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Oxalic Acid Bath Help

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i pick a hot day .kiddie pool and use hot water.I check periodically .Usually about 8 hours.Will not hurt anything to pour into ground.I was hoping it would kill some weeds in the back of my property but it didnt phase
does oxalic acid do to plants?





Oxalic acid and oxalates are produced and present in plants in different amounts. Insoluble calcium oxalate plays a key role in regulating calcium concentration, which is important in the functioning of guard cells. Oxalates provide tolerance to aluminium toxicity to plants growing in acid soils.
 
Wow, 4 hours was pretty effective at 1 heaping tablespoon per gallon. I see what you mean by the chalkiness of the paint after the soak. The parts I soaked are dark blue metallic, ca. mid '80s. The rust & top filmy layer was easily removed with a plastic bristle brush. 000 steel wool seems to remove the thin, non-uniform chalky layer. I noticed that within an hour the exposed steel areas were re-rusting again. Rubbing on a thin layer of WD-40 seems to help with that until i can paste wax everything. Cool process. I dumped in a couple cups of baking soda after the soak and it fizzed like crazy.
 
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The choice of whether to use Oxalic Acid is a cost/benefit process. It will work well with some projects, and not so well for others. It is good to get a little experience with it before tackling a high-dollar project.

Advantages:
  • Allows you to reach rusted areas without spending time scrubbing with a wire brush. You soak and periodically check while working on something else.
  • It's relatively cheap - you can buy the crystals at a hardware store or online, then dilute as needed.
  • You need to be cautious with it, but it's not overly hazardous like MEK, Xylene, Paint Stripper, etc.
  • It allows a very detailed level of rust removal for when you want to get all the little pits down to metal.
  • It performs quite well on chrome plated parts.
  • It's safe with at least some paints (but not with those that use iron oxide as a pigment additive)
  • Cheaper than Evaporust in larger quantities.
  • Can double as a wood bleach in higher concentrations if you need to do such.
  • Can use water temp to control speed of the reaction (tip: get a nice, hot summer day and leave it in the sun to heat up if you want to speed the reaction up)
  • Water-based cleaned up, maybe with some baking soda - no special chemicals needed to post-treat.

Disadvantages:
  • Should not be used with certain paints, especially those that use iron oxide as a pigment (turns the paint pink or fades it).
  • May damage certain decals/transfers.
  • Does not always leave a consistent condition (i.e., you'll have bare metal spots combined with aged paint around it, so looks like it was certainly treated with something when you're done). One some projects, you may want to mechanically remove rust, work paint, and polish to achieve a more consistent look.
  • Long-term effects on paint with an aluminum base/content unknown still.
  • Will pull up big areas of paint/plating if rust is starting underneath - you could end up in for much more loss than you expect.
  • Can leave a chalky film, or even worse, a hard yellow crust that needs to be manually removed.
  • Removes cad plating and other types of the "dark grey" type surface plating
  • You should neutralize/rinse parts after they are done soaking, which can be hard if it is inside a frame, handlebar or similar.
  • It is very harsh on your hands if you get it on your hands and leave it on - will dry them right out.
 
I just did an Oxy bath on two bikes I knew were not going to come back. both were candy red over silver. a Schwinn Hollywood and a "Foremost" Huffy? from JC Penny. I bought the tiny tub of wood beach, didn't know how big my pool was so I just dumped the whole thing in there.

Huffy was solid rust from one end to the other. the bath removed most of the red paint leaving the silver base. the white part of the frame came out white as expected. there is NO RUST left at all. even inside the tubes. I could give it a light sanding and paint it as it sits.

the Schwinn paint faired much better on the frame, but the fenders and guard much of the red came off. both of these bikes were under a tarp on a covered patio for 30 years. they were covered with dirt probably from the huge dogs that live there too. dirt and moisture do strange things to paint and there were many many spots that were bare metal after.

before all these parts were useless rusty junk, now they at least can be repainted and used again.

no pics since I am at work.

going to do a Schwinn B-6 soon, so i figured I'd do a practice run on some bikes that needed painting even after rust removal.
 
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WOW, I am a believer!
I was skeptical and thought the inside of my fenders were impossible......

How much rust can the same bath water work for before you need to change/refresh it?
Can you over soak chrome? (i left mine overnight).

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WOW, I am a believer!
I was skeptical and thought the inside of my fenders were impossible......

How much rust can the same bath water work for before you need to change/refresh it?
Can you over soak chrome? (i left mine overnight).

View attachment 1746704

View attachment 1746705

View attachment 1746706
I use it until it stops working. A chemical reaction depends on the amount of ingredients (including rust) added to the solution.

I have not had any negatives reusing unless it stops working. Reuse until this happens.
 
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