Hot Rods White Vinegar - Rust Comes Right Off

I used a new plastic trash can - added 8 gallons of white vinegar (only 2.48 per gallon at the 'mart store) - put 1 steel wheel into the trash can can - let it soak for 18 hours - pulled it out - used a small piece of a red/maroon scotch brite pad & rubbed down the whole wheel & the rust just dissolved in front of my eyes - then I took the wheel over to the garden hose - used water & a clean sctotch brite to wipe the wheel down a 2nd time - the wheel looks great! ***** now I can prep the wheel for next phase towards getting it painted. Plus do another wheel too - as well as the control arms, etc....
I just want to share this amazing & cheap way for people to de-rust their parts at home. Before anyone says anything - I am sorry I do not have a phone to take pictures to put them up on here (my wife does but she is at work) All I can say is try it & be amazed! Not to mention how AFFORDABLE + vinegar is not a hazard.

 

My wife wrapped a rusty '41 Ford flathead crank in a beach towel soaked with fresh white vinegar, then wrapped the whole thing in Plasti-Wrap (WalMart)
She unwrapped it 2 days later, and also used a mild dish soap and water solution with a Scotchbrite pad.
I was going to use the crank as a 'stand': bolted to a '49 Ford flywheel, which is then bolted with large flat washers into the brake drum of a Peterbilt. On top is 1/2" X 2 feet square cold rolled plate, with a 5" tube welded to the underside. Tube slides down over the crank snout. Nice 'stand alone' table by my anvil.
The crank, however, turned out looking new, but journals were 'brownish'...Free lunch???

After cleaning the journals with #400 wet sandpaper, I mic'd the journals and set the crank aside for my 59-A flattie! (Std./Std., have a box full of bearing sets from 50 years of flatheads...
"Just add the extra sets to that box marked 'Bearing sets'. Uh...Flatheads only..."

My bud Mark had given me a couple of 8BA Ford cranks, so wife Joey cleaned one of those up for the table. Pretty as the other one, just not Std./Std.

 

Vinegar is great stuff but make sure to get it COMPLETELY clean because it will continue to do it's thing if you don't. I cleaned up an old wood plane that belonged to my great grandpa that way. Google using molasses to clean parts too.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/new-twist-on-old-theme-rust-removal.943757/

 

Currently using white vinegar to clean the rust off an old cast iron drainboard sink...found a casting date of 4/21/38 in the process, so I'm impressed! This seemed like the best/safest way to clean the rust off, as there are a few large chips taken out of the porcelain that I wouldn't be able to de-rust otherwise. Lots of patina and character that I'm going to highlight and preserve by painting the bare cast iron with Rustoleum black and give the whole thing a good coat of wax when I'm done.

 

Have to remember that you have to submerge the whole part, if you a part that you have to rotate to do the whole thing when you rotate it what is cleaned will now rust very well above the vinegar line..

 

I've used concentrated lemon juice to remove rust. A friend soaked a door lock/latch mech for a '32 in it and was amazed.

 

Used it on a pile of old wrenches from a auction box, including a few Ford A & T pieces. 24hr soak, then wash with soapy water, rinse & dry, liberal app of WD, done. It works.

 

I'll try the vinegar trick. Try looking up "reverse electrolysis". Very economical (washing soda, water, battery charger). I had a driveshaft that was rather rusty so I tried it and it came out like new. I just wish I had a full size swimming pool to submerge a couple of bodies (car, LOL) as it would be perfect. However, it is "line of sight" but still is amazing.

 

I used apple cider vinegar it seemed to be stronger than the white vinegar. I still have to buy enough to fill my whole 32 tank but what I did with 2 gallons was clean white metal after a rince the rust came off in chunks kinda globbed together worked great. I did forget about it tho so it had 2 months to work it's magic. I wouldn't recommend that long but it didn't harm my tank luckily.

 

Citrus acid also works well for the same pupose & smells a bit better than the vinegar. Cheap and effective, I like it.

 

Vinegar works great to get old sweaty ass stench out of your new old car as well.

 

White Vinegar works great at cleaning your rusty cooling system up. Just remember flush it and then run the engine with a box of baking soda to neturalize any left in the cooling system. I personally run the baking soda mix twice before I do my final flush and refill with antifreeze.

 

I'm getting ready to do this. I've read about using the vinegar in the cooling system but this is the first I've heard of the baking soda afterwards? You run a whole box in the system?

 

I am going to try that when I start up my 216. I just rebuilt my old master cylinder for my AD. I soaked with Apple Cider Vinegar and left soaking for a week. Worked great.

 

I've used a vinegar and water 3:1 mixture as metal prep before. It works just as well as any name brand prep I've ever used.

 

I second apple cider vinegar. just using it now to clean rust from old carbs.

 

Vinegar smells too nasty to me.. so I use citric acid. I have a large Ace Hardware tub for a bigger batch (10-12 gallons) and an old cat litter container that holds about 2.5-3 gallons. I have parts in there right now. I give them a dip in baking soda & water to neutralize them, wash them off and no rust at all. The dirt and grease will remain to a point though.

 

Using 5 gallons of apple cider vinegar and a few dozen nuts and bolts to clean out a Model A tank that been empty since the 1960s. It has worked VERY well and i'm happy to a point.
Two problems have plagued me.
First it has been filled and drained with vinegar for over 3 weeks and swashed and drained probably close to a hundred times and I still have LOTS of rust particulate every time i drain it. The visible section of the tank has looked like clean grey metal since day three. Whats up with that?
Second since I have drained it so many times I have witnessed this oh about 30 times. Drain vinegar/rinse with high pressure hose water, metal beautiful for LESS than one minuet. Then flash rust everywhere. Any advise on how to transition from vinegar to rinse to fuel and keeping the steel nice and clean?

 

Yes, I run a whole box in the cooling system. It dissolves in the water so I run a whole box to ensure it reaches every nook and cranny of the cooling system. This is why I do this neutralizing twice with two boxes of baking soda before I do my final flush and coolant fill.

Not only will this clean out the calcium deposits but it will soften up and break up rust scale. It wont look like fresh bead blasted metal but it will clean the loose parts out which is what most people go for. I haven't got around to doing my '82 truck or my '56 at the moment but my '82 truck you can flush it till crystal clear with the engine running coming out of the upper radiator hose. Add coolant and drive a couple days and it starts to turn brown again. This mixture will clean all that out so you wont have this happening.

I haven't tried the apple cider vinegar but I have heard of the use of canning vinegar as it is stronger.

I also have heard of adding some muretic acid but this can only be done with copper/brass radiators it will destroy plastic pretty much right away. I have some in the shop for soldering but I don't use it because it is caustic and I always worry that I haven't got all of it out so I go with the white vinegar which is less harsh.

 

I feel your pain... just de-rusted a '40 wheel and Cad exhaust manifold using vinegar. Worked great; but there was no way I could get them neutralized, rinsed and dried before the rust came back. They're going to be painted so I didn't want to use an oil-based product to stop the rust... kind of a waste of time.

 

Not sure about the flash rust w vinegar. I didn't have that problem with the citrus acid, just rinsed w a little baking soda & water then straight water and blew them dry w my air hose, then etched primed right away. If it's light surface rust scuff the loose stuff w scotch bright, spray with Ospho or a similar rust converter then prime and paint should be fine.

 

When we disassembled my daughter's 37 Chevy we presoaked every fastner we could find with AeroKroil. As each one was removed it went straight in to Vinegar bucket, let them sit for a day or two,rinse, reuse.

 

Do you guys think the Vinegar will brighten up some small brass parts ?

 

I buy the cheapest white vinegar I can find. Have vat in the garage for soaking any STEEL. Excellent for rusty gas tanks.. If you drop a piece of chain in and shake the tank once it has sat for a week the inside of tank will look like freshly sandblasted metal. Large panels you can fill a cheap plastic kids pool..

I drink a shot of Bragg unfiltered raw cider vinegar every morning for health reasons...it works...

 

Well I just flushed my cooling system in the truck and put a gallon of vinegar in there. Lets see what happens.

 

Search net for "cleaning reload brass" as in gun brass. Good mix of water, vinegar, salt & dish wash soap. Believe 4 parts to 1 of vinegar & tablespoon salt & soap. Works great. Flush with clean water - real good. Clear coat or will tarnish fast.

 

Drifters cc- after the vinegar treatment, neutralize the remaining vinegar residue left in the tank with a water/baking soda mix. Drain and rinse that out then slosh a gallon of gas/oil mix around in the tank after that. It will leave a film of oil on the inside of the tank that won't allow the rust to form.

 

I completed the vinegar flush. I added a gallon of vinegar to the system and let it sit for 2 days. I would start the truck up twice a day and let it get to operating temp. After the flush I ran a box of baking soda through the system. Amazing how much crap came out of there! My overflow bottle is full of clean antifreeze now and the temp seems to be more stable. Gotta love the HAMB

 

My wife uses it to clean our stove grates (ceramic coated). 1/4 cup in a ziploc and let it soak overnight. No more scrubbing.
The vapors do all the work.