In Praise of Vinegar

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I recently 'discovered' the use of vinegar in de-rusting parts on my bike, and all I can say is "Wow"! I had previously been using Evaporust as my go-to, and despite all the environmentally-safe reports I'd heard about being able to just dump it in the garden , etc., it is still a chemical so I kind of worried about where it would end up if I did that.

I had read differing opinions on using Coke, vinegar, electrolysis (or whatever) and hadn't ever tried it - but my stepson showed me some hinges he had soaked in white vinegar for a project he's working on, and I was impressed!

I decided to try it on those plates that are under the timing covers, and Man! It took about the same time - maybe less - as Evaporust, and not much scrubbing with a little brass brush and they looked new! And they were pretty rusty coming out of there too -I'm an instant convert!

All I had on hand was a bottle of the wife's apple cider vinegar, so I initially used that - put 'em in, let them sit for not even an hour and cleaned them up, and I don't have to worry so much about its effect on the environment. I was just using plain old Food Lion apple cider vinegar.

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you already know this, but I'm just passing this along if you too are looking for a safe method for de-rusting parts; it DOES work! And a lot cheaper than a gallon of Evaporust…I'm excited to see what it does in the tank next.

[BlueThunder]

Have used clear vinegar for some time and it does work wonders. Just be aware that it is an acid (albeit weak) and will ruin soft aluminum parts. I forgot about a set of carbs soaking in vinegar to remove left over gas "gunk" (works well). After 7 hours, I ran to the garage and pulled the carb. Body was ruined due to the vinegar eating the metal. So keep that in mind when you use it.

[Track T 2411]

I did a gas tank a few years back with vinegar; it turned out well but took longer than I expected. I did read somewhere that adding salt quickens the process.

[tlbranth]

I use white vinegar to clean electrical connections.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Yes, the ones I did I rinsed off and dried, then hit them with a coating of WD40. But I love how efficient the vinegar is.

[robin1731]

I use white vinegar to clean electrical connections.

I use CLR for that. Even if on the bike. Put some CLR in a sandwich baggie. Place it around the connector and zip tie it closed. Only takes a few minutes but even over night won't hurt anything.

Smells better too.

.

[Liam]

Ok here comes the stupid question. What is CLR?

[twowings]

CLR is a brand of Cleaner that is advertised as working well on Calcium - Rust - Lime removal. Works well on our hard limestone and iron laden water here in Southern Ontario.

[robin1731]

Yeah, this, https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/clr-c ... a58c0dfb0a

.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Huh; good to know about the connectors; might save me some cut/add connector/solder routine.

[Lucien Harpress]

Had a lovely conversation with an older lady on my way out of a Meijer's with 5 gallons of vinegar in my cart.

"Oh, are you into canning?"

"...I'm de-rusting a gas tank."

(Making good progress on the gas tank, but took a break because vinegar can freeze. Still haven't considered taking up canning.)

[Sidecar Bob]

The advantage of Evapo-Rust over vinegar is that it leaves a coating that is supposed to resist rust (note that it doesn't last) while vinegar will dissolve the zinc plating that is there to protect against rust.
Vinegar is a good pre-treatment for plating or paint and is one of the components of the bath I use for zinc plating.

Note that vinegar is also a chemical (acetic acid) and that they use it for weed killer so it is a lot more harmful to pour on your garden than Evapo-Rust.

BTW: I would not recommend using any acid (the main active ingredients in CLR are gluconic acid and lactic acid) to soak the ends of wires because it will wick up between the strands inside the insulation and continue to eat away at the copper long after you think you have dried it off.

[Jonesz]

[quote

BTW: I would not recommend using any acid (the main active ingredients in CLR are gluconic acid and lactic acid) to soak the ends of wires because it will wick up between the strands inside the insulation and continue to eat away at the copper long after you think you have dried it off.[/quote]

Very good thought sidecar, the main reason that rosin is used as a flux for electronics etc.rather than acid core like plumbing solder.

[Rileysaurus]

I'm doing a fork swap on my 82 interstate. I have a donor 83 aspencade, which would have had nice forks had I remembered to replace the fork cap on my last parts raid. The innards have been exposed for 3 or 4 years. I dont know if I can salvage the fork, but the vinegar works great!

[Sidecar Bob]

Since the spring has nowhere for acid to be traped and lives in an oil bath (= does not need plating to protect it) that is a good application for vinegar.