Bilt Hamber De Ox C

[Carl Wilson]

Hello All,

Some time ago now I got some Bilt Hamber de rusting compound "De Ox C". Having never used it...time just got away from me...I decided to give it a go.

It is billed as a non toxic de rusting agent that can be safely disposed of down the drain. The stuff comes as a fine white powder that is mixed with water. The concentration can be from 19 to 1 up to 4 to 1, depending on the severity of the rust. I mixed up a 10 to 1 solution for an experiment.

My Father in Law was a millwright and he gave me a few bits. One was a tailstock dieholder that was liberally coated in surface corrosion. Another was a number of thread gauges. The UN set of these was also quite rusty. These are shown below.

The instructions say to place the corroded items in the solution for anything from 20 minutes to overnight. As soon as I put the parts in they started to gently fizz. I left them overnight. Next morning I removed them and dried them, applying a little water dispersant (GT85) as per the instructions.

The results speak for themselves.

The stuff definitely works. You might say I could have achieved the same result with elbow grease and emery or scotchbrite. True, but you could mix up a larger batch of the stuff in a bigger tank for larger pieces that have hard to get at sections.

The question remains though, what is the stuff? I'm thinking possibly either citric or oxalic acid, or a combination of the two?

Carl.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Saved for future use. I use electrolysis for small parts like that but some parts are too big without making/acquiring bigger tanks and annodes.

 

[Carl Wilson]

I've heard of people using electrolysis but I've never seen it done. I suppose the money you pay for the de rusting compound is offset by the electricity you use with that method.

It would be nice to divine exactly what the Bilt Hamber stuff is as there is probably a far cheaper source of it to be had.

Carl.

 

[Parm]

Very interesting

Looked into this a few years ago for a work related situation. I seem to remember the MSDS sheet stated it was an organic compound that was bio degradable and a white crystalline substance in appearance in its raw form

Well, recently I used citric acid to de rust some measuring and marking tools I got. Guess what, it's an organic, white crystalline substance. When made up in solution and you dunk some rusty metal it fizzes.

Next time you want to remove some light rusting try citric acid in a water solution. I think a few on here have tried it.

If anyone get get me a sample I'm sure one of the labs I know can run some tests on it

 

[Carl Wilson]

Very interesting indeed. One thing I can tell you now, after having just read it, is that it does not like hydrocarbons. The instructions say to remove oil or grease before treating or else it won't work.

I'd have thought citric acid would not have bothered with them. In my job I sometimes come across big seal cleaning tools for subsea oil pipeline flanges. They use citric acid injection to clean grease, oil and other impurities from sealing faces.

My brother first introduced me to De Ox C. His wife, an American girl with a blistering knowledge of chemistry thought it might be some sort of enzyme that "ate" the rust. So maybe the hydrocarbons would kill it...

I'm sure Bilt Hamber want it to remain a secret!

Carl.

 

[Parm]

Anything with enzymes in will or should have safety info coming out of its ears as they are quite dangerous as well as being expensive

Just try it on stuff that’s oily / greasy and see what happens

Also get some citric acid and have a go with that

 

[Carl Wilson]

That's my general plan of attack. I've had the stuff for ages but not used it due to being time poor.

The results I showed above were my first ever go with it.

 

[grim_d]

Deox c is basically an expensive tub of citric acid. The clue is in the name!

I use boggo citric acid that I got from eBay, works just as well. Works better at elevated temperatures.

 

[Brad93]

I've got oxialic acid in powder form and that's white and crystalline to

 

[daedalusminos]

As far as I'm aware, DeOx-C is just citric acid, at least it gives the same result as using citric acid. Bilt Hamber also produce a gel version which is useful for parts too large to soak.
Nice video here on rust removal:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=1s&v=Qi-tK1jwO-k

 

[Carl Wilson]

Thanks for that people! So original suspicions vindicated.

 

[grim_d]

The gel version is good. I have experimented a bit to make my own version but it wasn't up to snuff.

I'm sure it wouldn't be out of the question for some smarty pants on here to figure out

 

[pedrobedro]

The gel version is good. I have experimented a bit to make my own version but it wasn't up to snuff.

I'm sure it wouldn't be out of the question for some smarty pants on here to figure out

Wallpaper paste and strengthen the mix up works to make a gel. Oven cleaners work on some metal contamination as well if the part is small enough to fit into a sealed bag.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I rate the BH products. I have the gel too and is good not only for big things, but on areas where it's impossible to get access or to use electrolysis.

Can even be used on vertical surfaces spread on then cover in cling-film, job's a good 'un. Useful too on pitted surfaces when masses of abrasive treatment isn't wanted.

 

[Wallace]

I used Deox-C to clean a rusty Chrysler 383 V8 engine block in a 50 gallon tank, did a lovely job of it but was quite an expensive exercise. I was mainly concerned with cleaning out the internal waterways and over a three or four day period I removed the block from the tank and pressure washed every nook and cranny I could get to. Eventually, with picks and brushes I started to loosen casting sand from 1965 it was so clean. Anything rusty came up as clean fresh looking cast iron, internal oil surfaces kept most of their oil tarnished finish.

At the time I tried to get confirmation in writing for disposal down the drain and found nothing other than hearsay it could nor details as to the chemical makeup. Left in the tank the solution grew a lovely thick skin on the surface and was pretty inert afterwards for rust removal. I will post some photos later.

 

[steve_s]

Works even better if you heat it

 

[Wallace]

TIMING CHEST BEFORE AND AFTER.

BATH WITH REINFORCED BOTTOM TO SUPPORT 50/60 GALLONS.

383 CHRYSLER BIG BLOCK AS BOUGHT.

FIRST DUNK IN THE TANK AT 20:1 MIX RATIO.

AFTER ONE DAY PRIOR TO FIRST PRESSURE WASH, NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE.

AFTER 3 DAYS AND PLENTY OF PRESSURE WASHING.



THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE AFTER FOUR DAYS, PRESSURE WASHED, BRUSHED AND DRIED. FILTERING ALL THE DETRITUS OUT OF THE TANK AFTER EACH DUNK SEEMED TO HELP THE RINSE AND CLEAN UP PROCESS. (SURFACE RUST IS VISIBLE IN THE WATER GALLERIES.)