Another rust removal question

[MikeBs]

Been reading about the citrus acid method and intend to give it a go. Never done it before.
Need to derust about a dozen horseshoes. Could I just put them all in a washing up bowl, cover with hot water and put in some citric acid powder. Leave for a couple of hours and rinse.
If so how much powder would you use. I don’t want to buy loads of it and have loads left over.
In total I would probably do this 3 or 4 times and that would be about 30 or so horseshoes.

 

[Shedendman]

Chuck then in anything you like,hot or cold will do,powder in before or after dont matter,mix,depending how bad the rust is,i'd say 24hrs,empty out water(and yes you can put it down the drain) and rinse off,jobs a goodun

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I use 1 heap table spoon per liter of water.
Place the shoees in the bowl cover with water, add the powder and wait.

 

[Cobbler]

I use 1 tablespoonful to a litre of water as advised on here, just guess really it’s not critical. If you use hot water you can see it bubbling as it attacks the rust. If you leave it overnight that will be long enough then clean them off with warm water & scrubbing brush. Don’t throw it away as you can keep on using it, 30 horseshoes would probably need a couple of mixes. I’ve got some in at the moment, the mix has probably done about 20 shoes & still works, doing it cold though takes a couple of days.

 

[Barking Mat]

Wire brush them first to remove any big rust lumps, it will help.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

A block lot done.

Baked dry and waxed.

 

[MikeBs]

Thanks all. I will get a box soon and give it a go. I just wanted to confirm that there is nothing technical to it or if the ratio of citric acid powder to water was critical.
I can manage about a tablespoon per litre and leave overnight. That’s my kind of rough engineering.

 

[6ply]

View attachment 476186

A block lot done.



View attachment 476187




View attachment 476188

Baked dry and waxed.

How long did that soak?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

How long did that soak?

Under 48 hours.

 

[6ply]

Under 48 hours.

That's not bad. I had a quick look on eBay.... So many sellers! Is it all the same stuff?

 

[Ian X]

I dunked a few of these in a citric acid solution two years ago and brush painted them with epoxy after two days immersion, I forget them, a day probably would have done. They had lived in the ground and in a barn for a very long time, the ones I discovered in the ground had a good thick rust coat. I hauled this one in to take a photo, it's been in the yard for two years since it's citric bath and lacquer. They will turn black, brush them till grey or dry them and leave them with the oxide, both look good and both will start to rust again if humidity allows. Some anecdotes say wire brush them first, others say no need, I don't know, I didn't, I did after they had been in a few hours, what remained of the thicker stuff brushed off very easily though.

 

[marlinspike]

I de rust, soak, fish the bits out and de rust, soak again. I think hot water works best but you can top it up with a boiling kettle obviously.

I think all citric acid is the same. There's no difference in strength as far as I know. The last lot I got was from a fishing supplies store on ebay. You can use it make bait apparently.

 

[Ian X]

View attachment 476186

A block lot done.



View attachment 476187




View attachment 476188

Baked dry and waxed.

The container on the upper left, I don't recognise that brand, I am assuming it is a lubricant cartridge, there is an image of a what looks like a magnet on it, is it a ferrous solution? What is it for and does it have a NATO number?

 

[Ian X]

I de rust, soak, fish the bits out and de rust, soak again. I think hot water works best but you can top it up with a boiling kettle obviously.

I think all citric acid is the same. There's no difference in strength as far as I know. The last lot I got was from a fishing supplies store on ebay. You can use it make bait apparently.

I bail some out and put it in the microwave, throw it back in and repeat until tepid.

 

[Ian X]

Been reading about the citrus acid method and intend to give it a go. Never done it before.
Need to derust about a dozen horseshoes. Could I just put them all in a washing up bowl, cover with hot water and put in some citric acid powder. Leave for a couple of hours and rinse.
If so how much powder would you use. I don’t want to buy loads of it and have loads left over.
In total I would probably do this 3 or 4 times and that would be about 30 or so horseshoes.

I read various on ratio of acid to water and 30>100g per litre get mentions. I just spoon it in as 6 heaped teaspoon per litre and it's effective. It's certainly more aggressive in action if you ladle it in but really there is no need. Keeping it warm speeds things up a lot. You can resuse it for a while before the efficacy is done. Don't buy citric acid that has bona fide credentials, the cheap white bag none food offerings are fine.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

The container on the upper left, I don't recognise that brand, I am assuming it is a lubricant cartridge, there is an image of a what looks like a magnet on it, is it a ferrous solution? What is it for and does it have a NATO number?

Can you highlight it please.

 

[Ian X]

Can you highlight it please.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

View attachment 476209

Oh that.
That is a special TYA can off derusting lubrication.

 

[rtcosic]

There's a 'recipe' on the internet which I've taken to using:
1 litre water
100 gms Citric Acid
40 gms Sodium Carbonate
'Dash' All Purpose Cleaner as surfactant.
I add 1 block of hexamine fuel tablet stripped of its wax coating as an inhibitor.

Like @Ian X I start with hot water from the tap and later bail out a jugful at a time and nuke it in the microwave.

The complicated recipe above does seem to work better than just 100gms/litre of citric acid and a dash of detergent.

Small parts get dropped in the tiddly ultrasonic bath I got from Lidl's Magical Middle Aisle of Mystery.

Large parts get hit with the pressure washer and the Twirly Nozzle of Death.

 

[mightymig]

Definitely give them a degrease first so the citric can actually get to metal and a bit of washing up liquid helps