Spraying and wrapping definitely works and is a good option on larger parts but if possible immersing the part in vinegar seems to work better. It was sprayed down with WD-40 and is ready for when it’s the right tool for the job. The entire crowbar was re-sprayed with vinegar and wrapped for another 24 hours.Īfter a total of 48 hours with vinegar sprayed on all but the heaviest rust was removed and the crowbar looked good enough for what it’s for. The crowbar definitely looked better but still had some areas which could use another treatment. There’s actually a sticker on one side of the crowbar so it got the vinegar treatment as well.Īfter 24 hours the crowbar was unwrapped and wiped down with the pad. Just sprayed liberally with vinegar and wrapped with plastic cling wrap. I believe the darker area near the bend in the crowbar was just oils from gripping it there without gloves. Keeping larger parts wet with vinegar can be challenging but is certainly possible if it’s shape is such that the part can be wrapped with paper towel and plastic wrap. The crowbar was light to moderately rusted. ![]() Some of the rusty areas were difficult to reach to wipe out from the internals but the rest looked nice. There wasn’t much noticeable change and any remaining rust was easily removed.Ĭompared to the initial condition, the pulley was impressive in the way it cleaned up and took on a silvery gray appearance. Both parts could have been completely cleaned up with a little more time but both went back in the vinegar for another 24 hours.Īfter another 24 hours both parts were take out and wiped with the Scotch-Brite pad again. Most of the heavy rust was gone except for the deeper recesses. The pulley cleaned up about as expected with most of the rust easily rubbing off with the pad where it would reach and the brush easily removing the loose rust in the corners. The pulley and horseshoe were taken out after 48 hours and wiped with a Scotch-Brite pad as well as brushed with a brass brush in the deeper grooves and contoured areas. It was found in the mud on our homestead over 20 years ago and had been hanging in the barn since then. The pulley was moderately rusted with a few lighter spots. ![]() It was submerged for about 22 hours before being removed. It was a good candidate for a lightly rusted part submerged in vinegar to see how well vinegar works on a part in this condition. This drill bit had been left outside in the elements by mistake and became rusted although not too badly. Vinegar removes mill scale very well, again, given enough time. ![]() If I ever remove mill scale from a new piece of steel with a grinder it will only be because I didn’t want to wait on the vinegar. Finally, a new piece of steel was both submerged and sprayed to see how well vinegar would remove mill scale. Also a moderately rusted crow bar got the spray and keep wet treatment with marginal results. ![]() Several smaller parts with varying degrees of rust were submerged in pure white vinegar and the results were encouraging… eventually. Read on to see results using vinegar with both methods – submersion and spraying. The part should then be rinsed with water to remove any remaining vinegar, dried and treated with some sort or rust preventative spray or oil to keep rust from returning. When finished, wiping the part with an abrasive pad, will help remove the loosened rust. Removing all the rust on heavily rusted parts may take repeated attempts with either of these methods. If the part size exceeds a practical container size and volume of vinegar, then spraying the vinegar onto the part and keeping it wet will also work on the rust although not as aggressively as if the part is submerged. Submerging the part in vinegar and leaving it there for hours, or days, will remove rust. Basically, if you have the time, you may already have the solution for your rust removal project.Ĭommon white vinegar can remove rust, as well as mill scale, from metal. Electrical and chemical methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but this article will focus on the chemical method and particularly the use of common, and inexpensive, white vinegar. Mechanical removal like grinding, sanding and blasting are the fastest and probably most versatile since they take the method to the part and the part could be rather large. It basically comes down to mechanical, electrical or chemical removal. There are several methods, and rumored methods, for the DIYer to remove rust.
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