Hi,

As Angus stated, Hydrochloric acid works very well. We used it in the chrome shop I used to work for.

Mixed with very Hot water, it will remove rust very well. It can be found in pool supply stores too, and is also known as "Muratic acid". Be sure to neutralize the area real good with a mix of soda ash & water when finished, before rinsing real good with water.
Works great for surface rust too. dip a cloth in it, and you can wipe away surface rust real fast.

A couple of precautions need to be taken...........

Do not breathe the fumes, it will literally steal the breath out of you!

Be careful using it on cast, as it will eat the metal away if left too long.

Be sure to wear rubber gloves, if you have a cut on your hands you'll find out real fast (burns like hell!).

Keep away from any chrome. This is exactly what plating shops use to strip chrome.

 

I have tried the vinegar dip some people have used. If you have a strong stomach it does work but be carefull how long you let the part stay in the vinegar. DO NOT get around this stuff after you have eaten. The smell will turn your breakfast upside down and OUT! When you take the part out be sure to rinse it twice as long as you think you should, with a high pressure washer and then do it two more times. The vinegar will stay in cracks creases and anywhere else it can get and it keeps eatting. A friend and I used the washing soda and battery charger trick and it works pretty good.We took a big heavy water tight piece of rubber tarp and made a tank big enough for a fender and it did a good job. It took about 3 days and all the rust was gone. Just be sure to rinse well. Just my experience and 2 cents worth

 

While we are on the cleaning subject. Most refrigeration supply houses sell " coil cleaner". This stuff makes great cleaner for any aluminum parts. Since I am a fan of the old style aluminum slots, I keep a jug of it. It can be mixed 50/50 for parts that aren't too bad. Do not use this stuff if you are outside and the wind is blowing. Its like the muriatic acid.if it gets on your skin or any open scratch you will learn the meaning of skin burn. It works great for wheels and anything aluminum that has exidation. I have used it for years. The one thing you dont want to do is leave it one the parts too long, it will cause black streaks. Its better to clean 2-3 times and use a nylon brush or green scuff pad.

 

I like OSPHO, basically a phosphoric acid product, with other ingredients, that chemically converts iron oxide (rust) to iron phosate. (not rust) and preps the metal for paint. It's about 15$ a quart.

 

phosphoric acid works great. You can get it at lowes or Homedepot. I have a tub that I place parts in. For big things what you have to do is keep them wet. So I will use a spray bottle mixed 50 % water and phosphoric acid and spray the part and then wrap it in plastic and let it sit. For heavy rust I may have to do this twice. All rust is gone. Try it it works. The key is to keep the part wet.

 

check out www.safestrustremover.com I don't know what it is but it works great

 

I'll second the Safestrustremover.com.

You must try it. Works exactly as described, doesn't smell bad, burn your skin, or damage paint.
Craziness.
The thing i like best is to soak carbs. They come out looking new.
On their site, they show big things being cleaned-up with a circulating pump. I haven't tried anything like that, but I would expect that to work as well.

The only catch is that you need to paint or WD40 your parts as soon as they are rinsed off. Otherwise, they begin to oxidize.

 

I used the safestrustremover stuff to clean the water jacket in my 46 hudson flathead 6. Before there was 1/4 an inch of rusty scale everywhere...after...check out the pic

 

I have found that you can break away most of the rust with a wire brush/sander or with a sand blster but the chemicals phophoric acid will neutralize the rust. I then use an expoxy primer as a sealer and get good painting results. Last a long time.
cheers

 

I am surprised no body mentioned EVAPO Rust and the Rust Bullet, both sponsors of this site.

 

From an ex-nuclear chemist: please don't use hydrochloric or muriatic acid! It's very nasty stuff, dangerous to handle, if you haven't had training it can blow up in your face. If you don't get it completely neutralized (difficult to do inside and between panels) it will keep dissolving the metal worse than the rust.
My method: Sandblasting followed immediately with a phosphate wash is best. Lacking a suitable sandblaster, I would NOT use a wire wheel, also too dangerous! I would use a abrasive embedded nylon mesh wheel call a "clean and strip" wheel available at Lowes, Home Depot, and Ace hardware. For getting ito tight areas and around projections I use a cup style wheel I found at my local Ace hardware. It has flourescent orange stiff nylon bristles embedded with abrasive, looks and feels like it should be a scrub brush. It also comes in two other "grits" I think with blue and grey bristles. It is stocked with the wire wheels in the tool section. They also come in a wheel shape which works well in corners and such where a wheel shape is called for but it tears up the clean and strip wheels. These wheels work BETTER than a wire wheel and are much safer! If I use the C&S or the plastic brush, I finish with a wash of the entire previously rusty area with "Rust Converter" by Red Devil (found in the painting chemicals department at the big box stores, small white plastic squeeze bottle with a applicator sponge stuck to the side of the bottle), it's a bit pricey, but it goes a long way and really works to stop any rust embedded in the metal from growing. Follow the use directions on the bottle (wear rubber gloves if you don't want black fingers. The chemical is not black nor is it a paint or coating, but it turns any rust it contacts black while chemically neutralizing it) especially about curing time before priming over it. Flow it into any seams or doubled metal and immediately wipe off any excess. No rinse or neutralizer required.

 

I was a chemical oxidizer in the mid 60's.
My job title was stripper, different kind of stripper than now.

We used to rinse our hands off in Sulphuric Acid at the end of the day and rinse again with water.
I didn't like to do it because it stung too much.

Hydrochloric is an oxidizer and will continue to oxidize (rust) unless neutralized.

I returned a defective pressure plate that had some surface rust on it, from laying around for me to take it back to the warehouse.
I wiped it down with Hydrochloric acid but didn't rinse it very well and it yellowed the surface slightly.

Be careful when using chemicals and get a good respirator and long rubber chemical gloves and apron, even when outdoors.

 

They sell those bristled nylon wheels in different grits at Harbor freight for just under 4 bucks...they work great om a drill and they do work better than the wire wheels! I was suprised! I used the orange ones and they almost completly stripped my cab... They were not as effective on my frame though (went through faster)

 

Thanks I'll have to check my local HF for them. They are ~ 6.00 at ACE but still worth every penny. I find the orange the most versatile of the three. It does help to use a stiff putty knife to knock off heavy rust scale first.

 

Harbor freight has coupons. Other companies are starting to issue coupons including Sears. Check internet to copy coupons. chuck