Rust removal tip

I would have thought the extra "iron" in the drink would be a healthy enrichment!

Tony Jeffree gave the following tip .....

Was that Orange Squash or Orange Juice Tony? Squash contains all sorts of other added funnies which may have an effect.

Mike

Isn't that what Coca Cola is made for?

Ken.

I tend to use stainless steel containers and you do need to be careful with the hydrogen. It gets trapped in the scum that forms (quite a few parts were painted and it strips the paint great) and I've had it explode and blow the crap all over the place. The chemical reaction is not simple and I think sodium hydroxide forms during the process, which might explain why its good at stripping the paint. The electrolyte also gets hot, so again another hazard, but I've had good results all the same.

Regards

Steve

Co-incidentally, I am doing some de-rusting at the moment. I'm using the electrolytic method.

Using a bath of washing soda solution ( 1 tablespoon to the gallon approx) and a steel anode and the cathode formed by the object to be de-rusted. I used a 12 volt car battery charger as the power source.

The process also works very well and does not attack the steel, only the rust is dissolved away.

The water gradually gets converted to hydrogen and oxygen so good ventillation is needed and after a lot of work, the bath may need a top up with water- no more washing soda should be needed.

Regards

Bob

orange squash - Robinson's no added sugar variety to be exact (usual disclaimers ;-))

However, I believe that orange juice would be similarly effective.

Regards, Tony

Good grief - seems to me that a bottle of Robinson's squash is just a tad simpler!

Regards, Tony

Mmmm! Yes but their way sounds a bloody site more exciting - you have to admit.

Thanks for the "Robinson's" information. No wonder they advise that youngsters should not drink too much of it. Still - I haven't seen any rusty children for some while now. :)

Mike

Maybe that's the secret of how "Irn Bru" was invented...

Regards, Tony

Anyone tried Rhubarb? The state of the saucepan after cooking seems to indicate a reaction of sorts to cleaning.

Maybe a cocktail of all the ingredients in this thread may cause some excitement too!

Great stuff chaps....

Interestingly, I tried Coca Cola first & it had no impact on the rust.

Regards, Tony

Real Coke used to have phosphoric acid as an ingredient, which is good at rust removal and prevention. Not sure it still does. I think genolite is still about. Not much good to drink, but it is largely based on Phosphoric acid.

Hard-water scale removers usually contain phosphoric acid. Probably less sugar, too.

-adrian

The coke bottle still lists phosphoric acid as an ingredient. Maybe citric acid is faster acting?

Regards, Tony

So better to drink? ;-)

Probably better than Coke :-).

Actually, I just checked my favourite brand of descaler (Killrock) and found it contains formic acid, not phosphoric. Oops.

-adrian

Contains oxalic acid - very good for removing rust stains from clothing and is the main ingredient of teak cleaners.

Russell.