Vinegar and rust removal ?

[hammer4reel]

Anyone ever try the vinegar hack to remove rust from rusted tools? 
had a few pairs of  cheap steel pliers I kept on the boat for hard hook removal instead of giving guys my Aluminium pliers to get ruined . 
as expected the rusted up bad enough that they wouldn’t open anymore . 
 

wrapped them in a paper towel and soaked them in vinegar for 24 hours . 
just unwrapped them and watched all the rust totally wipe off . 
and they open and close like new . 
oddly the chemical reaction turned bright silver pliers black . 
neutralized them in baking soda/ water 

coated with mineral oil and they are ready to use again . 
 

 

[joeyguts]

Not on tools but on an old lantern

[jumpthestring]

Good to know , in the past i used wd 40 and it worked fine. remove the rust and lubricated

[JD48]

Great info

[FishNHard]

I've flushed my heater core and radiator with a Vinger and water mix only do it a 2 days max worked great just gotta use caution on aluminum since vinegar will pit aluminum but for other stuff as tools I've found this to be the best for heavy rust build up i get it from Harbour frieght 

[smittty]

Neurotic acid I’ll do the same thing but don’t let it soak for 24 hours  few minutes should dot it

[DJ0808]

5 hours ago, hammer4reel said:

oddly the chemical reaction turned bright silver pliers black . 

The vinegar can form a patina on high carbon and semi-stainless steels.

I do a vinegar (usually with some powdered citric acid or salt added in) for 5-30 minutes on some of the non-stainless knives I make to get that patina. Soaking for 24hrs probably made it that dark. 

Good thing is that the patina actually helps prevent the metal from rusting, so between that and mineral oil (which I also apply to my high carbon steel blades) the pliers should be good to go rust wise. Just occasionally re-apply some mineral oil.

[hammer4reel]

8 hours ago, DJ0808 said:

The vinegar can form a patina on high carbon and semi-stainless steels.

I do a vinegar (usually with some powdered citric acid or salt added in) for 5-30 minutes on some of the non-stainless knives I make to get that patina. Soaking for 24hrs probably made it that dark. 

Good thing is that the patina actually helps prevent the metal from rusting, so between that and mineral oil (which I also apply to my high carbon steel blades) the pliers should be good to go rust wise. Just occasionally re-apply some mineral oil.

I read an artical that if you heat up the steel just enough to melt wax on it . The wax seals the pores and won’t rust again . 
 

im tempted to try it on a new Dexter carbon to try and keep them from discoloring . 
As even daily use of mineral oil on them they still look nasty 

just would need to be really careful to not change the temper of the blade 

Edited August 18, 2023 by hammer4reel

[jumpthestring]

11 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

I read an artical that if you heat up the steel just enough to melt wax on it . The wax seals the pores and won’t rust again . 
 

im tempted to try it on a new Dexter carbon to try and keep them from discoloring . 
As even daily use of mineral oil on them they still look nasty 

just would need to be really careful to not change the temper of the blade 

Stop buying those cheap tools made in China. they rust twice as fast .   

[electricstart]

Thanks for the tip hammer

[hammer4reel]

13 minutes ago, jumpthestring said:

Stop buying those cheap tools made in China. they rust twice as fast .   

I have good stuff 

but when guys show up not having pliers mis used they get destroyed 

rather throw a 5 dollar junk set off the boat than a pair of good ones 

[Merkel]

Thanks for the tip. I’ve used WD40 or planted rusted tools in a bucket of used motor oil and sand. Like your idea better. 

[Sudsy]

I collect vintage hand tools so battling rust is something I've done a LOT of.

Vinegar works but you need to be sure to completely neutralize it with a baking soda soak. Hand dry it then give it a soak in alcohol do drive any remaining water out of the pores of the metal. Dry it well with a heat gun / oven then oil

Vinegar and salt works even better

Citric acid works extremely well, get it in the canning section at walmart. Same method as with the vinegar.

All of the acids will eat your tools if you leave them in too long

Evaporust is better than all of the acids but can be pricy if you're doing a lot

The best by far is to build an electrolysis tank. Easy to do, (google it) only affects rust doesn't eat the metal. 

The hardest part is finding an old analog car battery charger

 

 

 

[Sudsy]

On 8/17/2023 at 6:16 PM, smittty said:

Neurotic acid I’ll do the same thing but don’t let it soak for 24 hours  few minutes should dot it

Neurotic acid ?? 

I should check with my wife, she probably has lots of that

[JHbowhunter]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:02 AM, hammer4reel said:

I have good stuff 

but when guys show up not having pliers mis used they get destroyed 

rather throw a 5 dollar junk set off the boat than a pair of good ones 

when i bring guys on my boat everyong gets a free set of aluminum pliers / line cutters and a free bowl of soup!!!!