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Oxalic acid bath before and afters

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that's right. i got some great results on chrome too. yellow crap means you're using an old solution or maybe too concentrated. keep cad stuff out of the ox bath. it will lift cad plating if you are not careful. i hear you on the commercial stuff. i have a bottle of evaprust somewhere here. but it's so friggin expensive for a little bottle. and sometimes you need bulk. like kiddie pool full. when you're done it looks like a the koolaid man took a big piss in the pool. ask me how i know.
 
Amount varies from Caber to Caber. Three heaping tablespoons mixed into a 5 gallon bucket of hot water works for me. Some guys use less. First make sure your kiddy pool is large enough to hold your parts and fully submerge them. You can make a frame with scrap lumber [2x8] the exact size of your bike frame and line with double or triple layer of plastic . Double it up so it won't get punctured and leak out on you. Always do outside, not in the basement, like I once did during the winter, and flood your floor out. Only soaking half a painted part at time will sometimes leave a noticeable line in the paint. Place everything in your pool and add the mixture. Hot water works best. Make sure parts are free from grease. Plated parts do not fare well in OX. A hard to remove yellow coating will cover the part. Too many better products available from autoparts and hardware stores, sold by the gallon. Depending on how heavy the rust is, your parts could be done in an hour or less. I've soaked badly rusted things overnight. Keep an eye on you parts. Don't oversoak. OX attacks iron oxide and will follow rust under the paint and lift off the paint that normally would still adhere to your part, if not over soaked. Wash your parts off afterwards and wax. I don't use any kind of acid neutralizer afterwards. Just hose the parts off and dry. Some red paints are made with iron oxide pigment and the Ox will lighten the paint to a pink . I once soaked two pre-war Colson frames, both red, and on the same day. One faded and the other one didn't. Go figure? My conclusion was that some paints that are badly faded, the paint has become porous and "dead, " leaving it open to the adverse affects of the acid, turning the paint pink. Good luck. I always save the solution afterwards. Makes a great mix for my wife's Lime Ricky's and Tom Collins.
Hahahahahaha thanks for the copious notes! Stay tuned.
that's right. i got some great results on chrome too. yellow crap means you're using an old solution or maybe too concentrated. keep cad stuff out of the ox bath. it will lift cad plating if you are not careful. i hear you on the commercial stuff. i have a bottle of evaprust somewhere here. but it's so friggin expensive for a little bottle. and sometimes you need bulk. like kiddie pool full. when you're done it looks like a the koolaid man took a big piss in the pool. ask me how i know.
hahaha. What typically are cadmium items? Pedal crank? Rear hub components? Sorry for the rookie question
 
I like the commercial pre-mixed rust removers the best. Most are the safest and easiest to use, but you're right, they are way too expensive for large items, like a bike frame. Some are extremely hazardous too. Read the label before you buy. I think I've tried them all. The fastest acting was Crosave automobile wire wheel cleaner. Instant and great, but the most deadly stuff I've used, next to muriatic acid. Badly rusted old S2 Schwinn rims look like new in a few minutes, but like I said, the stuff is deadly. Not for the hobbyist. There is a product sold called Acid Magic, that works great, and has way less fumes than muriatic. I left a Schwinn springer yoke in Acid Magic for a week. I forgot about it. Not only removed the rust, but every bit of chrome. Terribly rusted iron can be dissolved away using these acids, but they always keep working , unless thoroughly neutralized afterwards. Steel covered in thick rust will be brought back to virgin metal, but will re-rust immediately as the acid causes additional rust to start the moment the metal is dry. These acids are used to make new steel products appear old and antique, as they oxidize the metal, leaving a cover of rust when not neutralized. The best rust remover I've seen used here on the CAbE, was by Caber, Chi-town. He's no longer around here, but a few years ago he got stuck with a load of lime juice. I guess he used it in the bakery he owns here in Chicago. [ Don't get me started on how much I hate Chicago. God, why did I say that word? How much do I hate Chicago? Let me count the ways .... ] Anyway, lime juice works as good as any of them.
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When using hazardous chemicals, I let my wife clean them. She typically dresses like this and has very long nails. Great for digging out pockets of corrosion. We've been married a long time. Some women lose their beauty, but she's an exception, don't you think? God, I love her, that woman of mine. . .
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Her burka covers a nasty scar on her chin.[She's very self-conscious about it] A rivet let loose on my air compressor and clocked her under the chin. I dug it out with a Schwinn kickstand pin removal tool. She made me get rid of the compressor. Fellow CABE member "Neanderthal " now has it in his garage.
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Took her to the "Corn Museum " afterwards . That made her happy.
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A before and after of Oxalic Acid
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These are our children, getting ready for the 4th.
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Above is an example of what you can do with parts bought at swaps or here on the CABE. The sky's the limit. Have fun, and work safe.

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