Stripping rust with acid?

[lightning_msd]

on the article i saw, it said to use stainless steel, not sure if there is a difference, but they didnt say nothing about being black.

[fisheye]

I used Muratic Acid when stripping rust from the floor of the passenger side. However the fumes took off all of the chrome on the plastic parts of the dash and factory A/C trim so they had to be fixed and replaced. Just a warning because straight out of the bottle it was so strong it was smooking so I diluted with water but it just doesn't work as well or as quick. It does remove everything down to bare metal in a hurry and leaves your parts looking as new as possible, just dont breath the fumes and wear safety glasses just in case. Swimming pool supplies carry the acid.
PS It leaves the concrete on the driveway nice and clean.
fisheye
http://www.fordification.com/galleries/ ... =1&sort=pa

[Pipes71]

I got some Muratic Acid from Home Depot when I redid the brick around the woodstove..came in a gallon jug. Wasnt that expensive..mixed it with water to clean off all the excess mortar that got on the bricks. Been wondering what I was going to do with nearly a full bottle left..I think I have an idea now!

[Darrman]

Yeah, it definitly will choke you up if you catch a breath of it. Also, you may not want to use it a small thin parts. I dipped the driveshaft ends in it to strip some of the gunk off before I took out the old ujoints, it turned the clips that hold the joints in brittle, they broke up when I squeezed them with pliers

[mljjones67]

what about hydrochloric acid???????????????? Is it safe to use or will it even work??

[Pipes71]

Hydrochloric acid is Muratic Acid, just stronger. I work for a place that builts sensors for oil rigs and satillites and we acid clean or acid dip the parts. When I do acid cleaning with hydrochloric we use nitril gloves and then a pair of canners gloves on top. Then use an acid hood to suck all the fumes out and into an acid scrubber. Ive gotten a whiff of the stuff from outside the hood and its nasty and the stuff burns like hell when inhaled not even mentioning what it does if it hits your skin. I'm not saying I'm an expert when it comes to acid but Ive had to take alot of classes because I use about 10-15 different types of acid and caustic chemicals. The stuff will mess you up bad. ALWAYS be careful with any type of chemical. Even using the stuff outside in the open can get into your lungs, skin, and eyes. If anyone is set on using any type of chemical then I can just suggest a pair of nitril or vinyl gloves , the yellow canners gloves on top of the other gloves, saftey glasses or goggles, a mask specified for chemicals because your not using something to pull the fumes away, and rubber type apron, and long sleeves. Oh one other thing..disposal of any chemical can be a major headache, and dumping it in the ground leaves a chance of say the family dog or cat or kids get serious hurt or worst.Pouring down the drain is the easiest way to get busted,not to mention dealing with the EPA. Just take all precautions and be safe.Might seem like a fast and easy way to get the job done..but there are alot of other issues ya need to think about.

[rs899]

I have a hood that needs some sort of rust removal from the inside, up under the front support. I wonder if acid or electrolytic removal (using the hood itself as the container) would work... I can't get in there to sandblast it without cutting a lot of holes in the support.

What do you think?

Rick

[71PA_Highboy]

I see 2 issues here (and I am facing the same questions myself)...

The electrolytic process leaves 'stuff ' on the metal that may reduce paint adhesion without proper cleaning. I don't know how hard it will be to clean in there....

The Acid method with work really well... bit if you don't get it completely covered in a good paint you will rust thru in zero time as it removes all protective coatings...

I haven't decided which way I am gonna go, but thought I would share my thoughts.

regards,

Eric

[gbrett]

my dad had a concrete company and we washed the mixer trucks with muratic acid seems like we put a gallon jug in a 5 gal bucket then filled the rest of the way with water took a long handle brush a just rubbed it on and hosed it off didn't hurt the paint but it was industrial enamel

[fordman]

muratic acid does work for cleaning rust. it is also sold as a drain cleaner for cloggs. its about 9-12 dollars a quart when bougth as a drain cleaner. it will clean your drains out but you have to let it set in the drain to work and don't mmix it with water when using it in the drains. remove the p traps from your sinks and dump the water out before you use the muratic acid as a drain clean because it can contact the water and spew back at you.

[xxxtina63]

on the article i saw, it said to use stainless steel, not sure if there is a difference, but they didnt say nothing about being black.

I thought I'd read the same thing also about SS. However, after looking into it, using SS as the anode, which breaks down over time, releases severely toxic gases during the process. Not sure what they are, but don't think I want to find out first hand.

[xxxtina63]

Check this out
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm