Rust Remover Recipe

[Dibbons]

Has anyone tried this mix to clean/de-rust stuff? I'd like to dunk a pair of intake manifolds in some kind of homemade cleaner and see what happens.

One liter water, 100 grams citric acid, 40 grams washing soda (sodium carbonate)

 

[Sixpactogo]

My homemade rust remover consists of a gallon of Molasses and 7 gallons of water. I buy the molasses at a farm store and use a 20 gallon tote with a cover for the liquid. I cover it because it stinks up my shop. Toss in what I want de rusted for a couple weeks then rinse em off with water. It don't remove grease but does a good job on rust.

 

[Rishi]

I would NOT think adding the washing soda (a base) to the citric acid solution to be ideal. You want the solution to remain acidic to do it's work.

Strong bases, like NaOH (sodium hydroxide) are also effective on rust. Just not in the same solution as the acid. As most of us know, mixing an (arrhenius) acid and a base makes for a neutral salt solution.

Your mixing ratio is about right. I use 1 pound per 5 gallons, and that works out close to 100g/L. I've also used vinegar (the typical 5% solution off the shelf) with good success.

All of these solutions will likely act on the paint, but they all produce a cleaner metal-looking result, compared to the phosphoric acids found in many rust treatment products.

 

[icetech]

Has anyone tried this mix to clean/de-rust stuff? I'd like to dunk a pair of intake manifolds in some kind of homemade cleaner and see what happens.

One liter water, 100 grams citric acid, 40 grams washing soda (sodium carbonate)

I did and it's amazing.... just watch out for the exothermic reaction.. i added too much at one time and had to mop my garage.. it foamed up and got everywhere...

Rust removal, better than evaporust and 10x cheaper..

soo.. so in doing my car which was a michigan car i have dealt with a lot of rust and spent way too much money on evaporust that i finally went online and looked and found this guys video and made his mix and it worked better than evaporust and lasts longer so far. Sadly i'm down to only a few...

www.forbbodiesonly.com

 

[icetech]

The guy in this video did the work on figuring it out.. and explains how and why it works.. plus it works in hours.. stuff lasts a long time too

 

[Matthew J]

The guy in this video did the work on figuring it out.. and explains how and why it works.. plus it works in hours.. stuff lasts a long time too

Definitely gotta try this. Thanks for sharing!

 

[icetech]

Definitely gotta try this. Thanks for sharing!

yeah.. best part is for like $20 you will have enough for 3 cars...

 

[RussT Plymouths]

Has anyone tried this mix to clean/de-rust stuff? I'd like to dunk a pair of intake manifolds in some kind of homemade cleaner and see what happens.

One liter water, 100 grams citric acid, 40 grams washing soda (sodium carbonate)

I'm doing this science experiment this weekend on some rusty 1935 ford parts. So far It seems to be working well getting the rust loosened. I mixed up a quart in a gallon container, glad it was able to contain all the foam so no mess. And NO bad smells. The second part is in the mix so I'll check it later today.

 

[icetech]

I'm doing this science experiment this weekend on some rusty 1935 ford parts. So far It seems to be working well getting the rust loosened. I mixed up a quart in a gallon container, glad it was able to contain all the foam so no mess. And NO bad smells. The second part is in the mix so I'll check it later today.

What's awesome is this stuff lasts a long time too.. evaporust is like 2-3 times then stops working well

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Rilshi is correct. It will work even better without the baking soda and it won't foam up either

 

[Dibbons]

It will work even better without the baking soda and it won't foam up eithe

I case you didn't know or missed it, the last ingredient is not baking soda.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I case you didn't know or missed it, the last ingredient is not baking soda.

Sorry, sodium carbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate, my mistake. Both are weak bases which eat up some of your citric acid (which is what removes the rust)

 

[Rishi]

A pure acid (dilute solution) will act on both the rust (ferrous oxide) metal, as well as the underlying (elemental) iron we hope to retain. If that's your goal (and I admit, that was my thinking) then leaving out the washing soda is the way to go.

I just watched the VERY compelling video. I believe my goal needs revision. To remove the rust, wile leaving as much of the underlying metal as possible.

I may have to give this formula a try. According to the youtube author, not only is the washing soda making the solution LESS acidic, so it's less aggressive to the base metal, it appears the resulting salt (chelated) solution is still active, acting more on the rust than the elemental (pure) iron.

 

[Rishi]

Sorry, sodium carbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate, my mistake. Both are weak bases which eat up some of your citric acid (which is what removes the rust)

Both will accomplish the same thing. The video author even offers mixing directions when using either/or.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

Ever try this?

 

[icetech]

Ever try this?

I haven't, it just seems like a lot of setup and work instead of just throwing stuff in a tub and waiting a few hours..

 

[1968rt]

Ever try this?

It works great!!

 

[Rishi]

It works great!!

I tried it. It works okay. On several pieces, using slightly variations to the recipe. I've done about 10 tests with 4 differing recipes of citric acid. The video gives formulas for baking soda, washing soda, and caustic soda. But the ratios seem wrong for washing soda.

In essence, the sodas (except for the washing soda at 1/4) are neutralizing about half the acidity of the citric acid. I tested a formula of pure citric acid, at half (50g/1L) the recipe, and it appears to work the same as the a formula with half neutralized acid.

All of the test products are rusty bolts, washers and fasteners, and some older tools my son left out in the rain last year.

On small particle surface rust, it works quite well. On deeper pitting rust, it takes a week or longer to produce results.

Results being, little scrubbing, just soaking in the garage at 60* day, 40* night temps, rust is dissolved and taken from the bare metal, with little obvious discoloration to the bare metal.

I made a completely (theoretical on paper) neutral solution of citric acid to soda, and after 2 weeks, it did little to the rusty areas. I'm leaning towards the thought its the unneutralized acid that is indeed acting on the rust.

I WILL say citric acid seems to be the better acid compared to phosphoric. After treatment with any of the citric acid solutions, the metal IS BLACK in rusted areas, but the black residue washes off with little or no scrubbing with a nylon brush, showing nice patina'd metal underneath. With phosphoric acid products, I have to use a wire brush to get the black oxide off.

If the underlying metal, or parts of the objects are still shiny, the citric acid does indeed seem to preserve the shiny-ness. But unless the metal is already shiny, it won't restore shiny-ness. Phosphoric acids turn the shiny areas dark into a patina aged look. Both acids remove residual zinc plating.

Some fasteners, when I leave them in phosphoric acid products for extended periods, feel rough to the touch, afterwards. As if the bare metal is being etched. But so far, using these weaker citric acid formulas, I'm not finding the etching going on, which I'm pleased about.