in some medium weight metal did very well. Also left some rusted wrenches in it for six months just to see what would happen. After they got shiny there has been no change. Good Luck

 

CLR. It will be clean cast after 2 or 3 days.

 

Have you tried heat yet? A couple of heating and cooling cycles is the first thing I'd try. That piece looks substantial enough to not be damaged by a kiss from the fire wrench. Heat, cool, a couple taps on the bolt from both sides with a hammer, repeat.

 

Getting the pics I posted off, used the last of my acetylene, working till Thursday on a night shift, so was looking for a mail order thing and dump them in a bucket by Tuesday, as I don’t have time to take the tank in to swap till I’m off.

 

There were several threads on here dealing with rust removal. It seems to me molasses turned out to be the winner in a few.

 

It’s a pain to deal with, I used it long ago.

I just ordered a thing of citric Acid, when it gets here I’ll mix it up and let it soak till off work at the end of the week. Heck, probably gonna dump a few old adjustables in it as well!

 

Works brand toilet bowl cleaner hasn't let me down yet, and it's cheap

 

Molasses. Then It probably can be recycled, bottled & sold on Amazon as a cure for iron deficiency anemia like Geritol. Only cheaper. Make millions!

 

I've had good luck with Evaporust on small stuff. It isn't cheap but I just poor it back in the jug and use it again and again.


Before


After



I've got some citric acid for a bigger project but haven't tired it yet.

 

24 hrs in citric acid solution, 2 lbs citric powder in 5 gals of water. No brushing or scraping just rinse with water......your results may vary

 

I have used citric acid on some projects. Works great, and cheap. Just ordered Rust 911 from Amazon. $71.xx shipped, will make 16 gallons. Bought it mainly to soak water jackets in flathead.

 

Citric acid is easy on the main body of the part you're de-rusting. I recently did some sheet metal parts for my Nomad. Cut open a cardboard box, and double lined it with some heavy mil plastic. I've used plastic pails in the past, depending on size needed. After a couple of days, rinsed them off, then spray cleaned them with brake cleaner(thought I'd try). No rust after a few weeks. In your case, just lubricate with your choice.

 

I boiled my Allis in oil. Takes less than half hour but it is a fire hazard. Second way I’ve done it is vinegar. Take it out everyday and beat/work on it then put it back in. Eventually it’ll free up.
Good Luck!

 

One more plug. Rust 911 can be used over again, until it gets tired.

 

I use Muriatic acid. 24 hour soak, then pull out and immediately rinse with water, dry with towels and a heat gun then put primer on it right away. Works great.

 

I like citric acid, but keep the OG package as it looks like nose candy....

I have made up, re-purposed vessels to soak big items. I did the front of my hood using an under-bed plastic storage unit, lashed the hood to my deck rail and let it soak for 3 days. Old plastic cat litter containers are good for small parts. I have a couple of small plastic strainers I use for small parts and hardware.

 

Jethro, I had the same exact results with 3 old crankshafts that I almost gave up on. Bought citric acid at Walmart
in the canning section for $4, used a 5 gal. bucket and with 3 gal. of water. Soaked one end standing up, waited 24hrs.
and turned it on the other end. They all came out perfect. I would never have believed it, but have not tried anything
else since. And, I made a nice profit on the cranks! Bob

 

I'm in the molasses line too. I have a drum with bulk feed molasses from the farm store. Made my mix with 4 gal of molasses and 4 gal of hot water 1st, stirred up, then topped up till the 55 gal barrel was a 3rd full. I've used it now going on 4 years. It stinks when stirred up before use and I keep a cover on it so the shop doesn't smell. I leave stuff in for a week or more, comes out NOS. Castings get black, use gloves, stays in your hands a while if you don't.

 

Thats funny! I have a big ol ziplock bag full of CA in the console of my truck right now to give to my buddy.

 

If your trying to free the rusted bolt, go to any healthfood store and buy a little brown bottle of Oil of Wintergreen and a small syringe. Do it outside as the fumes are strong, like a pine tree. . Little on the threads and go eat lunch. It's also poison in large quantities. In small quantities it is used in food. Lippy

 

You can also use your battery charger and a sacrificial anode in a NONMETALLIC! Bucket of water. It works well. I won’t go into the details here, but you can google it.

 

Powdered molasses from the farm store, or powdered citric acid from Amazon. Molasses is a little cheaper, though neither is expensive compared to the commercial products like evaporust.

Citric acid is a little quicker and smells better.

I would go with molasses for that one though, if I had both on hand.

 

Just remember that acids are just that, acids and will continue to eat away at the base metal if left too long. Also, they should be neutralized after immersion. Evaporust and Rust-911 work by a process called Chellation that will not damage the base metal, no matter how long it is left in the solution. I have found that Evaporust works a bit better than Rust-911, but Rust-911 is preferable for large projects because of cost.

Also, Molasses is an acid, albeit, a weak one. Anyone considering using it should read this thread first : https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/can-molasses-for-rust-removal-do-nany-damage.682253/.

Also, while electrolysis works, it works on "line of sight" only. It does not "turn corners. This means that, while it may work in certain circumstances, in others it won't. I have used it and have found it messy and leaves you with a lot of rusted cathodes to get rid of.

 

You can order the powdered citic acid from Amazon. It will seep into whatever crevaces there are. Its a matter of how much acid you mix with the water, so its kind of an experiment the first time. More acid, quicker results. It will look terrible when done, but still have some potency for awhile. I'd get at least a 5 gallon plastic bucket with a lid. A bigger container will do more things. If you have something large and flat, make a wooden frame and lay it on the ground. Put a plastic drop cloth in it and drape it over the wood.........like a small trough. Then pour the stuff out of the bucket and into the trough. Getting it back in the bucket however ............ If not satisfied with results, let it continue to soak and it will come clean of rust. After soaking something with moving parts, you need to soak it in water (and maybe some soda), but it WILL need some kind of flushing action to rinse the inner passages and moving parts.

 

Electrolysis is the method that works the best for me as well. Rusted solid chainsaw chain? Toss it in the spooge tank for a day or so.

 

I am all for letting science work for me. (105) Electrolysis - YouTube