Effective Rust Remover

Andrew Biggs · Jul 17, 2016

I was rummaging around in the workshop the other day and came across some old practice plates. And itâ€™s fair to say they all had a very nice brown patina covering them. Commonly known as rust!!

Fortunately it was only surface rust and not the deep pitting that you can get on metal.

Iâ€™ve experimented with chemical rust removers before with hit and miss success. Most are not that good for our purposes.

So a friend suggested malt vinegarâ€¦.and it worked perfectly.

Place parts in a plastic container. Pour in vinegar and put the lid on to keep the fumes in. Soak for a few hours or days, depending on how bad the rust is then brush over with a nylon brush and you are good to go.

So if you are after a rust remover that is cheap and works without damaging the metal than give the malt vinegar a go.

Cheers
Andrew

RDP · Jul 18, 2016

Thanks for the tip Andrew, I wouldn't have thought you would have that problem there, here in QLD metal rust as you are watching it,

,
what sort of finish do you end up with on the metal, I have tried citric acid and it also works but you get a grey dull finish on steel.

Richard.

Phil Coggan · Jul 18, 2016

Andrew, the downside of that is, after the de-rust, fish and chips taste lousy with it

atexascowboy2011 · Jul 18, 2016

Our solution in the U.S. is Evapo-Rust.
Great stuff.

Crossbolt · Jul 18, 2016

Andrew
Although I'm an engraving novice, I've undertaken rust removal in fields other than engraving.
One thing you might want to look into is very strong detergents, particularly sodium hydroxide types.
Pool chemicals can be used as a source.
Most people de-rust using acids, malt vineager is a weak acid.
Sodium hydroxide or detergent concentrates are basic.
The reason these work better is that acid also reacts with the underlying metal - however slightly and you'll often get rapid rust flash after such treatment.
Basic solutions (as in acid - base not fundamentally basic

) do not dissolve the metal - in fact, in theory they can precipitate out metal.
They do however also dissolve iron hydroxides just like acids. In fact I have some bits going through this process rather nicely right now.
Bottom line: rust removal with metal damage and reduced re-rusting.
Many commercial rust removers also contain phosphoric acid which binds with the iron hydroxide creating a "purple blue" finish. (This is getting into the field of bluing/ browning/blacking).
Avoid detergents with a phosphate content if you want to avoid that.
Just another way to deal with the problem.

"Better living through chemistry"

Jeremy

tolesh · Jul 18, 2016

crossbolt what is the recipe for your solution? Many years ago I used a rust remover from a company called Lynxline and using litmus paper was surprised to find out it was basic. It worked great but now I can't find the stuff

Omar Haltam · Jul 18, 2016

Great info guys
I have some practice plates I would like to de rust,
thanks for the tips guys...

Crossbolt · Jul 18, 2016

Tolesh
No real recipe.
Just buy sodium hydroxide from any place that sells pools chemicals and mix with water to make a strong basic solution.
Alternatively I use water soluble concentrated degreaser/cleaner available at hardware stores.
I do find that since it is less aggressive to the metal substrate than acids that a couple days of soaking with periodic scrubbing and stirring is needed.
In cases where I've needed aggressive action I have used assorted acids followed by a thorough rinse then a base finish which helps address flash rusting.
Safety: use gloves and glasses - strong base is just as bad for you as strong acid.
Jeremy
P.S. My original post had a typo; the line starting with Bottom line: should read "without metal damage"

FANCYGUN · Jul 18, 2016

Guys. I have been using Brownells Rust Release.. It does not attack the metal, is biodegradable and reusable. Now i have also used this to french grey my metal after color case hardening and it shows up the engraving great almost fool proof although you never really know the extent of some fools But i have been very please with it

FANCYGUN · Jul 18, 2016

Ok i am challenged the photo is upside down When you use this solution your metal comes out a darkish grey not to worry, just go over it with stell wool or a grey scotch brite and bingo

tolesh · Jul 18, 2016

crossbolt thanks that's simple as a note we use to warm the solution we used and it worked faster. is the pool stuff 100% sodium hydroxide. the stuff we had was reusable and we did

horologist · Jul 18, 2016

atexascowboy2011 said:
Our solution in the U.S. is Evapo-Rust.
Great stuff.

I agree. Evapo-Rust is the most effective, least destructive rust removal compound I have ever seen. The problem with acid based compounds is that they attack both rust and good metal Evapo Rust only goes after the rust. I used to have a collection of before and after photos, including an ebony and brass file handle I accidentally treated, but can't seem to find them.

For details check out their FAQ.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/product-info/faqs/

Troy

dlilazteca · Jul 18, 2016

Evapo rust is great, ive also used the works toilet bowl cleaner

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Idaho Flint · Jul 19, 2016

I had read once from an old gunsmith book that a great way to remove rust is to put some gun oil on the rusted spot, and lightly go over it with a copper penny. I had bought a gun not to long ago that had a lot of rust on some places, and I though since I was going to strip off the bluing to engrave anyway, why not try it. I was amazed, it did remove the rust, and did not damage the bluing or metal at all. After I was done, you could not tell the rust was ever there, and the bluing looked great. It did wear down the penny a little, but not the gun. If you do this make sure you use one of the older pennies that is mad of copper, and not the new junk.

Mike

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