White Vinegar For Cleaning Parts

[LockDoc]

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I am trying to clean up the parts I remove from the parts truck I bought, as I take them off.



I have read about using vinegar here on the board before and I even tried it once, but it didn't seem like it worked very good. I decided to try it again after reading another post on it. I soaked the emergency brake pedal bracket for 3 hours and when I removed it from the tub of vinegar it looked just like it did when I put it in there.





I was discouraged so I thought I woud wash the vinegar off of it so it wouldn't make it rust more from the acid in the vinegar. This is what happened when I hit it with the pressure washer.





I just washed sections of it on both sides to show the difference.

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

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This is after I finished pressure washing the whole thing. Clean metal.





It won't remove any oil or grease so you need to remove all of that stuff before you put the parts in the vinegar bath. I bought the vinegar at the Dollar Store for 2 bucks a gallon. (they need to call it the Two Dollar Store)

I'm impressed now....

LockDoc

[dmjlambert]

That is pretty neat. Chevy took care of the part that needed to be protected from rust, and to heck with the rest of it I guess. I am amused by their paint conservation. When I took mine out to replace all 3 springs that had broken from rust, I painted the whole thing black.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

That is pretty neat. Chevy took care of the part that needed to be protected from rust, and to heck with the rest of it I guess. I am amused by their paint conservation. When I took mine out to replace all 3 springs that had broken from rust, I painted the whole thing black.

Naw, they only painted the part you could see!

And I do have to say that I'm a bit annoyed and embarrassed for having bought a gallon of Evapo-Rust for $27 on line, many years ago. I discovered that O'Reilly's had it for half that price, later.

[custom10nut]

I like to use Cleaning Strength Vinegar for soaking parts to get rust off of parts.
I just fill a container big enough to hold the parts, and let them soak for a few days. To me, it works well on Normal rusty parts. I use another producT for heavily rusted parts. As someone said, the pieces need to be degreased, as vinegar has no effect on petroleum products.

[toolboxchev]

That is super clean, you have changed my mind about using vinegar for a de-rusting agent!

[special-K]

Gotta have it on my greens, too! I keep a jug handy with my other chemicals. Vinegar is excellent for paint prep, too. Etching bare metal. Cheap!

[KevinK7]

Very cool... Like you, after soaking and not seeing much difference I would have 'written it off'. What a difference after pressure washing

[jayoldschool]

It will look cleaner if you leave parts in longer. Days, not hours.

[lupo]

Vinegar, molasses, beets all these acids will dissolve rust. The problem it will flash rust pretty quickly.. Rust remover/ metal prep that contains zinc will extend the paint job much longer than cleaning with vinegar. Lacquer paint jobs if they're not acid etched would rust fairly quickly. that phosphate film Under your primers is very important for longevity of your paintwork. If you use a quality prep you can strip parts and store them indoors for a year without flash rusting.. If you strip parts with vinegar use a quality metal prep immediately. It will pay off In the long run.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I swear by it, and nice info. as well Lupo.

I let the parts soak overnight, though my axle plates required maybe 2 days. A good bath 20 or so minutes in heavy baking soda to counter the acid. Baking soda leaves almost a phosphate appearing finish, at that point the parts clean up quickly. A lot of steps but it works. Too late for a tumbler

For heavier rust a concoction using Must for Rust, vinegar and water works real well. A board member came up with it.


The appearance of these plates is misleading because one is the "pretty" side - both plates came out equal.

[LockDoc]

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Thanks guys, and thanks for the extra tips. I ended up doing four of them in the last two days. I primed everything right away and put new release handle springs on them. They look pretty good.

LockDoc

[CG]

Get vinegar by the gallon at the dollar store, buck for a gallon is cheap. You can also get oven cleaner a buck a can. Great for degreasing when you want to clean and power wash your large greasy parts outdoors.

I took a gallon of vinegar and dumped about half in another container. Then I put a bunch of nuts and bolts in the half empty original gallon jug. Everytime I walked past the jug when I was out in the shop I gave it a good shake. Nuts and bolts were nice and clean after a week.

[Willys_MB]

I’m not sure if it’s a necessary step, but I always soak the parts in a baking soda and water solution to neutralize the acid that got into all the nooks and crannies.

[68Gold/white]

My experience...

Simple Green works well on oily greasy stuff. Although not on excessively thick stuck on grease.

If you have a small dab of a greasy area. WD40 dissolves it much better than you'd think. IF you have like a cylinder head or other larger part, diesel cuts the grease, same as WD40. Diesel and WD40 are pretty close to the same thing. Although I'm thinking WD would be safer on your bare hands. I don't know what additives they put in diesel...

I can vouch for the above fixes, I work on School buses..

Another rust solution I have not tried...Is a plastic tub of some king with borax solution (water). Hang parts via metal wires into solution hanging from metal rod across container. Hang a metal rod into the solution (not touching the parts) with a wire.
here's where I am not sure. Hook up a battery charger to each metal piece. I believe the positive goes on the hanging rod... (anyone done this???). If it is wrong, you can switch them. This "unplates" the rust off the parts. sounds a little dangerous. Can't have kids around...

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner is a mild acid, phosphoric, I believe. I say mild, still don't get it on you. I use it for some things. Carb parts. BUT, and that's a big BUT, don't soak something in this stuff, it may do too good of a job....

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

X2 for WD40 on grease. Quality degreaser wasn't cutting the baked on grease on my transmission, WD made it a simple task. Works well to clean deep rust as well, though I've only used it for small parts.

[DeadheadNM]

A solution of vinegar and table salt will dissolve the verdigris from copper grounds and leave them looking pretty close to new. Chase in solution of baking soda and water to neutralize.

[68Gold/white]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

X2 for WD40 on grease. Quality degreaser wasn't cutting the baked on grease on my transmission, WD made it a simple task. Works well to clean deep rust as well, though I've only used it for small parts.

I use an entire tube of grease to grease a bus. I wear rubber gloves, but usually get grease on me!!! I use WD40 first to get the grease off (we use this super duper nasty black whoop ass grease...), then hand cleaner.

THe thing about using diesel on nasty greasy stuff, it's way cheaper than WD40 for larger parts. It helps to have one of those stiff bristled brushes (that are for use in a parts washer).

[SRU1436]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

My experience...

Simple Green works well on oily greasy stuff. Although not on excessively thick stuck on grease.

If you have a small dab of a greasy area. WD40 dissolves it much better than you'd think. IF you have like a cylinder head or other larger part, diesel cuts the grease, same as WD40. Diesel and WD40 are pretty close to the same thing. Although I'm thinking WD would be safer on your bare hands. I don't know what additives they put in diesel...

I can vouch for the above fixes, I work on School buses..

Another rust solution I have not tried...Is a plastic tub of some king with borax solution (water). Hang parts via metal wires into solution hanging from metal rod across container. Hang a metal rod into the solution (not touching the parts) with a wire.
here's where I am not sure. Hook up a battery charger to each metal piece. I believe the positive goes on the hanging rod... (anyone done this???). If it is wrong, you can switch them. This "unplates" the rust off the parts. sounds a little dangerous. Can't have kids around...

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner is a mild acid, phosphoric, I believe. I say mild, still don't get it on you. I use it for some things. Carb parts. BUT, and that's a big BUT, don't soak something in this stuff, it may do too good of a job....

I’ve used and use simple green and white vinegar. The other thing with the borax solution is electrolysis. I use that too. I learned of electrolysis on the garage journal forum. All the methods are good.

[SRU1436]

https://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

I followed this for electrolysis

[52napco]

I'm using oaxlic acid and it works awesome. Unbelievable a!most makes my glass bead cabinet obsolete.

[SRU1436]

Originally Posted by 52napco

I'm using oaxlic acid and it works awesome. Unbelievable a!most makes my glass bead cabinet obsolete.

I’ve heard of that but haven’t tried it. May try it next.

[weim55]

Wow, that vinegar solution is impressive! Does your pressure washer have heat or did cold water clean that up just fine?

Steve weim55 Colorado

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by weim55

Wow, that vinegar solution is impressive! Does your pressure washer have heat or did cold water clean that up just fine?

Steve weim55 Colorado

My pressure washer is just a cold water one. I don't know if a hot water washer would work any better though. Mine blasts it off pretty easy.

LockDoc

[HO455]

We have used low odor kerosene in the parts tank at work for decades. It's easier on the body and you don't reak of diesel fuel when your done.