If you bother to shoot a bit of WD-40 on the chrome before using the steel wool you will find that it allows the steel wool to glide harmlessly over the chrome while removing the rust.

I have done this MANY times without taking the chrome down to the nickle (or, heaven forbid, the copper ).

Degrease and finish up with clear-coat to keep the rust from reappearing and you're good to go.

Not true. Small iron particles will be left behind which will rust. I work in the aerospace industry and many machined parts are passivated after being machined to remove these microscopic loose steel bits before they can rust and cause more serious issues.

Regarding the rust removal, phosphoric acid is the ticket. It comes in a wide varity of products including Jasco Metal Etch and Metal Primer, commonly available in Lowe's and Home Depot.

Phosphoric acid is in Coca Cola

https://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp

From about 1/2 way down the page.

"FYI:

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

2. To carry Coca Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly Corrosive materials.

3. Distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years! Drink Up! No joke. Think what coke and other soft drinks do to your teeth on a daily basis. A tooth will dissolve in a cup of coke in 24-48 hours."

-------------
To tell you the truth, I have even used it as toilet bowl cleaner. I also poured coke into the spark plug holes to break the pistons free an antique tractor engine that was stuck for 7 years. Let it sit overnight, then pulled the heads and whacked the pistons with a really big mallet. Within 2 days I had the tractor running.

+1 Thank you!

Regards,
J T

I'm not so sure he was supporting your point about abrading chrome down to the nickle...

I was agreeing with what SST stated. 'Chrome polish is an abrasive.'

The other suprising element is that even if it were not, the 'dirt', that is removed by it's action

becomes an abrasive by being trapped on the cloth during the cleaning operation.

About the only thing that I would use, turning the 'cloth', frequently when signs of 'shading', appear,

is 'NEVER-DULL', wadding polish. (chemical & mechanical action)


Regards, J T

I have used oven cleaner to remove rust. You let is sit on there for a bit, then wash it off well. I wouldnt use oven cleaner on my bike or anything like that, but to salvage rusted tools it should be o.k.. It needs to be the noxious smelling oven cleaner, not the no fumes kind.

These 'SNAP-ON', tools, are they in your boxes or mine?

The plating on the above is far superior to anything on a bike, however after so many years and

so much use the nickel will start to show through eventually. The chrome 'top coat', is very

thin and porous, the nickel and hopefully the copper MUCH thicker and porous. Most mechanics

either just wipe the grunge off with a cloth or clean them in the degreaser tank - there is no

need to abrade them with steel wool et al to get them clean; these oils becoming a preservative

of sort. Even the 'industrial line', of tools (black oxide/Parkerized) remain 'clean'.

('Parkerizing', has an afinnity with oil, and retains it for preservation & lubricity) - another story.

All I am saying is that given the generally poor quality of bike parts plating along with the shape

(tubular contours) of the product, more abrasion will occur in less time at the interface, totally

unlike a regular flat surface. With the high cost/aggravation of replating, why tempt the Fates?


Regards,
J T

You know it really is funny how all "sensitive" discussions on ANY board end up the same. It starts with a few suggestions that work, then the home remedies, then it goes to hell. The extremists(experts) take the floor and say anything is bad, and shouldn't be used. I will use what I have found to work that doesn't "remove" the chrome, and you can use what you use. I give up. It's not like we're cleaning this inferior chrome over and over. The likelihood of removing chrome with one rust removal or polishing is very low. My bikes tend not to sit out in the rain after I work on them, or even get ridden in the rain after the cleaning. I do ride a couple of my bike in the wet, but not any bike I spent time and money on. AKA; beater.,,,,BD

Most of the people I know that have a box full of "BIG 3" tools,trade them in for new ones when they get scratched,nicked or the chrome peels.That's why they cost $40 bucks a wrench.

a simple wire brush wheel on a drill is the best rust remover i know of and emery paper

Carbide grinding wheel will be much faster than a wire brush.

I'll ditto white vinegar. Works good, real cheap by the gallon.

I think I'll try vinegar and/or coke first. My rusty tools are not chrome plated, so I don't need
to worry about that issue. I don't want to bother brushing the tools with steel wool or wire brush.

Let us know how the WHITE vinegar works out.

I think you are talking at cross purposes here. The OP was talking about derusting already rusted stuff. I think most of us would agree that frequent wipe downs with a soft oily rag is the best way to keep chrome rust free in the first place. However, if you have an old grungy rusty bike, or tool, something more aggressive is needed.

A little humorous anecdote. I once decided that one of those neat military surplus canvas tool bags would be a great way to carry my car tools in the trunk. In a month I noticed that all the tools were rusty. The canvas soaked up moisture from the air and kept the tools nice and damp.

Too true about the canvas, however do remember that machinist's boxes are 'felt lined'.

What to do?

MOTH BALLS!


Regards,
J T

One more thing about the vinegar method: When I've used it on files, the teeth have come out a bit sharper than before, due to the mild acid. If you pick out the soft metal and other scuz before soaking, or use a file card tool on it first, the old rusty file comes out presentable and useable. Neutralize, oil and use for years.

I am interested in using oxalic acid to remove the rust from inside my frame. I have read that with some acids it is vital to soak it in water and baking soda after to neutralize it. Is this so with oxalic acid as well? How long should i leave my frame soaking in the acid bath? Should I dilute the "wood bleach" with water? And if so with what ratios? Thanks alot, I'm sure many other people will appreciate these details as well.

+1 Oxalic.

When I used oxalic on a bike frame, I tested it on an old rusty pair of scissors first. Incredible.

I would just do a small bucket or pail, and let the tools soak for a couple of hours.

For derusting tools, there is a commonly used method (in the woodworking and antiques trades) of doing it without removing any good metal at all - which is not true of any of the acid methods as far as I know. Do a google search on Reverse Electrolysis and you will find many simple descriptions, as well as a few that get too fussy and complicated.

It is not practical for frames, and will lift chrome or paint if they have the least bit of rust under them. So it is good but for simple steel items... like tools.

X2

Oxalic Acid, and I've also used NaOH (Sodium hydroxide) a.k.a Lye for removing rust (and will remove paint too... And anything organic for that matter).

Resurectio!!

I am to blame for unearthing this thread.

So today I was working on a Raleigh that has quite a few steel parts with surface rust and a bit of deep rust in nicks and scrapes. The parts were dirty so I washed them before dipping them in OA or Evapo-Rust.

My usual wash routine is using a couple of different brushes, a rinse, and then a bath in one of the aforementioned products. This time, however, I used a ragged-out Scotch-Brite pad to wash the parts. Lo and behold; 80% of the rust was eliminated by the scrubbing!

This is the best (before) photo I have of the stem & bars. Both in the same state of rust. This is after the scrubbing and a 1 hour bath in mild OA. The scrubbing removed all but the rust in the nicks and scrapes.

Scotch brites are for scrubbing dishes or sanding car bodies. I think you got lucky, only because Raleigh chrome was very good quality. Almost any other chrome, it would have dulled the finish, or at the very least left fine scratches, or took the finish to the nickel plating in thin spots, or all of the above,.,,,,BD

Evapo-rust. I swear by this stuff. Completely non-toxic, non-corrosive and doesn't spoil paint at all. I've used it for years to restore tools, bring engine parts back from the dead, restore bike chains from years of rust and weather exposure, heck I almost always have something soaking in a tub in my shop.. I'm currently restoring a dozen or so bikes and treating every screw, nut & chain with the stuff.

A gallon is about $25 at Harbor Freight but it goes a long way, you can reuse it several times.

I usually start with a quick scrub, steel brush or brass if it's painted, then soak in Evapo-rust for 12-36 hours depending on corrosion. The only thing it hasn't de-rusted (out of hundreds of things) was a really weird rust ring fused to a titanium container I had (even weirder since titanium doesn't really rust... long story).

Anyway I have treated parts with paint, plastic components, rubber, etc. and it has never hurt anything. Just comes out shiny! After the evapo-rust I do a soak in some motor oil, clean and brush it off well and it's usually like new again.