Citric acid rust removal

[DanielW]

Another effort,starter motor came up beautiful.
I reckon if those pulleys in post #41 and the coupler had been donw with a wet sandblast they would have come up a lot better especially the pulley.

 

[MattF]

I reckon if those pulleys in post #41 and the coupler had been donw with a wet sandblast they would have come up a lot better especially the pulley.

They would definitely have appeared cleaner. Blasting is a subjective point too though. A lot of the time, any form of media blasting is way too indiscriminate where original appearance or features are required to remain. It lacks subtlety, in most instances.

 

[DanielW]

If anyone is interested in making their own lance? this was the way i was going to go before I came across the wickes lance which they seem to have not stocked it anymore?

The attachment to the washer gun was here down the right hand side halfway down page ie different brands and fitting for most major brands,not checked ebay recently.

http://www.flowjet.co.uk/shop/product/st73-foam-lance-with-1ltr-bottle.html

The nozzle head was going to be this in the link(bit of ingenuity on my part ) its 15mm so thats about right.
Taking the bolt out that would be where the tube would fit onto with a threaded brass tube.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Compression/Compression Inline Y Filter 15mm/d20/sd2697/p52821

The lance would be any hollow 15mm rod with a 2mm or 3mm wall thickness brass would be better as the steel would rust unless stainless? one end would have to be thread for the attachment depending on if it is threaded? usually are.Other end will be compression fit onto nozzle head.

I'm trying to find the site I saw when putting this together at the time,the nozzle head bit thats needed for head but I was prepared to make a few out of stainless steel on my Lathe looks like a bullet with a fine 1.5mm hole going through it.

15mm tubing also needed for sand to nozzlehead.

I costed it up at the time and came somewhere to about £10/£11 with all components excluding the nozzle bit helluva saving for what the lance is.

This what gave me the idea of the nozzle head...
http://valleyind.com/wp-content/uploads/VI-Catalog-211A-11-10-11_Page_73_Image_0007.jpg

 

[Wallace]

Deox-C before, during and after on a 1965 Chrysler 383 big block. Took a while constantly removing from the tank and pressure washing but was worth it as I managed to get the furred up waterways clean down to casting sand, unbelievable what came out. The Deox-C wouldn't touch the original black paint, had to use paint stripper.

 

[DanielW]

If you're doing that a fair bit? you would be wise to go down the wet sandblasting route must cost a bomb in Citric acid and having to lift and haul it in and out a few times,couldn't be having that me.

 

[DanielW]

Are you guys using an agitator in your Citric baths? because if you're not make one up to agitate the citric acid and it will speed up the process a bit more

 

[steviec_lj]

Citric Acid - Think i paid £12 for 30kg.

Mix it with warm water, and give it a stir every hour or so. Hardly back breaking and it can be left to do its thing while getting on with something else. That's what does it for me, I can drop the bits in and leave them there, then go make something else..

Virtually no clean up too, apart from a quick wash.

Wet blasting would take some cleaning up, and a lot of the parts I do personally, would simply be blown away by the pressure.

 

[MattF]

Cleaning metal up is one of those subjects where there is no best solution. Each process has its place and merits. Type of metal, type of finish required etc. all combine to dictate what is likely the best method, though some methods are pretty much applicable across the board.

 

[Wallace]

If you're doing that a fair bit? you would be wise to go down the wet sandblasting route must cost a bomb in Citric acid and having to lift and haul it in and out a few times,couldn't be having that me.

No way will I use sand or media on an engine block as there are too many places for it to sit ready to ruin nice shiny bearing surfaces. I know someone who had a 383 engine bead blasted before rebuilding and it didn't last long before becoming 600lb of scrap. As this engine was an unknown quantity the Deox-C was the easiest method for me to get the surfaces back to clean bare metal for visual inspection prior spending money having pressure and crack testing done. Once it passed those tests it was safe to spend money on the machining, it's surprising how many people skip testing only to find problems once the engine is built.

 

[MattF]

No way will I use sand or media on an engine block as there are too many places for it to sit ready to ruin nice shiny bearing surfaces.

That's the truth. I have a little old generator sat in the shed which I restored some years ago. I'll probably never run it until it's been stripped down again and checked though. I made the mistake of having that cleaned by blasting, and to this day that little niggle is at the back of my mind that I may not have got everything out of there, (it's only a 2 stroke, so not too many crevices and crannies), so it'll likely get stripped down again before it ever runs.

 

[droopsnoot]

£12 for 30kg of Citric acid is a great price, can I ask was that local or eBay?

It's right to say that there is no 'best' method though - some things clean up better than others in acid baths, some seem to work better with electrolytic.

I hadn't thought of agitating the acid though, even though my second plating kit works much faster because of it. I'll have to borrow the fish tank pump from that and see if it makes any difference.

 

[steviec_lj]

The citric acid was local, from the garden centre they decided to knock down and build an M&S on. Backroom stock they were clearing.

I'd thought about a small fish tank pump and heater for the set up, but, I've just lifted the last bit out of my tank for what I believe is going to be some time, so its going to be moved to its new home and left empty for a while.

 

[droopsnoot]

Ah, thought that was a bit too special. Cheers.

I've been given a new-old-stock bath so I need to try to clean up some of the larger pieces I have around. Just need to get a new plug for it.

 

[DanielW]

http://www.artemisproducts.co.uk/rust-remover-xtra-10-litres.html

 

[vw1]

http://www.artemisproducts.co.uk/rust-remover-xtra-10-litres.html

Take it you have used this ?

 

[mike 109444]

I'm just amazed at the prices some firms are selling the lances at,anywhere between £40 upto £120.

When you break the lance down from an attachment to the washer to the metal tube and the head is only made of plastic surround with brass fittings but the cleaning tip is anywhere between Stainless Steel to Tungsten,the thing is not worth some of the prices offered,you can make one up if you have the tools and a Lathe to make it.

A square block of aluminium or brass will do the head because the head has a hole drill the length of the block and another hole drilled towards that other hole at an angle.

How do they come up with these silly prices for a component that probably cost £12 in materials.

My thoughts to on the price. If it's for a known/popular name washer, that bumps the price up. Machine Mart prices are crazy as well.
Wonder what crushed glass would work like in one of these.
Have seen youtube vids where they talk of additives to the water to stop flash rusting but no indication of what that is.

 

[mike 109444]

If anyone is interested in making their own lance? this was the way i was going to go before I came across the wickes lance which they seem to have not stocked it anymore?

The attachment to the washer gun was here down the right hand side halfway down page ie different brands and fitting for most major brands,not checked ebay recently.

http://www.flowjet.co.uk/shop/product/st73-foam-lance-with-1ltr-bottle.html

The nozzle head was going to be this in the link(bit of ingenuity on my part ) its 15mm so thats about right.
Taking the bolt out that would be where the tube would fit onto with a threaded brass tube.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Compression/Compression Inline Y Filter 15mm/d20/sd2697/p52821

The lance would be any hollow 15mm rod with a 2mm or 3mm wall thickness brass would be better as the steel would rust unless stainless? one end would have to be thread for the attachment depending on if it is threaded? usually are.Other end will be compression fit onto nozzle head.

I'm trying to find the site I saw when putting this together at the time,the nozzle head bit thats needed for head but I was prepared to make a few out of stainless steel on my Lathe looks like a bullet with a fine 1.5mm hole going through it.

15mm tubing also needed for sand to nozzlehead.

I costed it up at the time and came somewhere to about £10/£11 with all components excluding the nozzle bit helluva saving for what the lance is.

This what gave me the idea of the nozzle head...
http://valleyind.com/wp-content/uploads/VI-Catalog-211A-11-10-11_Page_73_Image_0007.jpg

Some have used the ceramic from spark plugs as nozzles. Think it needs to be older type of plug to allow removal of the ceramic part

 

[DanielW]

Take it you have used this ?

Only word of mouth sorry,but on saying that if their glue/paint stripper is anything to go by then it will be a good product.

their painter stripper is the bee's knee's and puts nitromors to shame action and price wise for 5ltr's

 

[DanielW]

Some have used the ceramic from spark plugs as nozzles. Think it needs to be older type of plug to allow removal of the ceramic part

Brilliant,the use of a spark plug,no need to seperate the ceramic part,just remover the inner conducter and you make a thread adaptor to accept the sparky thread at the nozzle.

 

[mike 109444]

Brilliant,the use of a spark plug,no need to seperate the ceramic part,just remover the inner conducter and you make a thread adaptor to accept the sparky thread at the nozzle.

Last time I tried that could not get the inner conductor out and it was to hard to drill (was a plug from a fiesta) What plug would come apart like this?