# Loosen rusty chain



## Balloonoob (Aug 4, 2020)

So I have a skiptooth chain that was bent and rusted stiff. After soaking it in gasoline for about 3 days and wiggling at it by hand almost half or so of the links move but most are still stuck stiff. I was thinking i would let it soak a few more days and hit it with a rubber hammer or something then switch to oil. What can be useful in loosening a rusted chain?


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## Balloonoob (Aug 4, 2020)

.


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## Rivnut (Aug 4, 2020)

Soak it in a 50/50 solution of acetone and ATF - automatic transmission fluid. Work each joint by hand and keep soaking till the rust is gone.  DO NOT use a hammer on it. Even a rubber hammer can bend something. The hammer will not get rid of the rust.  Also, 1:9 solution of molasses to water will work but it might take longer - smells better though.  Don't use gasoline for anything but fueling your car. A spark from you hammer could have started a fire.


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## GTs58 (Aug 4, 2020)

*Evapo-Rust!! *
Or your favorite brand of Muratic acid........... haha

ATF and Acetone will not remove rust.

1. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/stiff-chain-links.91766/#post-582138

2. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/rusty-stuff.99053/#post-640409


After the chain is cleaned of rust, do the old carpenters lube job. Years ago before they had nail guns or Sinkers, (nails with a vinyl coating) we would melt a block of paraffin wax in a small can of gasoline. In a couple minutes the wax was melted and it was dumped over a 50# box of 16d smooth box nails. One hit with a hammer and the nail was fully driven. After I clean my old chains this is what I soak the chain in instead of oil which is the messiest thing and a big dirt collector. Gas and wax is cheap, works as good as the wax lube in a bottle that costs 15 bucks for four onces.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 4, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> *Evapo-Rust!! *
> Or your favorite brand of Muratic acid........... haha
> 
> ATF and Acetone will not remove rust.
> ...



If it's good enough for @the tinker it is good enough for me.


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## GTs58 (Aug 4, 2020)

Balloonoob said:


> If it's good enough for @the tinker it is good enough for me.




It does a good job on chains. Ozark Flyer had a post about using it with some good before and after pictures but I couldn't find it. Unlike what was said by someone in one of those threads, Ozarks chain looked brand new with no loss of bluing.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 4, 2020)

I'm not concerned about bluing. This chain is rough. I'm guessing you don't want to use Evapo-Rust on painted items..... But will it remove chrome? Would it be useful on these bars?


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## GTs58 (Aug 4, 2020)

Read the manufacturers data. You'll be surprised.


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## TieDye (Aug 5, 2020)

I've soaked a few very rusty chains in Oxalic Acid, rinsed them well, and then soaked them in Kroil, or ATF.  I always soak in kerosene first to get them clean, using an old toothbrush for the grimy parts.  A mixture of ATF and a tiny bit kerosene works very well to get the links moving.  Let it soak for a week, pull it and move every link each way.  If not quite ready, soak it some more.


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## Rivnut (Aug 5, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> *Evapo-Rust!! *
> Or your favorite brand of Muratic acid........... haha
> 
> _ATF and Acetone will not remove rust._
> ...



YES it will!  Watch this.  Not the best, but "best value for the dollar."  Evaporust is HIGH $$$$$$ STUFF


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## GTs58 (Aug 5, 2020)

Rivnut said:


> YES it will!  Watch this.  Not the best, but "best value for the dollar."  Evaporust is HIGH $$$$$$ STUFF




I've seen that vid before and I didn't see any rust removed by any of those penetrating chemicals that time or this time.

Rust removal..............Watch the vid.........   https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/rust-removal-methods-explained.139986/


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## Rivnut (Aug 5, 2020)

The guy with the chain is trying to break free the rust that's keeping his chain "stuck stiff."  The ATF and acetone will do that.  The only reason I brought it up is because this is the method I used to loosen the rust that had frozen the chain on my 1935 Elgin.  We should have him reply again.  Does he want to loosen the rust so the chain is now longer "stuck stiff" or does he want to remove the rust so the chain looks good but is still "stuck stiff" ?  Maybe both?  In either case we should let him decide.


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## Rivnut (Aug 5, 2020)

Here's another video worth watching.  Talk about an inexpensive way to remove rust, this is it.  Buy molasses at your local farm feed store for about $3 / gallon and dilute it to a 1:9 solution of molasses to water.  Comes out to about  $.33  / gallon.   WARNING it will eat into pot metal.  I set a power seat frame for one of my Rivieras into this kind of solution and one of my connecting nuts was eaten away some. But as far as I know there is no pot metal on a bike frame or other hard metal parts.  I've never tried it on chrome because there are easier ways to handle that.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 11, 2020)

It's been a little over a week and a couple blisters later and the chain is loosened up a bit.  I switched to wd40 a few days back.  Meant to pick up some rustoleum but never did.  Appearance is not a priority.  Just getting it loose enough to use.  I think there is 55 large links and a master link.  I'm thrilled that this chain i got for free seems like it will work at some point. Since appearance is less than important i took a wire wheel lightly to each side of the chain (probably should have done this earlier) wiggled it as best I could with both hands and gloves this time and put it back in the wd40 bag and added some oil....hey it's a chain right? Perhaps i should have waited on the oil.                      I got the green paint off the bars with the same wire wheel attachment but I just scraped at it by hand vs using a drill. There was no chrome hiding out. I like the way it turned out.                              I'm actually trying to add rust and a patina look to one of these fenders.  Not sure how one rusted nicely over the years and one looks like paint was scraped off revealing chrome underneath.  I may just need to grind these down to bare steel and rust them up from there.               Eventually I will find a rusty frame i like to put this stuff on.


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## all riders (Aug 12, 2020)

If you have time, it hard to beat kerosene--it's cheap, cheap enough to totally cover the chain in the bottom of a bucket. Obviously it will lube the joints and will also soften the rust. Once it starts to make progress on the function of the chain, you can add in lengths of small chain, or bird shot , or old, small nuts and bolts.  get them all swirling in the bottom, the added items will "beat" the rust off of the chain


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## Balloonoob (Aug 17, 2020)

Well this thread took a chain in direction. I sprayed a clear coat over the bars. I'll get a better picture of them later but they seem darker and a little glossy and I like em. I did end up scraping the fenders down to bare metal. I got these for free at the Denver swap and they had matching spray paint. They were not rusting the same before I took off the paint and they are not rusting the same after. The pics show the first and second spray down with rusty 3000. (vinegar hydrogen peroxide and salt mix) the one on the right rusted instantly. The one on the left is taking longer and seemed to wipe off easily. Is the left one stainless steel? If I keep at it eventually they will "match" better right?


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## Balloonoob (Aug 18, 2020)

I kinda like the contrasting look of the chrome stem and rusty bars.


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## Rivnut (Aug 21, 2020)

Stick a magnet on them. Magnets don't stick to stainless.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 21, 2020)

Rivnut said:


> Stick a magnet on them. Magnets don't stick to stainless.



Ok. I'll try that. It's pretty obvious that they are different. One is super rusty now. The other barely rusted at all.


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## GTs58 (Aug 21, 2020)

Rivnut said:


> Stick a magnet on them. Magnets don't stick to stainless.




That's not 100% true. There are many different grades of stainless steel and some are magnetic. I can stick a magnet on all my Schwinn Corvette fenders and I have a SS set off a Fair Lady that had slight rust on the underside of the front fender.


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## Goldenrod (Aug 22, 2020)

Rivnut said:


> Soak it in a 50/50 solution of acetone and ATF - automatic transmission fluid. Work each joint by hand and keep soaking till the rust is gone.  DO NOT use a hammer on it. Even a rubber hammer can bend something. The hammer will not get rid of the rust.  Also, 1:9 solution of molasses to water will work but it might take longer - smells better though.  Don't use gasoline for anything but fueling your car. A spark from you hammer could have started a fire.




Wash well after handling acetone.


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## all riders (Aug 22, 2020)

True, it all depends on the crystalline structure of the stainless. Ferritic, and Martensitic Stainless(these two types cover many of the stainless steels with numbers in the 400s) are all magnetic. Then there are Austenitic(I think) which are non-magnetic ---not because they have less Iron, it's just arranged "wrong".  Additionally,  Magnetic stainless can be too thin to have much magnetic pull(fender?) and non-magnetic can have spots that are mildly magnetic.


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## John D. Williams (Aug 22, 2020)

I have a different method for bad chains that perhaps can help. 
1. I take it off the bike if it has really frozen sections that do not fit to the teeth.
2. I stretch it on the floor and wire-brush heavily away from me, all sections and all four sides. Lots of rust will come off sometimes.
3. If there are any stuck links, I use two pliers, one on each side of the frozen part, and work them back and forth until the links start to move right there. This has far more power than using hands.
4. Put the chain back on, now being the time to lube it. See if it works. If not, repeat 3 while the chain is on the bike.

For less problematic chains, I follow the above idea while the chain is still on the bike. I turn the bike upside down, pedal it, and let the chain run through heavy pressure from the wire brush. It's important to lubricate it after so it does not become messy.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

John D. Williams said:


> I have a different method for bad chains that perhaps can help.
> 1. I take it off the bike if it has really frozen sections that do not fit to the teeth.
> 2. I stretch it on the floor and wire-brush heavily away from me, all sections and all four sides. Lots of rust will come off sometimes.
> 3. If there are any stuck links, I use two pliers, one on each side of the frozen part, and work them back and forth until the links start to move right there. This has far more power than using hands.
> ...



So I'm sorta on step 3 here. Wire brushing done. Pliers seems to be buggering up the chain edges. Maybe half the links are loosened. I don't have acetone rustoleum or kerosene. I've gone from gas to wd40 to oil to grill cleaner. This thing is jacked but I got the time - just saving my money.


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## John D. Williams (Aug 22, 2020)

Balloonoob said:


> So I'm sorta on step 3 here. Wire brushing done. Pliers seems to be buggering up the chain edges. Maybe half the links are loosened. I don't have acetone rustoleum or kerosene. I've gone from gas to wd40 to oil to grill cleaner. This thing is jacked but I got the time - just saving my money.



Can you post a pic? I've never had a chain so bad that it was damaged by pliers


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

It's amazing how many of the old forks get bent. I have 3 different parts forks available and all 3 are bent in some way.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

John D. Williams said:


> Can you post a pic? I've never had a chain so bad that it was damaged by pliers



Yeah here in a bit. It's bagged up now and involves getting my hands dirty.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

Poat 2 shows where it started at. You can see how bent it was. At that point 99 percent of the links were locked up.


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## Rivnut (Aug 22, 2020)

Instead of two pair of pliers, I clamp one link at a time in the vise and use a screwdriver between the links to get things moving. BUT I've usually soaked it first.  Then you buy a chain breaking tool and learn how to replace links that are locked with rust and just don't budge - they break.


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

It's good and soaked. I was thinking of using a vice but thought that would be too risky. Perhaps I will try this if it doesn't loosen up further. Today I made more progress. There are now no two consecutive stuck links. I used the two pliers technique and it really only caused minor scratches. The boogering may have been caused by some light banging i did on some links. After wrestling with it for another 1.5 hrs or so today I switched to soaking in nail polish remover. (100% acetone). The best news is that I now have a complete master link removed. At this point I have somewhere around 4 or 5 hours in farting around with the chain. I guess it's personal to see if i can get it working. A working skiptooth chain costs what.... 60 bucks? Hahaha. I sure hope it's not stretched.


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## srfndoc (Aug 22, 2020)

Man, you have more patience than I. [emoji2]

I guess it’s about the challenge at this point. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## GTs58 (Aug 22, 2020)

Soak the chain in a solvent to remove all the grease and oil. (Already ^in^ Acetone) Then soak it in an acid to remove the rust. Vinegar or citric acid works if you're on a cheap budget. Work the chain while it's in the acid after it's been soaked for a while.

Is all that brown crap rust?


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## Balloonoob (Aug 22, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> Soak the chain in a solvent to remove all the grease and oil. (Acetone) Then soak it in an acid to remove the rust. Vinegar or citric acid works if you're on a cheap budget. Work the chain while it's in the acid after it's been soaked for a while.
> 
> Is all that brown crap rust?
> 
> View attachment 1252738



Thanks.  That i can do. It's a mix of oil and rust.


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## Rivnut (Aug 22, 2020)

The best "tool" I've found for grease and oil removal is Brakleen. Kind of like a hot knife through butter.


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## srfndoc (Mar 6, 2022)

I'm guessing any brake cleaner would probably remove the bluing on the chain if any was present.  What surprised me is evaporust also removes the bluing so be careful if your chain has any original finish left.  Good thing I tested with an old chain first.  Does a great job of removing any rust though.


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## J-wagon (Mar 6, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> Or your favorite brand of Muratic acid........... haha



Should I dilute muriatic acid maybe 5:1 or similar for my rusty crusty skiptooth chain? I have a jug leftover.


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## Popshop (Mar 6, 2022)

*personally, I use an old kitchen cannister filled with marvel Mystery oil.  Dunk it in there and let it sit for about a month while Im restoring the rest of the bike.  When ready for it, its usually limbered up and lubricated.  put it on and run it through a few revolutions and it works great! *


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## GTs58 (Mar 6, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> Should I dilute muriatic acid maybe 5:1 or similar for my rusty crusty skiptooth chain? I have a jug leftover.




I like the quickest wait time so the stronger the better. But a 50/50 mix in this vid for 2 hrs. is pretty livable. I don't understand why everyone lets stuff sit and soak for days, weeks or months. I want it done ASAP! And if it's a chain, l'll let it soak in the lubricant afterwards for a while until I'm ready to reinstall.


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## J-wagon (Mar 6, 2022)

Wow. Interesting vid. Muriatic acid 1:1 much fastest. My next choice would be cleaning vinegar, $1.64 gallon Walmart. Most economical, soak while I sleep.


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## J-wagon (Mar 19, 2022)

Before and after soaking cleaning vinegar 24 hrs. Before with few seized links, after all links move freely, impression works ok for lightly crusted rust. Not sure if good nuf for super crusty stiff chain. 
Before :











After 24 hrs:


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## GTs58 (Mar 19, 2022)

J-wagon said:


> Before and after soaking cleaning vinegar 24 hrs. Before with few seized links, after all links move freely, impression works ok for lightly crusted rust. Not sure if good nuf for super crusty stiff chain.
> Before :
> View attachment 1591688
> 
> ...





Was a 5% vinegar used? Try a 75% vinegar and that chain would be stripped. 😜


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## J-wagon (Mar 19, 2022)

👍Cleaning vinegar 6%. About $2 for 0.5 gallon. Next up I try muriatic acid, $11 for 1 gal. I have some left over from porcelain project.


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## Gully (Mar 19, 2022)

Like they say, soak it in cider.  👍


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## J-wagon (Mar 25, 2022)

Before and after 24 hr soaking muriatic acid, diluted 50/50 water. The stiff kmc chain is bad shape, still holds stiff position as before but little bit looser. The skiptooth before had some stiff links, after all links free. 
Before :







The skiptooth immediately turned greenish for some reason. Maybe reacted with old lube or degreaser residue. 

After 24 hrs soak:






Overall, muriatic acid 2:1 ok remove rust for casual inspection revealing cracks (at least 16) on kmc chain and at least 2 on diamond skiptooth. So these go into donor parts repair pile. Not worth it to clean further. 








For my budget, cleaning vinegar and muriatic acid don't cost much and remove rust for visual inspection of chain before I expend more time / chemicals.


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## Lamont (May 29, 2022)

vinegar soak is “ a timed event” .
You have to watch it like a chili pot on the stove .

Good tips above regarding diluting strength for acids. Going to do so next time . 

(never occurred to me , I’ve used straight grocery store or cleaning vinegar undiluted many times, with success .) 

But depending on the metal , generally 4 hours is safe for surface rust on chrome , 8 hours most times safe for deep rust .   After 8 hours , I find the metal gets blackened, have to closely watch..

I have a lot of hardware bits that i left  in vinegar and forgot about , past 8 hours or even days and toasted them. 

You know there are over cooked when there is a strong “ burning car tires “ odor and black etching appearance .

Here’s a long forgotten pedal cap soak . In this case left beyond the blackening and totally toasted / left for dead.


I still like vinegar , just have to treat it like a pizza in the oven , and while it’s soaking toothbrush and wipe away what comes loose , and return to the solution .  

Final step is extra but essential:  ph nuetralize 
As soon as finished , rinse well , dry quickly ( oven at 200f , compressor air , or hairdryer , whatever you have .  )

Get oil on the piece rapidly as soon as mostly dry 

When Working with vinegar , remember The Jaggar  / Rolling Stones lyrical interpretation : 
( I’ll) “ never leave your pizza burnin’“


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## oskisan (May 30, 2022)

So, is everyone here trying to remove the rust and still preserve the bluing? If this is the case, what am I suppose to look for when doing this? I threw a chain in vinegar and left it overnight and came back and the vinegar is all black now. This is unlike another chain that I have been soaking for days in vinegar to try and break several of the links free and have not had any luck with some links, but the vinegar has only turned a rusty color. If the bluing is removed, how do you protect the chain moving forward?


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## NormP (May 30, 2022)

I work in my basement so any of those stinky chemicals will have my wife yelling “it stinks down there”
I soak in finish line citrus degreaser (tight fitting cover” for a few days. Then in a heated ultrasonic tank with Evaporust for 3 minute intervals. Scrub with a brass brush tooth brush size from Ace) to keep the finish. Only lube with proline chain lube ( no black build up).


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## Rigs (Jun 1, 2022)

Balloonoob said:


> So I have a skiptooth chain that was bent and rusted stiff. After soaking it in gasoline for about 3 days and wiggling at it by hand almost half or so of the links move but most are still stuck stiff. I was thinking i would let it soak a few more days and hit it with a rubber hammer or something then switch to oil. What can be useful in loosening a rusted chain?


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## Andrew Gorman (Jun 1, 2022)

10% solution of molasses and water.  Wait a few weeks.  Has worked for me.


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## Skiroule69 (Dec 22, 2022)

I like POR 15 rust remover. I just took a rusted stiff chain and dunked the whole thing in there. Two days later it came out shiny new! I always follow up with a good rinse and then soak in PB blaster or light machine oil.


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