# Anyone here use vinegar to remove rust?



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

For those who use vinegar, how long do you soak it in? I don't know if it's me or not but after soaking it in 24 hours. I notice it looks like rust stain. Yellow color on my hand tools?


----------



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

It's looks like this. 
http://www.cookhaus.co.uk/vinegar/13.htm


----------



## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

The picture story is incredible….does it need to be MALT Vinegar or can you get the same results from other types ?


----------



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

It makes no difference whether you use distilled vinegar,apple,or Malt. They all will have same results.


----------



## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I'm going to give it a try on some old wrenches then …thank you very much : )


----------



## A10GAC (Dec 21, 2009)

The only thing you have to remember is that vinegar is a fairly strong acid, it will attack the steel as well as the rust. I cleaned up an old block plane with Evap-o-Rust a few weeks ago and it worked well and isn't a strong enough solution to etch the unrusted steel.


----------



## mark88 (Jun 8, 2009)

stick with good ol WD40…served and still serves me and the tools well


----------



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

@MArk
WD-40 is not for rust removal. It prevents water from collecting.


----------



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

@A10GAC

Yes, you are right it will rust even though there's no rust. But I prefer organic materials.


----------



## Boltzero (Feb 8, 2010)

Here's an article with pictures on using vinegar to remove rust from an old Stanley plane:
http://www.themapleboard.com/wordpress/?p=7


----------



## UncleSnail (Jan 28, 2010)

Miriactic(sp) acid is great for removing rust…..I believe it is another name for HCL. Hardwares carry it….Uncle Snail


----------



## johnharris (Jan 24, 2010)

Uncle Snail - 
How much do you dilute the muratic acid? I actually have three gallons of it that I would love to get rid of.


----------



## NotEnough (Feb 14, 2010)

I'll second Evapo-Rust. Works as advertised. Plus is doesn't attack the base mat'l, just the rust. I put a few garage sale wrenches through and they came out pretty nice. No scrubbing, just a few days of soak time. I bought my bottle from HF. Not too bad with the 20% coupon.


----------



## Sean (Jul 2, 2008)

Will the vinegar take off paint/japanning?


----------



## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Never tried it on anything but Fish and Chips and happy to report I've never had a rust problem.


----------



## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

Another vote for Evaporust. I believe its environmentally friendly and it works great. I threw an old double square (that I grabbed at a garage sale for .50), let it soak for a day and pulled out a nice, shiny Starrett. The only other suggestion I would make is to coat the tools with some Camilla (sp?) oil afterward to keep the tools from rusting.


----------



## mikedrums (Feb 1, 2010)

Don't even waste your time with anything but Boeshield Rust Free. 
I've done comparisons and this stuff is hands down the best and fastest.

If you don't trust me, check out the comparison test from wood magizine…
http://www.boeshield.com/rust_prevention/stoprust.pdf


----------



## Sean (Jul 2, 2008)

the boeshield rust free is phosphoric acid, isnt it? i do know i didnt like the smell of it when i used it. I'm going to try the vinegar.


----------



## mikedrums (Feb 1, 2010)

I don't know what's it's made of, I just know it works…... in minutes, not days.

You can certainly use whatever process you want, if you have the time to wait. 
I just want to give this info for anyone who needs to remove rust, now, not next week.


----------



## UncleSnail (Jan 28, 2010)

To John Harris: First of all please accept my opology for not replying sooner. I have been not feeling well. Concerning your question on diluting Muriatic acid…..I have never diluted mine at all. I also didn't leave it on very long either. But it attacks rust really fast. I sugest you ask your local Ace man or hardware store for dilution just to be safe. Dale


----------



## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

Yes, I use vinegar for rust removal. It works very good, items just need to be rinsed thoroughly with water after they are removed from the soak.


----------

