>G'day all,
> I just use plain old brown cooking vinegar from the supermarket. Drop
>the rusted parts in it for a few days, and all the rust is removed (not
>converted, like phosphoric acid) back to a shiny bright surface. Dirt on
>the item to be stripped is ok, as long as it isn't oily dirt - it will be
>stripped once you wash the dirt off. Dip in bicarb of soda to neutralise
>the vinegar, wash thoroughly, dry and primer it. Molasses diluted 1:4
>also works fine. No need to use other fancier acids. I used brown vinegar
>as it was a few cents cheaper per 2l bottle than white vinegar, which works
>just as well. After use, filter it and pour it back into the container for
>next time.
>
>Steve Malikoff.
>steven@phaedra.apana.org.au
>
>>
This sounds interesting considering vinegar is acetic acid with
impurities.Although I would think, the bicarb neutralizer would release
hydrogen from any acid left.Enough to do any damage?
I can remember in my early years of playing with a plastic rocket that was
hollow and it had a plug for the back.I would half fill the rocket with
vinegar and then have bicarb wrapped in a tissue stuffed in the back of the
rocket.Put the plug in,flip it over and placed it on a rock or the ground
and within about 30 or so seconds the gas formed from the vinegar mixing
with the bicarb would create so much pressure it would shoot the
rocket.You'd hear a loud 'pop' when the plug blew out the back and the
rocket took off.It once landed on a fellows balcony 11 stories high at the
apartments I lived.Great toy!.
Andre
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Dec 07 2001 - 00:36:25 PST