The joy Of Citric Acid

[parvum]

Another vote for the mixture described in the utube video above. One litre water, 100gms citric acid, 30 gms Sodium Hydroxide, dash of fairy liquid. Works better than Evaporust, quicker much cheaper and does not appear to create the darkening effect of evaporust. Both chemicals available on line from the usual site courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

 

[Chris152]

Another vote for the mixture described in the utube video above. One litre water, 100gms citric acid, 30 gms Sodium Hydroxide, dash of fairy liquid. Works better than Evaporust, quicker much cheaper and does not appear to create the darkening effect of evaporust. Both chemicals available on line from the usual site courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

What's the difference between sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate? The vid refers to 'washing soda' which translates, according to Google, to sodium carbonate. Thanks.

 

[diytoolbox]

Another vote for the mixture described in the utube video above. One litre water, 100gms citric acid, 30 gms Sodium Hydroxide, dash of fairy liquid. Works better than Evaporust, quicker much cheaper and does not appear to create the darkening effect of evaporust. Both chemicals available on line from the usual site courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

That sounds interesting and encouraging. The problem with the commercial rust cleaning chemicals are, that they are too expensive in cost. Will give tries the home made solution kit as suggested on my rusty vintage carving gouge sets.

 

[diytoolbox]

What's the difference between sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate? The vid refers to 'washing soda' which translates, according to Google, to sodium carbonate. Thanks.

I was wondering about that point too. When I do search on sodium hydroxide, it brings up a lot of drain cleaners / unblock solutions. Could they be the same thing?

 

[Jake]

They are not, sodium hydroxide is caustic soda / lye - nasty and very alkaline. Sodium carbonate /washing soda is an alkali but more mild (one of the ingredients of sugar soap).

Edit: The original video referenced in the one posted above gives a recipe for both

 

[Dave Moore]

They are not, sodium hydroxide is caustic soda / lye - nasty and very alkaline. Sodium carbonate /washing soda is an alkali but more mild (one of the ingredients of sugar soap).

Edit: The original video referenced in the one posted above gives a recipe for both

Sodium hydroxide is also used in water treatment plants to ensure Legionnaires bacteria is kept at bay. It’s basically bleach and can be used for cleaning slabs of moss etc. but diluted.

 

[MikeJhn]

2 lemons cut in half and some toothpaste make excellent washing machine cleaners, chuck them in on a long cycle and they will clean and deodorize

What percentage fluoride toothpaste do I need to use?

 

[MikeJhn]

At work, in the pharmacy (six hours a week) I recently learned the reason that we offer citric acid with our needle exchange scheme. It's because brown heroin is rather insoluble, whereas white heroin is more freely diluted with water. Citric acid (and ascorbic acid from vitamin C) in the presence of heat, helps to make the product soluble enough to be drawn up into the syringe.

Always wondered why on most films the junkies are heating up a spoon before syringing the liquid, explains a lot, thanks.

 

[stevep]

Sodium hydroxide is also used in water treatment plants to ensure Legionnaires bacteria is kept at bay. It’s basically bleach and can be used for cleaning slabs of moss etc. but diluted.

It is used in water treatment plants but mainly for pH correction. It is not bleach. I think you’re confusing it with Sodium Hypochlorite, which is !
Sodium Hydroxide is better known as Caustic Soda.

 

[trvlr]

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) - aka caustic soda - can be "very" dodgy/dangerous to have around and use - unless proper precautions are taken. I do recall from my younger years that any metal container holding it would inevitably corrode over time; which is why in labs. it was always in glass or other non metalic containers... And can one still buy it these days for domestic use?

Sodium carbonate formula: Na₂CO₃ - quite different to NaOH.... Even sodium carbonate/washing soda can be an irritant to some pholks

 

[Dave Moore]

It is used in water treatment plants but mainly for pH correction. It is not bleach. I think you’re confusing it with Sodium Hypochlorite, which is !
Sodium Hydroxide is better known as Caustic Soda.

Yes sorry, sodium hypochlorite which they use on the steelworks for water treatment for Legionnaires.

 

[stevep]

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) - aka caustic soda - can be "very" dodgy/dangerous to have around and use - unless proper precautions are taken. I do recall from my younger years that any metal container holding it would inevitably corrode over time; which is why in labs. it was always in glass or other non metalic containers... And can one still buy it these days for domestic use?

Sodium carbonate formula: Na₂CO₃ - quite different to NaOH.... Even sodium carbonate/washing soda can be an irritant to some pholks

Yes I believe you can. As you correctly stated, it can be very dodgy to have around and use. I’ve been burnt by it several times. Once resulting in a skin graft. It’s like any dangerous chemical , as in don’t be afraid of it , just treat it with respect. Used carefully and taking the correct precautions , it is useful.

 

[Fergie 307]

That sounds interesting and encouraging. The problem with the commercial rust cleaning chemicals are, that they are too expensive in cost. Will give tries the home made solution kit as suggested on my rusty vintage carving gouge sets.

Just be aware that citric or phosphoric acid, and evaporust, will remove finishes like bluing. I know some of my dad's chisels had blued ferrules. You can protect from evaporust by coating with clear nail varnish.
Don't know if that will work equally with citric acid, never tried it on anything with that sort of finish.

 

[diytoolbox]

Just be aware that citric or phosphoric acid, and evaporust, will remove finishes like bluing. I know some of my dad's chisels had blued ferrules. You can protect from evaporust by coating with clear nail varnish.
Don't know if that will work equally with citric acid, never tried it on anything with that sort of finish.

Had to clean rusty old wood carving set of 6x gouges. The rust was very bad. Just used 80 grit sand paper, and then 200 grit. It took me ages cleaning the rust, but seems they look a lot better. Did some sharpening, and stropping on the edges after cleaning the rust. They got carving sharp, and work very well apart from the VEE tool. The VEE tool need to be reground sometime, and resharpened. I always find sharpening VEE tool difficult and tricky.

But not sure if commercial rust removal solution or even home made DIY solution is needed for cleaning rust of old hand tools unless they are large and heavy items, and unless cleaning for cosmetic perfection for the collectors rather than using the tools. The possibilities of things going wrong from misusing them and high cost of the commercial solutions seem a bit scary and off-putting.

I am happy using sand paper cleaned old tools. They are good enough for me.

 

[Fergie 307]

I agree, huge difference between removing rust to make a tool useable, and going mad.
For removal from something that is going to be put to work I usually just use a wire wheel on a bench grinder.
Might use chemicals or grit blasting if it's really bad, but always finish with the wire wheel with a quick wipe of paraffin or diesel.
The citric acid solution described in previous posts does work well, and is cheap and perfectly safe if you use the ingredients as described.
One thing not mentioned, but will be familiar to anyone doing this is, well, rust. Specifically that having removed the nice rust free object from the acid bath you then need to rinse it in clean water to remove the acid and any remaining sludge from the surface. Now you have to dry it, at which point it will immediately try and form a very fine layer of rust on the surface !
What I do is to shake to remove the rinse water then immediately spray with WD-40, this will displace the remaining water and stop it going rusty. You can then spray it again with something like brake cleaner to remove the WD 40 if you need to, or just leave as is.
Then just wipe it over with an oily rag from time to time.
If your space is at all damp then keep in a box or drawer with some silica gel bags.

 

[Fergie 307]

If you have a bench grinder then the scotchbrite type discs are very good and come in various grades. Just need to get a suitable size adaptor for your grinder.

 

[Stuartgb100]

Did anyone find a way to regenerate an 'old' mixture ?
For a batch that has been used, then kept in an airtight container.
Cheers.

 

[Fergie 307]

Did anyone find a way to regenerate an 'old' mixture ?
For a batch that has been used, then kept in an airtight container.
Cheers.

No idea. I have certainly kept citric acid mix in a sealed plastic container for a couple of months with no obvious loss of omph.
To be honest it is so quick and cheap to make a batch I tend to just put it down the sink once it starts to get too dirty and make a fresh batch.

 

[Vulcan]

Citric acid can be bought by the kilo off ebay, amazon, or online suppliers, its often used as a food additive & for cleaning industrial kitchens. Quick & easy & works, good for cleaning up old files As the action tends to sharpen the teeth a tad.

Washing Soda, used with Electrolysis, Is even cheaper and doesn’t etch the surface like acid does.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have used both methods.
Never have I had the acid etching the metal.