Tech: Using Oxalic acid to remove rust

Its not the "dollar" store, its a chain here in NE called "family dollar"
JimV

 

Try CL for plastic drums. I see them on there all the time here in Ohio. I have friends that work for Smuckers, so I can get tons of them.
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I would rather work up to the right ratio, hate to create issues! It is working, just doesn't have the kick to get that last little red off. I will keep ya'all posted.

 

Rats..
But I'll check with those types of stores anyway.. They sell the darnedest things!

 

Excellent info here! I'd love to see a comparison test between this and the molasses method...

My '33 coupe has surface rust and pitting inside and out, I'd love to dip the entire thing...I'd build a pool like mentioned above.

 

Ran into this site from another "rust" site. I use molassas and have a 350 gal tank. Its a stock watering tank and fits Cowls, doors and quarters (roadsters). I use molassas in a & to ! mix. Works great. Paid $160 for it. Paid for itself with the first load.

 

I got excited when I saw this post...

I am starting my own experiment now...

I have a small plastic tub, I have put 10 cups (yeah, well it is the only measuring device i had on hand)...of water - not hot but it sounds like it doesn't matter

I added 1/2 cup of the wood bleach

Dissolved as best i can (there is still some sediment on the bottom of my tub)

I then added four hood bolts and some metal rings from old speedometers and a nailhead

I am excited to see some results.

tok

 

OK, I have pics but not uploaded. I gave up on Sunday with my 48oz Oxalic-40 gals water. Looked like nothing was going on. So, I drained my bucket................only to find out it worked perfectly! DOH! But, the cost has me going back to vinegar or molassas. 12oz of bleach is 9 bucks, kinda pricey.

 

Great info I look forward to giving this a try.

 

Here is alittle update for you. After 24 hrs the water has turned a light green color and all the parts inside are showing sign of being cleaned.

Check it out.

This is pretty cool.

 

Looking good Tok, dont do what I did and assume it didn't work all the way. My parts had a rusty scum that wiped off to show clean AFTER I had already drained $40 worth of solution!

 

I got a hemi head in as we speak. I wondered about the green "kool aid" color. Do you also have that white cloudy stuff covering things? makes the water murky when you mix it up.

What about temperature? My tank is just a few degrees above freezing. Warmer water make it work faster?

 

Warmer is better, I did try my magnetic block heater on a small part.

 

George where did you pick up your acid?

 

Get this:

At the Bee Maid honey producers co-op in Spruce Grove. Oxalic acid is used to kill mites on honey bees.

 

weird but thanks!!

 

Then it HAS to be Uber nasty!

 

Has anybody tried this on chrome plated parts???

 

Update as well.

Yeah, I got the white powdery stuff on all the parts and once I shake them around it gets all cloudy. If you look at my earlier posts, I had some good success on mostly clean parts, but I wanted to see it really work..so, the nailhead side cover i had was really crusty on the opposite side, so I switched it over...

WOW..

check it out.

tok

 

you can get it on ebay cheap, I got 5 lbs for $20 shipped or go here:

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Search.aspx?k=oxalic acid

 

Thats nice to know, we order from them all the time.

 

I just ordered 10 lbs. from Van Dyke's, anybody have an idea how much solution that would make?

 

canada, yup your on top.

 

Very cool Elliott's in Dallas carry wood bleach.

 

I'm using at 1/4 cup per gallon. Seems to be working okay.

Any chemists in the crowd? What is that white precipitate?

 

Does anyone know if this oxalic acid is safe for a 1951 Chevy carburetor??
I don't want to soak it and have it dissolve, but the steel parts are seriously crusty.

 

It seems that this stuff works and brings back some of the old paint that is under the rust, what do you guys do to preserve it so it won't rust again or even flash rust? wax or what?

 

I have 4 old spoke rims...think I'll give it a try...has anyone tried this with wire or spoke rims..???

 

I bought 5lbs from Ebay for $20 and it came with an instruction sheet for many different uses. For rust removal, 1-2 tablespoons per gallon is recommended. At that concentration this stuff is very cost effective if you can buy it like that.

I picked out a range of rusty things in my garage, a chrome shifter, nuts and bolts, some very, very pitted old crap, a piece of sheet metal with flash rust and a 47-54 running board support which I needed to clean up. The sheet metal with flash rust was clean in less than 1 hr. The chrome shifter looks new and I thought it was a goner. The nuts, bolts, etc took a couple days to soak as did the running board support. I pulled the support out of the solution a few times and scrubbed the loose stuff off with a brush which helped quite a bit.

Please be aware this is a caustic chemical and need to be treated as such, it is highly poisonous to humans and animals, a small ingestion of pure OA will kill you and the fumes alone are harmful. In it's diluted form it's not that bad so if you can take resonable precaution then go for it!

Here's where I get blown away with the results, this running board support looked to me like it had never been painted or possibly lost all it's paint long ago. Since the Oxalic Acid only attacks the Iron Oxide or rust, after doing it's job revealed a black coat of paint that looked almost new after 60 years. See for yourself:

 

Looks like a Red X