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I don't know about saving them or not, but what works best for me for removing rust is Citric Acid Powder.  See thread below.

http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=121049

Works like a charm on chrome.  Maybe try putting them into the Citric Acid Powder and water.  Citric Acid is "acid", but it's not very harsh, like oxalic acid.  You can touch it all day without any problem and it's actually a food additive (Kosher salt).  It's a chemical reaction that takes the rust off.  It doesn't "eat" it off.

only uncoated metal does that.
a little polishing will bring them back.

You can also remove rust with Coca-Cola and aluminum foil.

Put the coke in a spray bottle and spray it on the part, then take a small pice of aluminum foil and rub it over the rust spots. Watch what happens.

Thanks for everyones input.  I was going to polish them, but most parts were rusted beyond restoration so I just ordered shiny, brand new parts from Porkchopzz4...great stuff!  For your entertainment, here's the vinegar soak after I left the parts in for a little longer....

I soaked some parts in vinegar overnight after brushing off excess rust and soaking them in bleach. I put some in a plastic cup and sealed it with saran wrap and a rubber band, and some in a zip-lock freezer bag, and put them in the tub. They did not get too black but slightly darker. I used Chrome polish which also works great for other metals it seems, especially bolts and washers. They shined up well.

i did some vinegar rust removal on spokes,worked like a charm, except where the chrome was worn off... then it looked dark, but it was to be expected, it was raw metal

ill keep using my oxalic acid though, works faster and has better results, leaves raw metal silver, not black

Vinegar rocks but it should not be underestimated... Like all acids, it can go way beyond just removing rust. The last posted picture here is definitely a vinegar bath that was left for too long... I know because I've done them a few times. If left too long it can actually ruin your parts.

No matter what kind of acid bath you are using, Vinegar, CAP or OA... It's important to monitor the parts and give them periodic scrubbing. When the rust is gone, get the parts out and do all the follow up stuff, like rinsing cleaning, oiling and polishing etc. Nothing should ever require more than a 24 hour soak in my experience.

Here's a vinegar demo I did last year:

An old 1976 Mongoose frame, a set of redline "V" bars and some Tange forks all needed to be cleaned up. The frame was the most rusted...
All three were dumped into a shallow bath of plain old distilled white vinegar. Kept checking every few hours and did some light scrubbing... At just under 24 hours, everything came out.

Then it was a quick brushing off of the rust, a water rinse, drying off and clear oil wipe down.  Everything came out great!

superbad1369 wrote:

This is funny!
Anyone got a time frame for very light rust on pegs and will any kind of vinegar work?

Probably just a few hours or so.. depending on what you are calling 'light" rust. Just grab an old toothbrush, and every hour or so pull 'em out and give them a good scrubbing, and put them back in if needed. I would suspect that most any vinegar would work.. not that I know how many different versions there are.

I would drop them in, and wait about 3 hours, then scrub them. Then check them every hour or so (with repeated scrubbings) until your happy with them. Then rinse them with soap and water, and maybe even oil them and let them sit a day or so and then wipe off the excess.

Going on 6 hours and they still look near the same, im taking em out about every 1 1/2 hrs and scrubing with a t brush, hope it dosent take much longer since Im going to bed in about 4hrs. I also picked up a polishing kit for my dremel today.

stinkinbadges wrote:

I also picked up a polishing kit for my dremel today.

My co-worker used a Dremel polishing kit on some old golf clubs the other day, He couldn't believe how well they turned out, Now he is thinking of selling that set and doing another. He completely forgot he wanted them shined up originally to actually Golf with now he is all into just restoring sets!

Post pics when you are done!

8 hours and we have some progress! Started showing a bit around 5-6.
I for sure will post before and after.

Yeah I would say after about 20 hrs you want to check your stuff out for sure, wash it then too.
Sorry no before and after pics on the other stuff I had done.

Nope, didnt dilute it, just takes longer than I expected or was told, I dont even bother checking sooner than 20hrs from now on.
Thanks draw ill give that backing soda a try and make sure it dont overflow like a lave!