So I have 3-4 different cheap alternatives to EvapoRust
I want to do some side by side tests to see how well each one works, and more importantly if they hurt or weaken the metal
Now I dont want to start a youtube channel or anything, but if im already doing the tests I might just record it and upload it on youtube.
What would be some good tests to see how "dangerous" each thing (like citric acid) is to metal when removing rust.
How would I measure if it weakened or compromised metal?
I want to restore a lathe and a drill press, and im trying a few alternatives to evaporust, I dont really want to spend $150 on just evaporust snake oil if I can get cheap shit.
evaporust is top-tier. vinegar works great too but don't leave it in longer than yhou have to.
Just use an electrolysis tank. Cheap as piss and lasts forever. Works fine at rust removal.
Weakens metal? We're gonna test that!
Yeah, but how Todd?
Everyone says shit is going to eat away the metal, but how do you actually see that?
Mass before vs mass after, ultrasonic clean it first to break stuff loose
-t. people say my voice sounds like project farm's
That’s a great idea as it’ll show much much metal is eaten away or not
I can’t think of good repeatable and recordable ways to actually test the strength of a bolt.
>can’t think of good repeatable and recordable ways to actually test the strength of a bolt
homie are you joking?
If only there were mountains of standards, literature dealing with this EXACT topic...
But I’m in a garage not in a lab with test equipment
the head of the bolt tells you its strength rating
How exactly is that relevant to OP wanting to test relative strength between two identical bolts or other pieces of steel?
Just dip a clean bolt in the product and measure the strength before and after
>Everyone says shit is going to eat away the metal, but how do you actually see that?
measure thickness/diameter precisely before and after testing, also just use your eye balls
I don't think anyone says it removes metal, it removes rust bluing finishes.
Naval jelly. The U.S. navy uses an enviromentally friendly "jelly" that you just throw on the rust. Let sit for a day or two and the rust will disappear. Did this myself on a big piece of metal and it worked great. Just wash it off and you're g2g.
That shit is too expensive for what it is. Get phosphoric acid. It's concrete and metal prep in the paint section of HD. Ospho is the original stuff, and more expensive. I don't think it works on HEAVY rust, just surface. I just got some rust dip shit to play with, but have liked electrolysis.
one of the things I want to test is phosphoric acid, but people swear it can hurt or eat metal which is why I want to do some sort of strength testing.
Im just not sure what kind of jig I should make to do so.
So why don’t you get 10-20 thin metal pieces, rust one half, then treat each pair with one treatment. You will be able to check how they react with regular metal and if they’re destructive, and also how good are they at rust removal.
I think this is the best plan in terms of testing if it’s “eating away” steel and how well it removes rust
I need to figure out some jig to test of it has weakened or made the steel brittle.
I guess maybe trying to break a bolt or something in a hydraulic press
>, but people swear it can hurt or
It is in coca cola, so not too bad.
>coke-a-cola
>the name-brand bone hurting juice
>people swear
Ignore everything not industrial practice. Hobbyshit is inherently inferior to industrial practice but it's cheap which is why we do it. Never forget this.
Do test samples for all methods which interest you. Look up the chemicals involved.
Phosphoric acid in various forms works fine. Copy machinery restorers as those guys have big boy professional backgrounds and some (Keith Rucker) even teach machine tool restoration. They're worth listening to not some piece of trailer trash.
Evaporust is great and safe. Use it for precision surfaces like on a lathe. Use acids for irrelevant shit like cases, handles, clamps, etc.
Evaporust is not just one of the cheap methods in a snake oil container as many people think it works on an entirely different principle which makes it great for stuff where you want to retain as much precision as possible. There are alternatives which work the same but they aren't much cheaper either.
>Keith Rucker
He works on really fricked machines though. Technically he could use a wire or flap wheel. It doesn't really matter how much it hurts the metal if you're going to grind or scrape it anyway.
>Technically he could use a wire or flap wheel.
For the externals and ways but cleaning whole castings is easiest by dipping. Those with deep pockets can use industrial dipping services who have overhead hoists and all the goodies to make cleanup and priming easy.
>but people swear it can hurt or eat metal
what fricking boomer boards do you frequent.
Phosporic acid is a rust converter, it will neither eat steel nor rust. It converts a few micron deep the rust into iron phosphate
i almost bet those people swear Ovatrol is the shit
phosphating is industrial practice
I was MOCKING "people swear" and of course phosphating is industrial practice which is why OP should have checked industrial examples.
Phosphoric acid works a treat. Machine tool restorers use it (in feed grade molasses) for gentle derusting of machine tool parts, often in large homemade vats. I use it for motorbike parts.
However anyone can lie on the internet so if you want chemistry info goto serious sources not PrepHole
Here's some of my personal experiences with different methods of rust removal.
Evapo rust works good, Its safe to use and wont damage paint, But it loses its effectiveness pretty fast if you are doing lots of parts that have heavy rust on them.
Washing soda + electrolysis is another good bet if I want to remove both rust and paint at the same time, I use a benchtop power supply and turn it up to 30V and let it rip.
If i'm done fricking around and either cant or dont want to wire brush parts afterwards then ill soak steel parts in Muriatic acid. That's the most effective paint/rust removal method but its also the most dangerous since the muriatic acid gives off a lot of bad fumes and will leave chemical burns if it gets on your skin, But if you are lucky you can get a gallon of acid for under $15 and you can dilute it by about 25% with water.