OK, I broke out the soaking box again, two more bikes to do; fortunately, little visible rust -- mostly want to protect the inside. There are some scratches, and not having rust there is a plus.
Recoated the inside of the box with yet another product... don't you know, still weeping a little bit!
Using 19 bricks as spacers, 25 gallons of solution at 1/4 cup of OA powder per 5 gallons of H2O. D'ya think 5 hours (left of daylight) is enough soak, or perhaps overnight before the swap to frame #2?
Originally Posted by
spclark
Any way you can rig up a scheme to have a plain water rinse for each frame (inside and out!) as you cycle each through your acid bath? That'd go along way to eliminating much of the carried-out acid solution. Or even prepping a bicarbonate solution (cheaper than oxalic acid) to do a cursory internal neutralization before setting each frame aside for a few days? After all these baths it's A Good Idea I think to give each frame a decent rinse with plain water before proceeding with the next steps in your plan of action, then thorough dry-out. Gets rid of any remaining contaminants, leaves a clean surface for whatever you might have in mind for overcoating (lacquer inside, or oiling) before re-assembly.
This is outdoors -- I think I could do this indoors, for sure -- and a garden hose handy for a rinse. I presume dumping all 25 gallons out of solution (the lawn might not like that!) and mix up some baking soda mix.
At least it's heating season and, between the boiler and our pellet stove,
indoor humidity is much lower than it would have been 60 days ago. Good for frames, and we only run the dehumidifier 24/7 in our basement (and it tends to shut off in the winter anyway).