Revs1972
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But does the stuff that gets dissolved in it turn it into something nastier ?
- Thread starter Screwdriver
- Start date
But does the stuff that gets dissolved in it turn it into something nastier ?
Good question but one I don't know the answer to.
In theory if you're putting rusty steel in it the only thing it dissolves is the rust which is just iron oxide back in its natural form and again pretty harmless. I'm no chemist though so that's as far as my theory goes
Where I got mine, seemed reasonable
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITRIC-A...var=424917307071&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITRIC-A...var=424917307071&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648
Screwdriver
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I like to dab a finger once in a while. It is an acquired taste but the reason I don’t is because I would like to take my remaining teeth with me to the grave.
Brad93
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It’s no different to a right handed tool. It is just running the carriage the other way.
waldershelf
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Wow, those bits and pieces have come out really well. I've never tried this method of cleaning up old rusty stuff, I would have been in there with a wire wheel. I need to find an old bucket and pay a visit to the shops.
rtcosic
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mangocrazy
Italian V-twin nutjob
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I use citric acid in an old ultrasonic tank I have for small items (nuts, bolts) that need rust removing. The citric also quickly removes any zinc plating. After 30 minutes most items are back to bare metal and all rust is gone.
Brad93
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You run the ultrasonic at the same time?
I find the minute the heat drops the reaction slows right down.
lchris21
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Just ordered 5kg off the bay. Should see me through a few corpses 
.
In the meantime anyone got a link or a layman's explanation of correct mixing ratios for concoctions
....I'm ok when they are both liquid or solid....but get a bit confused when its liquids combined with solids and then the added complexity of dilute liquids like certain percentage acids etc
.In the meantime anyone got a link or a layman's explanation of correct mixing ratios for concoctions
....I'm ok when they are both liquid or solid....but get a bit confused when its liquids combined with solids and then the added complexity of dilute liquids like certain percentage acids etc
Brad93
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4:1 is very strongJust ordered 5kg off the bay. Should see me through a few corpses
In the meantime anyone got a link or a layman's explanation of correct mixing ratios for concoctions
19:1 is weak
Just ordered 5kg off the bay. Should see me through a few corpses
In the meantime anyone got a link or a layman's explanation of correct mixing ratios for concoctions
Just experiment with what works. Never followed any ratios, I usually just throw about a mug full in one of those builders buckets of water, it probably ends up as a strong mix more than a weak one. It always works though, sometimes quickly sometimes slower depending how off I am with the amount of powder. If you want to speed it up like Brad says heat it up or use hot water to start with which massively speeds up the process. I've got a large rusty drawer in a very large tub of it at the moment, chucked what I had left which was about two mug fulls into approx 50 or 60 ltrs of water, maybe more but that is a really weak mix as it is taking days, but it is still working.
Inside too, like mine
It's gradually getting stronger mix as the water evaporates.
Screwdriver
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I once did a bike fuel tank in citric just to see if it was a good idea. It sort of was but the size of the bucket meant you'd need to use way more citric acid than I was prepared to use. So I put a cupful or two (at most) in a huge plastic bin and left it in there for a week (or so).
Time will always win over concentration because either the solution is acidic or it is not. If it is acidic whatever molecules of acid might be swimming around in your bucket are (eventually) going to find an oxidised iron atom to reduce. Heating is just a way of describing the mechanical motion of atoms. The faster they are moving around, the "hotter" the thing is. Plus of course, the faster they are moving, the sooner they are going to bump into something.
Time will always win over concentration because either the solution is acidic or it is not. If it is acidic whatever molecules of acid might be swimming around in your bucket are (eventually) going to find an oxidised iron atom to reduce. Heating is just a way of describing the mechanical motion of atoms. The faster they are moving around, the "hotter" the thing is. Plus of course, the faster they are moving, the sooner they are going to bump into something.
mangocrazy
Italian V-twin nutjob
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I have 2 ultrasonic tanks - a small two litre one (on which the heater has broken but the ultrasonic still works) and a newer 30 litre one (where everything still works). I tend to use the smaller one for citric and find that even without the heater the temp climbs to well over 50 C just by the action of the ultrasonic. Either that or the heater really is still working and it's just the LED that's broken (but I doubt that...) I find that the ultrasonic really gives the citric action a boost.
