Chrome Cleaning

[waterman]

Waterman,

First off, if you're not comfortable with use ANY product or process, don't do it. Nobody will try to talk you into it, but if you do decide to try something, you'll have a pretty good idea how to do it and some of the precautions you should follow.

If you're worried about oxalic acid (OA), remember, you can make it as weak as you like by varying how much you mix in water. Still need precautions but like many things, the weaker the mix, the lower the risk.

FYI. Someone else had mentioned ZUD, which is a kind of paste containing OA. It's a commercial product and I'm considering trying it for items that aren't practical to dip.

- JC

I don't want to start an argument about oxalic acid, I just wanted to supply some information to others that oxalic acid isn't something to be nonchalant about. Sometimes, people get into too much haste and forget to use simple precautions when using strong chemicals.

Another point to consider is that most people think if a little is enough, more has to be better. This fallacy can easily result in injury if using unfamiliar chemicals in unconventional methods.

One more minor point, very dilute strong acids can still react violently, while weak acid don't tend to react violently even at higher concentrations. Strength in acids refers to how much of the chemical ionizes in solution. Higher strength in general denotes higher reactivity.

I want people here to be cautious and not get injured from working on parts. If I am coming across as condescending, please ignore, that is not my intent. I just want people to know the risks. I think we all want to stay safe.

[waterman]

Waterman,

Hope I didn't come off as arguing. My comments were more intended to give the advice: "if someone isn't comfortable, don't let me or anyone push you into something you don't want to do, and if you're hesitant you can easily go with a weaker solution"

I figured you knew as much by the way you wrote, but in my efforts to be MORE clear so it wouldn't be misunderstood, I apparently was LESS clear!

You make good points, I don't think they're argumentative at all. I'm glad you added them to this thread. You never know when a thread may be the FIRST one a member reads about OA and it's never a mistake to include warnings or direction to safety data

BTW, acetic acid was the next experiment if we weren't satisfied with OA. We were going to start with bottles of vinegar from Walmart and then work to making our own solution from powdered chems. Vinegar has LOTS of good uses.

- John

I think I read more into it than was there. I think we are trying to say the same thing, be safe about it.

I think vinegar will be too weak to get decent results with. You may try some phosphoric acid, diluted of course, it should clean up the rust and give a good base to paint from. Some have used Coke (or Pepsi) since it contains a fair amount of phosphoric acid. Maybe there is a purpose for Diet Coke after all...