Vinegar to remove rust? Old guys rule!

To say the least I didnt believe this but it worked!
I got a Moroso drag race pan with an old 66 Nova drag car along time ago.
Was just gonna buy a new pan but was put off by the price of a new one......DAMN!
It was rusty inside then and was even worse now, so i think media blast it?
Guy at the blaster says nope, it has a trap door in the bottom for oil flow and he didnt wanna have no part of it, crap.
So i try wire brushing it....... didnt work, way to much rust (and im a lil lazy! lol)
The 88 year old car guy next door to me wanders in while im going at it with the angle grinder, he looks at me and says why dont ya just put it in vinegar?
I was like old man...... aint no time for joking
He goes on to tell me he always did this years ago, said it works on tools too.
So off to store we go, get 3 gallons of distilled vinegar at $2.00 a pop (cheap stuff).
Put it in a rubbermaid plastic tote, drop in the pan top first.
He says I have to leave it alone, cant pick at it like a scab he says.

Get back from NSRA Louisville after 3 days and yank the pan out.
I couldnt believe it! Clean bare metal 4 inches down inside and out.
CLEAN BARE METAL
So I flip it and fill it up inside, wait a few more days, CLEAN BARE METAL!
No scraping no nothing! lol
The lil rusty stains you see in the pics wipe right off with a rag. UNREAL.
I'm still amazed, we gave it a baking soda bath, some WD40 and i have to say im still smiling! lol
I had NEVER heard of this, so i just wanted to pass this along to anybody else.
Dont ever discount the old guys, they fuckin rule!


Oh yea, whole damn place smells like Summers Eve now...... LOL

 

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Great, now I feel old.. ya rat bastard

 

wow i have had an old guy tell me this trick but he was one of those old guys that also use to play a lot of pranks on me so i never did it thinking it was another prank. cool to see it worked for you

 

Sure beats scraping and grinding! Don't forget about the "molasses bath" method either.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408074&highlight=molasses

Do a forum search for "molasses" and you'll turn up a bunch of references. Pretty environmentally friendly too!

 

I have used it on a lot of rusty stuff, guns for instance. Just don't soak cast iron or aluminum in it. It eats it.

 

I would have never guessed it to be strong enough. Yay! I'm pretty sure I can find some rusty stuff to try this out on. Thanks for the info.

 

I have been soaking old cast iron Dutch ovens for years with no problems. Taught cooking classes for 18 years and that was my recommendation too.

 

Electrolysis is more fun.. especially when ya add lye to the mix....

 

Cool Trick.

So what is better for cleaning up water jackets in an Engine Block, Molasses or Vinegar?

 

Yep-One of the old guys here that has used vinegar for 55+ years and it really works well as indicated by the above pictures.

 

Sounds like a cool trick and well worth trying.

What should I use to clean up the collector tube area of a set of Hooker Headers.

When the headers were knew they were coated right out of the box but the collectors always seem to get rusty no matter what I have tired to stop it from happening.

Other then the wire brush and a lot of hard work is there any product you can spray on them to remove the rust?

I know vinegar eats aluminum but it might be worth a try.

Jimbo

 

The reson why it works is because Vinegar contains Acetic Acid. The Acetic Acid is what cleans the metal parts. You can actually disolve steel wool and nails in it if they sit in it long enough. Just make sure you rinse it off afterwards. FYI: you can make wood stain and lether dye from soaking steel wool in a mason jar filled with Vinegar. It takes about 2 weeks to create the stain.

 

i finally got off my ass and tried it.. soaked 1 piece for 3 days in regular ol vinegar and then rinsed it off with water and a little scrubbing with an sos pad, Thanks H.A.M.B!

 

Guess what it works on old coins...too....just sayin'

 

In the process of restoring a V/W that I picked up in the bay area, it had been over there in the Vallejo area for about 38 years most of the engine sheet metal was heavy with rust, went the vinegar route and like the man says leave it alone, I let the tin soak for over a week and it came out with little or no rust and most of the paint came off when I pressure washed it.

 

theses a book that suggests all sorts of uses for vinegar ...

ive been bodyman for 30ish years ,, and this is new to me,,, i might be forced to go find a rusty thing and some vinegar .......

wanders off to the garage....

 

wow that is so cool and cheap perfect for us budget builders.
thanks again H.A.M.B

 

Oh man, That's awesome!
How can i soak panels that are surface rusted though?
I was thinking of getting a rag, Soaking it in vinegar, and leaving it on the boot lid for a test perhaps?

 

Full of win!
ive got some extra baking soda too! clean parts and awsome volcanos in the workshop

 

Nuthin like old dogs learning new tricks. My wife uses the stuff to kill weeds all summer, works fab, careful kills grass as well. And most of us have seen the young man use vinegar on the cute girls jelly fish stings in the car ad!! ~Sololobo~

 

I think putting a shop rag on a spot and make sure it stays wet with vinager for about three days should give you an answer

 

vinegar and baking soda awesome as a cheap drain-o. Used it a few times in old houses when i was in the handyman business

 

man i love the hamb!!! i learn stuff all the time!

 

You can also drink it and throw up a lot.

 

I just need to find a big enough container to soak my winshield frame hinge in to get the rust broken up so I can use in now.

 

The HAMB never fails to amaze me! Never heard of the vinegar or molasses tricks.
My brain feels kinda rusty sometimes, maybe I should soak my head in vinegar...

 

Well guys I'm 2 days into my science experiment, I have a 35 gallon gas tank from a 62 Massey Ferguson Farm Tractor, it had been left with gas in it for several years, and it was very rusty and gooey inside. I cleaned it out and invested in 20 gallons of distilled vinegar. So far it appears to be working out. I am planning on letting it go for 3 or 4 days and then seeing what it looks like. I really appreciate all the ideas that I've heard and found on this site!

 

I have been using Muratic Acid to remove rust on fender and body parts. (Yeah I know, they say dont use it cuz its dangerous, and thats probably why I do. I always a was rebel). Problem is on the larger parts the solution dries out and doesnt clean well even when I keep getting it wet. I started using old rags and hang a plastic bottle over the top with a small hole punched in the bottom so the acid slowly drips out and keeps the surface and the rag constantly wet with acid. The acid is nasty and the rags burn up real quick. I usually hold my breath and wear goggles and gloves when I work aound it. I think I will switch to the vinegar and try it. I'm getting too old to keep getting hurt.

 

molasses is an acidic food similar to citric acid, vinegar is acedic acid, phosporic acid works, and muriatic is buffered hydrochloric acid, they all work by disloving the oxidized layer. vinegar is safer, easier to dispose of and cheaper. Just takes longer to work than the stronger acids, and probably does not cause as much brittling of the metal as the stronger ones.

I have friend that does lots of automotive restoration work, he has a half 55 gallon plastic drum filled (cut horizontally) with vinegar which he uses for soaking parts and hardware.