Rust removal

[Twister]

Anyone else use vinegar to remove rust?

I tried it this week on a rusty seat post clamp and it was like magic!

No rubbing or abrasion, just leave to sit for a week.

 

[simcfarlane]

Re:

I found citric acid mixed with water (5%) worked well.

Example here - compared to vinegar:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=380774&start=10#p2826262

 

[kalex]

Re:

There's loads of threads about this on old school bmx websites and citric seems to be the way forward

I've never used citric acid but I've used oxalic acid with very good results

 

[integerspin]

I used phosphoric acid. It works well.

A few years ago I had probably hundreds of scaffold clamps that had been outside for 30 years to clean.
I chucked them in a molasses and water mix, after two weeks they were clean and the nuts all came undone.
The molasses mix has been standing outside ever since. I had a box of big old plumbing spanners given to me a year ago, they were left outside as I didn't really want them. I chucked them in the molasses to see if it still worked, after a week I pulled the spanners out and the rust was gone!

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

This video explains the chemical reaction behind the most common methods

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi-tK1jwO-k

SP

 

[TOMAS]

Vinegar certainly does work, I chucked about 50 old imperial rusty spanners (one from early 1900s!) in a bowl of white vinegar and left for about 4 days and all the rust has gone!

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

I just tried this as an experiment with

Tesco cola - phosphoric acid
Lemon juice - citric acid
Vinegar - acetic acid

With rusty mech parts, lemon juice had the fastest results, vinegar second, cola last. Cola did a great job on copper though.

 

[michael franks]

Re:

+ 1 for for the method described by Twister in the OP.
I put some red wine vinegar in a jar and chucked in various parts, bolts, v-brake noodles, seat post clamp, quick release skewers etc. After four days they came out nice and shiny. They'd all have gone in the bin but have been given a new lease of life after the vinegar treatment.