I have 2 matching 64 Phillips bikes that have some very light surface rust but otherwise are in beautiful shape. I'm thinking of taking my daughters old kiddie pool and making a large Oxalic acid bath, has anyone ever dumped an entire bike in the bath? would the acid have any reaction with the zinc coated(I guess)spokes on the wheels? how about the hub? I've heard that it doesn't harm paint so I guess I'm cool there.All steel bikes right?

I suppose you're ok, but if you leave parts in for too long, they get a greenish-white residue on them that will come off, but is kind of a pain and is extra work.

I don't think I'd want to soak anything that has bearings in it in the bath though. Maybe if you have to overhaul them anyway, but I wouldn't go there out of uncertainty of what might happen.

I have soaked badly rusted chrome in phosporic acid baths with a high degree of success. Is it really necessary to submerge the entire bike?

I would disassemble the bike and separate the metal types. And I would never put bearings in an acid bath--if they are corroded, replace them.

I believe it will react with the zinc in the galvanizing on the spokes and cause pitting and spotting. I know it will pit aluminum alloys. If the rust is not too severe on the painted portions, one of the best treatments I have found, is to wipe it down with a rag and 90 weight gear oil. Chrome can be buffed or polished up using Turtle Wax Chrome polish.

Aaron

I've done the old common chrome pedals with great success. If the bearings have grease on them, the Oxalic Acid doesn't penetrate to the metal. Same with other parts - chains and such. I've saved a bunch of chains, but they have to be dry and rusty, free from grease and dirt.

Soaking a whole frame would be a grand experiment, but I'd try it on one I didn't care about first just to be sure. Something like a $5 Magna. A chrome wheel bath is definitely a time-saver - learned that from a fellow BF member. Just mix your solution in a wall paper wetting tray, and rotate the rim every so often. Sure beats scrubbing and polishing.

I soaked a painted fork before. It didn't mess with the paint at all but it didn't do a great job cleaning up the rust, just kinda changed the color (lighter).

I've found that it works best on chrome, turns chrome new

Tried a rusty chain, it reacted poorly and turned chalky white
I've done aluminum before just because a part had both steel and alu on it. The acid definitely dulls the aluminum but if you don't leave it in too long it won't pit. After the bath just take out your alu polish and shine it back up
Galvanzied steel will definitely react, don't even try it. For me it turns chalky and yellow

I have done freewheels that were disassembled. The cogs and the part they are attached to. I always put grease in the bearing races first, as I test soaked something that had bearings and it appeared the OA messed it up. OA does mess up zinc plated objects, so don't put the spokes in there!

Yes I found out the hard way that zinc plated spokes don't like Oxalic acid
Otherwise it's all good and saves an awful lot of scratching away at rusty parts.

I'm having a hard time tracking down oxalic acid in Toronto, does any Canuck have a lead on a place that carries this stuff? You Yanks are finding it in the Home Depot, is that right? My Home Depot has never heard of the stuff

I bought mine a Lowe's (HD'S competitor ) Mine was in the cleaning section by the deck wash stuff. Make sure to read the label a lot of it is sodium hypocloride (bleach) IIRC it was about double the price of the cheap stuff. I will check the brand when I get home next week

Aaron

When I purchased my Oxalic acid I explained that it was normally used for bleaching timber. You may need to speak to an experienced staff member, rather than whoever is standing behind the counter.

Wood Bleach is oxalic acid crystals. Ask for that at Home Depot and maybe they'll be able to help you.

so how do you do the rims without getting the spokes?

how does this work and how is it better than good ol carnuba wax? I KNOW it doesn't smell better.

Yea, I'd like to know too! (cheap chromed rims with galvanized spokes).

I'm a lazy guy and don't want to spend hours steel wooling the rims or re-lacing them.

From the above posts, I'm guessing that smearing vaseline or grease on the spokes would be an effective barrier against the acid?

When I do rims the spokes inevitably get soaked a little. The trick is just not to keep it in too long. I rotate the rim a couple times through the period of one day wiping it down each time and it comes out pretty damn good. Leving the rim sit in the same place for more than 2-3 hours is not a good idea (this also depends on the concentration of acid to water)

I've been pondering an automated chromed rim cleaner where a motor spins the wheel through a bath of oxalic acid with brushes and cloths to help out.

I've looked for Wood Bleach at local Home Depot and Lowes and they didn't have it. Try the smaller hardware store chains like Ace, True Value, etc. I found a 12oz tub of it at an Ace hardware store for $5 or $6. DAP brand. Typically use just a pinch at a time, so you get your money's worth. And if you are going for the wallpaper tub for the wheels, don't try Home Depot--they're not selling wallpaper there anymore.

I asked at a little hardware street in my neighbourhood and the clerk told me that wood bleach in Canada had recently been changed to exclude a certain ingredient, namely oxalic acid. He wasn't sure why but he told me that he thought it was because it was linked to cancer.

I don't know if that is correct but it would certainly explain the problem I have had finding this stuff up here, our government is pretty strict on regulating these sorts of things.

Do the ingredients listed on the wood bleach actually use the words "oxalic acid" or would it be called something else?

Other than oxalic acid, what would be another good way of getting the same or similar results on a bike frame? This is for my Ciocc. I finally got some decals and before I get it painted, I was thinking it would be a good idea to soak the frame in oxalic acid to get any rust problems within the tubes solved.

Thanks for any input.

Here's where I buy mine... https://www.chemistrystore.com/oxalic_acid.htm

I bought my OA at the local Home Depot in the form of wooden deck wash. The ingredients showed it to be an OA solution (9% maybe)? Here's one on eBay: https://www.amazon.com/Selig-Enforcer.../dp/B000BO6MIO

Neal

I don't know about Canada, but I found OA in a wood working store. Asked a clerk in Home Depot and
he had no idea what I was talking about and couldn't find one who did.

I was in a local Lord and Evans paint store today and they had it on the shelf as Wood Brightener...but I don't recall the brand Cabot's?

Aaron

I found it at Home Depot after the folks at both Lowes and Home Dump said they'd never heard of it. Behr Wood cleaner, Brightener, Conditioner, in a gallon container in the paint department.

I don't know about Home Depot in the U.S., but their staff in Canada are pretty clueless. My local Home Hardware store has people who actually know stuff and will order it for you if they don't have it.