ronan
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I find if you do not rotate the part every so often, or rub off the rust with an old paintbrush, the rust seems to settle back on the surface and it cakes back on.
- Thread starter Onoff
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I find if you do not rotate the part every so often, or rub off the rust with an old paintbrush, the rust seems to settle back on the surface and it cakes back on.
Wallace
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Dcal
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The results I've got from the citric acid tests I've been carrying out are pretty impressive (IMHO)
On Wednesday night I put a couple of very rusty round bars in the citric acid.
The bars came out of an olds timber jetty that had been in the sea for at least 50 years, probably more and had been laying in the dirt outside for a few years for good measure.
I did no prep just cleaned the worst of the soil off them and then dumped them in.
Came back this evening (so 2 days) and took them out.
Though not much had happened but decided to pressure wash them to remove the scum.
Well looks like it took most of the rust off already.
Still areas of rust here and there but I think it's a great result.
Close up of the shorter bar which shows how rusty it was.
On Wednesday night I put a couple of very rusty round bars in the citric acid.
The bars came out of an olds timber jetty that had been in the sea for at least 50 years, probably more and had been laying in the dirt outside for a few years for good measure.
I did no prep just cleaned the worst of the soil off them and then dumped them in.
Came back this evening (so 2 days) and took them out.
Though not much had happened but decided to pressure wash them to remove the scum.
Well looks like it took most of the rust off already.
Still areas of rust here and there but I think it's a great result.
Close up of the shorter bar which shows how rusty it was.
Screwdriver
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Got any more of that stuff in the bottom pic. Looks like wrought iron, dead handy for use in the forge.
Parm
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I have a badly seized vice that electrolysis has failed to free up, I might give citric acid a go now. I have a chip fryer I liberated for smaller items but the element is removable. I can put the vice in a big plastic tank & hook the fryer element over the side to heat it. 
What dilution rate do you use for the citric acid?
What dilution rate do you use for the citric acid?
All the info is there including a PDF.
Dcal
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@Turbo I didn't measure but I would say at least 3 to 1.
Whatever came out of the jar went into it.
Not sure you need heat but it won't hurt.
I put a big set of croppers soaking that are seized solid in the solution last night.
I'll see how I get on with them.
As @Parm has said, you start looking for stuff to de-rust.
Whatever came out of the jar went into it.
Not sure you need heat but it won't hurt.
I put a big set of croppers soaking that are seized solid in the solution last night.
I'll see how I get on with them.
As @Parm has said, you start looking for stuff to de-rust.
Screwdriver
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The thing about wrought iron (genuine iron not steel shaped into classic wrought iron lookeelikee) is not that it is valuable per se, it's just that it's becoming damned difficult to find. They don't make it any more. I suppose that does make it "precious" and it's well worth hanging onto for a special purpose. Typically that's forging (it moves like warm plasticine), decorative features and anything that's going to end up as bare metal. The texture is amazing, you can see the "grain" where impurities have been roughly folded into raw iron. Lovely stuff.
Dcal
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@Screwdriver I was thinking of using it for a bit of weld art.
It seems to me to be a brilliant approximation for a tree trunk.
I was dipping the rusted steel because I wanted something that wasn't uniform, the texture on that piece was a great bonus.
I've demolished wrought iron railway foot bridges in the past and sent them to the scrappy (what a waste)
It seems to me to be a brilliant approximation for a tree trunk.
I was dipping the rusted steel because I wanted something that wasn't uniform, the texture on that piece was a great bonus.
I've demolished wrought iron railway foot bridges in the past and sent them to the scrappy (what a waste)
Parm
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@Dcal a while back I had some measuring and marking tools, callipers, rules, odd legs scribes etc. Overnight in citric acid and they came out a treat. Will always leave pitting if the rust has been bad but tools perfectly serviceable at home
Also it’s a very simple method, I could never get electrolysis to work despite many attempts
slim_boy_fat
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Parm
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Can't understand that, with a man of your calibre.Not much could be more simple.
I bought power supplies of assorted flavours, made all sorts of anodes, tried every type of powder I could get my hands on made circuits with light bulbs etc, just couldn’t get the damn thing to work
We can’t all be good at everything
marlinspike
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Like the OP, I started with Deox C and then moved on to using citric acid (cheap on ebay). I must admit, I felt like the Deox C worked a bit better, but there are so many variables, from the item itself to the temperature of the mix, that it's hard to justify the extra money for Deox C. I still use the Deox Gel though as that is handy for bits on my car resto that can't be detached. I haven't got a before pic, but this was a very rusty car part after a couple of days in citric acid and a rub with sandpaper. I usually add a bit of boiling water a couple of times.
Mick Annick
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I’ve done a bit of derusting with citric acid and have kept it in a plastic box with a lid, but have noticed there’s quite a lot of mould growing on the surface. Is this normal or should I be changing the solution regularly (I’m not using any heat).
Mr Fixer
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Would a squirt of bleach stop this occurring? Or bad idea?
The_Yellow_Ardvark
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That is normal, just scrape it off and it will be ok.
I keep my mix in a 25lt plastic container.
The_Yellow_Ardvark
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I add a drop or squirt of anti BIO agent we use in fire extinguishers.
