As a test several months ago I filled a jar with distilled white vinegar and put some pennys in the jar as a means to see if the vinegar removed years of useage that had caked-up upon the pennys. I was hoping for good results but my final review is this process does not work or I did something wrong. The vinegar removed nothing and the pennys started to excrete white stuff. I need to be educated if vinegar really can remove rust on old cars and other stuff.
Why didn't you perform your experiment on some rusty steel. The copper pennies probably had nothing but dirt on them.
Use rusty metal. The pennies thing is a elementary school project we did as a kid. That's what vinegar does to pennies!
I've used it on small rusted parts and it works well, and quickly. I had a small pulley 90% derusted in less than an hour at room temperature. I don't know if it was distilled white vinegar, regular white vinegar, or cider vinegar. I've tried them all, and they all work.
I'm not sure what you were doing with the pennys, but it has worked for with rust. If you do a search here on the HAMB, you will find others that use vinegar as well. Here is a thread with some of my experiences: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95404&highlight=vinegar .
Had a friend of mine experiment with vinegar and some small misc hardware, he left it in the jar and forgot about it. Months later when he found the jar, the hardware was gone. Apparently it ate up the bolts/screws. Note to self, don't leave parts in vinegar for too long of time, just long enough to remove the rust.
I use it to rust new metal. Don't want the new panels to look "replaced" so I give 'em a light sanding and spray them with vinegar. It'll rust overnight! Looks darn near authentic.
Vinegar is not fast acting, but I used it in my cooling system in an O/T project, and it sat in it for 2 days, and then I started the engine and got it to operating temp and then shut it off and let it cool a little and then drained it...It cleaned the cooling system out very well. So I surmize that heat helps it work.
I didn't think about this use until I read your reply, but my mom used to run white vinegar thru her coffee pot every so often to clean it out. OT, I know, but it worked for that, no reason it wouldn't work for what you used it for.
Depends what pennies you used. Any cent made since 1983 (and a lot of 82s) are zinc with copper plating. You need 1981 or older stuff to play with. Copper is a pretty reactive metal, as far as coinage goes. Most coins aren't really "dirty" what you're seeing that darkens them is the copper reacting and oxidizing. Yeah I collect coins
if you use a vinegar make sure you rinse it real good or even better use a little baking soda in water. It will neutralize the acid. Especially if you have left something soaking for a long time
My penny experiment was a bust. I was hoping for bright copper results. Clearly the HAMB knows the best and I'm sure vinegar on rust will work in the correct conditions. My now 16 worthless pennies would buy me 3 candy bars in 1965. Thanks HAMB!
Its funny you tested your potential rust fighter on non-rusting items. Vinegar does work very well. I have a huge vat of it.
Jeez, I wondered how long it would take for someone to remember that! I used to do it all the time as a kid.
Right on. Odds are, most of the pennies you used are newer than 1981-82 and made of zinc, so the white excetion was probably the vinegar dissolving the zinc from behind the copper oxide. fun fact: Solid copper pennies can technially be used as anodes in copper plating. But rigid copper pipe is cheaper and better to use.
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