Oxalic Newbie Mistakes: what am I doing wrong?
05-29-11, 12:45 PM
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Oxalic Newbie Mistakes: what am I doing wrong?
Apologies for bringing up such a common topic, but I can't quite seem to find the answers by searching the archive.
So, I had some old Christophe toe clips that were in pretty sad shape (much of the chrome plating flaked off) and decided to give oxalic acid a try. This was my first time working with it.
I put them in a solution of 1/2 teaspoon powdered OA to 1 quart of water. I left them in overnight. When I pulled them out in the morning, they looked great!
I immediately put them in a fairly stout baking soda & water solution to neutralize the acid, swirled them around a bit, and left them there for about 5 minutes. Then I pulled them out and put them on paper towels to dry. At this point, they looked good: chrome shiny, chromeless bits black.
I went away for about five minutes. When I came back, all the de-chromed spots had rusted up severely. Bright red stains all over the paper towels. Though the chromed bits did look good, as a whole the parts don't look much better than they did before the treatment.
What am I doing wrong? Is there some way to prevent immediate re-oxidation? Thanks!
So, I had some old Christophe toe clips that were in pretty sad shape (much of the chrome plating flaked off) and decided to give oxalic acid a try. This was my first time working with it.
I put them in a solution of 1/2 teaspoon powdered OA to 1 quart of water. I left them in overnight. When I pulled them out in the morning, they looked great!
I immediately put them in a fairly stout baking soda & water solution to neutralize the acid, swirled them around a bit, and left them there for about 5 minutes. Then I pulled them out and put them on paper towels to dry. At this point, they looked good: chrome shiny, chromeless bits black.
I went away for about five minutes. When I came back, all the de-chromed spots had rusted up severely. Bright red stains all over the paper towels. Though the chromed bits did look good, as a whole the parts don't look much better than they did before the treatment.
What am I doing wrong? Is there some way to prevent immediate re-oxidation? Thanks!
05-29-11, 12:48 PM
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Dry well them and give them a light coat of oil. no oxygen=no rust
05-30-11, 12:14 PM
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You have to find a way to protect the bare metal somehow. Otherwise rust will return. Oil, wax, paint, 3-in-1 oil (will convert red rust to black and stabilize the rusty parts). Something.
05-30-11, 02:39 PM
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Spray them with clear gloss lacquer or Enamel after polishing works for me....
