Pete.
Member
- Messages
- 14,136
- Location
- Kent, UK
I bought 10kg of citric acid to have a bash at de-rusting some parts. It arrived today so I thought I'd jump in with both feet and have a go at bringing a couple of small burnerd chucks back into a respectable condition.
I used an old 10L paint bucket and filled it with boiling water (I actually used some of the citric acid to de-scale the kettle and poured it into the bucket instead of down the sink). I put about 6L of piping hot water in and 3 cupfulls of citric acid. Then the parts went in and I waited to see what would happen. Nothing much as it happens so I went off and had my dinner. when I came back it was very gently fizzing and there was a bit of an acrid whiff in the air.
After about an hour and a half I started pulling bits out of the bucket. The water was still very warm probably about 35-40degC. I started wiping off the parts and was pretty amazed at the effect the citric acid had after only 90 mins. The parts came out blackened from the reaction and needed a bit of a scrub off. The chuck faces I went over with a coarse mop and the jaws I hit very gently with a wire wheel. Here are the before and after pics.
The two chucks before:
After 90 mins de-rusting and a gentle clean up & wd40 spray:
Some other bits that went in at the same time, a firm-hold caliper and a chuck & tool post that came with the South Bend lathe:
Now the water has cooled I guess the process will be a bit slower so I have dumped this tool post in to see if there's an ill-effects from leaving stuff in the solution for a whole day.
I'll give it a clean-up tomorrow evening and see how it's worked at room temperature.
I used an old 10L paint bucket and filled it with boiling water (I actually used some of the citric acid to de-scale the kettle and poured it into the bucket instead of down the sink). I put about 6L of piping hot water in and 3 cupfulls of citric acid. Then the parts went in and I waited to see what would happen. Nothing much as it happens so I went off and had my dinner. when I came back it was very gently fizzing and there was a bit of an acrid whiff in the air.
After about an hour and a half I started pulling bits out of the bucket. The water was still very warm probably about 35-40degC. I started wiping off the parts and was pretty amazed at the effect the citric acid had after only 90 mins. The parts came out blackened from the reaction and needed a bit of a scrub off. The chuck faces I went over with a coarse mop and the jaws I hit very gently with a wire wheel. Here are the before and after pics.
The two chucks before:
After 90 mins de-rusting and a gentle clean up & wd40 spray:
Some other bits that went in at the same time, a firm-hold caliper and a chuck & tool post that came with the South Bend lathe:
Now the water has cooled I guess the process will be a bit slower so I have dumped this tool post in to see if there's an ill-effects from leaving stuff in the solution for a whole day.
I'll give it a clean-up tomorrow evening and see how it's worked at room temperature.