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ive used 0000 steel wool with great results. anything less then 0000 IE 000 or 00 will scratch. it was recommended to me by a guy who builds custom choppers. he said he does this on the exhaust to clean them up with out having to rechrome them.

Last edited by ActionJackson (2009-01-28 7:42am)

Monaro wrote:

That citric powder is great for rust removal as is vinegar. I have found that boiling a small pot of distilled water and adding the CAP while it is still hot, then add it to your final distilled water mix works well to dissolve the powder. I still find vinegar to be a cheaper option as the distilled water can get a bit pricey.

mongoosedrummer wrote:

May all your rust be dissolved with the speed, safety and efficacy of the greatest product for rust removal ever invented... Citric Acid Powder! Welcome to the future...

mongoosedrummer, I think you should sloww downnn on that CAP powder you seem to like it a little to much J/K

I just had a nice hot tea with a teaspoon of CAP in it! Yum! I just spirnkled some on my pillow cases to freshen them up too! Joking! Do not do this kids! Ha!

Seriously, don't worry about using any special water or at any hot temperature when mixing CAP... I never do and it always works fine. Vinegar is cool for sure but it does reek a bit. Also, it will cost more than using CAP mixed at about 2-3 ounces per liter.

Citric Acid Powder straight into cold water from the garden hose:



Totally safe and easy to mix with your bare hand:



Drop in the old rusty junk:



Under 24 hours and the rust mostly falls right off like magic!



Rinse and dry off...



Wipe down the new rust free parts with light clear oil and ready to go!



Believe it or not, you can also use Citric Acid Powder as an ingredient to make a nice Indian meal like this:



It's also sometimes used to make home made beer! Yumm!

Last edited by mongoosedrummer (2009-01-27 4:27pm)

It's also the main ingredient in all those sour candies the kids love

Will this take off the paint or is it ok

finally found some CAP at a local home brew store. 8.95 a lb. was bummed about that. but then again if i bought that 2lb jar i was looking at 11 something to ship. so technically its about the same prices as that online store. plan on soaking my parts this tuesday. will let all know how it comes out.

Last edited by ActionJackson (2009-02-20 8:39pm)

ActionJackson wrote:

drummer,

1 gal = 3.78 liters = 6-9 oz of CAP just depending the ratio one uses. any idea how many gallons (or liters for you) it might take to completely submerge a 20" frame? 

ill have to be sure to use what i can find to take up extra volume in the container.

just trying to get a idea since i have been thinking about it now for 3 days.

thanks
AJ

Hey AJ,

The container I bought is this one: http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/pr … Prod280059

I found it at Lowes and it is a 17 Gallon container. It fits an entire frame perfectly. I used some large rocks to take up extra space and it required about 13 Gallons of water mixed with CAP to cover the frame. I've since seen quite a few different containers that would work fine. Recently I saw one that was at least 3 times as deep at Target and it was on sale for around $15.00 if I recall correctly. You can pretty much use anything but it's a good idea to measure the size and height of your frame lying sideways to make sure. That's what I did. You could also use a bathtub. I did that once at my old place in the guest bathroom. My wife flipped out and truth be told, I did scratch it a bit... I'm happy I went to the plastic stuff afterwards and so is she!

In terms of mix ratios, honestly, I used to be more precise when I first measured how much CAP I mixed into water. After I used my bath a few times I just kept tossing in a few ounces here and there over time. I use the same bath over and over. The only real issue I had was the water would begin to evaporate a little bit after several days. So, I would just add more water and a few shots of powder each time I topped it back up. I'm gonna say a couple ounces per liter would be more than enough, so you might want to try around 6 ounces per Gallon to get started. You could always amp it up from there if you're not seeing the desired results, but you may not need anymore than that. It doesn't have to be overly precise IMO and a little seems to go a long way...

I've also scrubbed parts directly just by using a wet, non scratch 3M pad dabbed in CAP. That works pretty well too if there is only a little rust and you want to save time. I guess it all depends on how big the part is and how rusty it is.

Always make sure to check any parts you have soaking periodically and do some soft scrubbing... When the rust is gone, take the parts out and rinse, dry and oil etc. The only trouble I've heard is when people leave them in too long. Most parts shouldn't require any longer than 24 hours. Even mild acids like Vinegar can start to mess up a finish if left too long. Especially older cheap flaky Chrome which can often just start to come off with the rust...

Hope that helps and I look forward to hearing/seeing your results.

Last edited by mongoosedrummer (2009-03-20 10:44pm)

This works great, thanks for the idea

In the late 60's they would have called this a bad acid trip!

Kudos to you for sharing this sad situation though. By showing what happened here you are actually helping people who are using acids to clean up their parts etc.

It's unfortunate about what happened and everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I have made many mistakes during these types of projects too but it's best to share the mistakes like you have done so that others won't have to go through the same thing. In other words, one person's small error can end up helping out many people as long as it's shared. So again, you've really helped some people by sharing this...

Basically, whenever we leave things soaking in acid, they need to be watched carefully and never left too long. It doesn't matter if it's Vinegar, Citric Acid Powder or OA. Although some acids are stronger than others, they will all "go too far" if left too long.

My general rule is not to leave things soaking for over 24 hours. It's not a strict rule and it's based on my personal use of CAP @ 6-8 ounces per gallon of water... It may be slightly different for other types of acids like vinegar etc. However, it shouldn't take much longer to remove most rust problems regardless of what type of acid is being used IMO...

Thanks for sharing your experience and feel better knowing you've helped people to understand some important points about the process of rust removal.

Some of you have seen pics of my bICEcycle. I put it in the OA bath in October last year and forgot about it til April. Open my chest with the tub inside and this is waht I found. Diamondback Icecycle!






However, it did no damage as this is it after spraying it off and a thin film of MP50

I just did the vinegar & baking soda thing this weekend on an chain and it worked incredible! Chain looks like new. This was very easy. Thanks to this thread I don't need a new chain.

PR

GrndZero wrote:

Has anyone tried using either of these 2 options in a bath tub. I was asking my wife to pick up a long container from waly world and she said why not just use the bath tub. If these options are not even taking off stickers would I really have to worry about it being in a tub? Porcelain tub btw.

I wouldn't do it. It will stain your tub. All I know is it permanently stained the white ceramic bowl I soaked my chain in.

What costs more a container from wallyworld or a new tub?

Well that is the baking soda and vinegar in the bowl. When I did the CAP and water it wasnt as bad. Course the frame wasnt as rusty as the chain was. Regardless I still think it would be best just to use a container incase it does stain.

Sorry I keep posting new posts but apparently the edit option is no longer available.