Pistard

I thought I had read that there is another product, less toxic then oxalic, cant find the tread, was it evaporust, good for both steel and other metals? thanks

seedsbelize 

I just used evaporust a couple days ago, and liked it. I was involved in that other thread too. I taped off all the holes and poured it in, though it would be better to soak it. I took the lazy man's way out.

ultraman6970

The less toxic one is coca cola Just dont drink it nor leave the chrome parts for too long in there tho .

jonwvara 

I'm pretty sure that Evaporust is less toxic than Coca-Cola.
It's great stuff for soaking things like derailleurs that combine pressed- or riveted-together steel and aluminum parts, since it doesn't hurt aluminum.

ultraman6970

Interesting gonna have to try it

EddyR

I had not used Evapo-Rust so i did a google search and watched some videos but I found one where a guy was cleaning aluminum motorcycle parts with Marvel Mystery Oil. It seamed to work very well. Has any one tried MMOil on aluminum rims?
EddyR

merlin504

Would you guys think it is safe to soak a bike frame in Evapo-rust? I have a dumpster rescued frame with a number of rust spots but I do not want to sand the paint. Does anyone have any experience in this area?

Are you thinking of Metal Rescue? Its safe on everything, I am considering using it, but its rather pricey

wrk101

Get ready to spend $$$$$. Nothing works on rust if it is under the paint.

Average frame bath for me is around 50 gallons of liquid. Evaporust sells for about $20 a gallon. You do that math.

I always get a kick out of the discussions on toxicity. Most of the comments are from people that have little/no knowledge about chemical hazards. Others are knowledgeable, but then it becomes a discussion about what is "safe." I for one and not going to try to convince/talk someone into using anything chemical wise. Check up on the hazards of all the other chemicals you probably have in your workshop as well. Then do the same with all the stuff under your kitchen sink. Then a quick spin through the garage.

Years ago, I got a call from the California State Patrol. They had I-5 shut down, as a 50 pound bag of our product had fallen off a truck, and spilled on the roadway. They wanted to know if there was "anything toxic" in our product. The product was 90% wheat flour, but included a small amount of other ingredients. Sure enough, one of those was hazardous. So my answer was "Yes". They wanted to know what hazardous material was in our product. "Clay". "Clay?" "Yes, clay, as in red dirt."

So they had the entire Interstate closed because there was a 50 pound spill on the road, mostly wheat flour, but it also contained about 8 ounces of clay in it.

David Newton

If by following stringent rules handling toxic ingredients, just one person avoids a mild rash, or thinks twice about drinking the rust remover, our work here is worth it.

jonwvara 

Okay, I'm stumped, what's the product? It sounds like something you'd use to bake bread designed to cure diarrhea--something along the lines of Kaopectate.

merlin504

In regards to the above quote,

Well there is always idea of putting the frame in a plastic bag, remove the air from the bag, and first use gallons of water to see how much I would need to get just enough for half of the bike to be submerged. Wait X-period of time and flip bag with bike over. I Would literally cut the amount of solution I would need in-half. Im only doing one frame. Then, when Im done, Ill pour the solution in to a small utility bucket to soak my components/accessories.

If that fails, I can always do like suggested, use a fabric of sorts, and soak it in the solution and place the fabric on the rusted areas.. while the part is over a bucket to catch and re use any dripping solution. With this method, a gallon is all that is needed. Especially since I am no hurry

wrk101

It was a wheat flour based adhesive extender, added to mixes of plywood adhesive at factories making plywood. If plywood adhesive cost x, the extender cost 0.25x. If you ever visit a plywood mill, you will see them add all kinds of extenders, mainly to reduce their glue expense. Some common extenders included ground up corn cobs, wood flour (saw dust), ground up walnut shells, etc. A large plywood mill might use 6 or 7 tank trucks a week of adhesive.

jonwvara 

Wow! I was an editor with a magazine for residential builders called The Journal of Light Construction for ten years, and I never knew that. Thanks for the info.

3alarmer 

...for areas on the exterior of your frame (that you can identify visually
and reach with your hands), you're probably better off using one of the
"rust converters" sold in the paint department at Home Depot and elsewhere.

Evaporust works well as an interior treatment (although plugging and filling the
tubes and letting it sit for a couple of days is a PIA.) As stated above, it's
pricey, works well, and is relatively non toxic. It is reusable a number of times,
and works more rapidly when warm.

@wrk101: as one of the guys who has sat around for long hours at various "toxic
spill events", I just wanted to add that I h8 you.

phoebeisis

Citric acid is a bit more gentle than oxalic acid.
It is edible-so not particularly toxic.
Works fine on rust

jet sanchEz

I picked up some Evaporust yesterday and soaked some Campy pedals that came off of my very rough (but cheap!) Cinelli. I soaked the pedals overnight and they came out very shiny, I am impressed. The chrome lugs on the bike are pretty rusty, I will jig up a way to soak the headtube and take some before and after shots and update the thread soon.

Alex Moll

I purchased 5 gallons of Evaporust, and an inflatable kiddie pool. Then displaced the liquid with random junk laying around the basement. Very large 65 cm campeur frame, and was also able to de-rust a fender roller and VAR cotter pin press at the same time.

Before:



During:



After:



I used the stuff quite a bit on other parts and bikes, and I like the results. Full Flickr set of this project here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/3915149...7626711955076/

jonwvara 

That's very resourceful and a beautiful result. I'm definitely going that route the next time I have to derust a frame. It might be worth trying to develop a better method for raising the liquid level. I'd thought about trying to buy a couple of cubic feet of glass marbles and using those to displace the liquid. I wonder if you can get a bulk rate on "factory second" marbles somewhere?

EDIT: Forget that idea--I just looked up the price of bulk marbles. I think I'll collect a few milk crates of small rounded stones instead.

Rover88

What about putting things under the pool that would raise the floor in the non-bike areas?

mstateglfr 

Take high quality paper towels and soak them in a small container of evaporust. Then wrap the paper towels around the frame and get rid of any air pockets. Stuff the wrapped frame in a large garbage bag.

Wait however long you want depending on level of rust.

This process is easy and covers the whole bike. About 6 ounces or so will cover the whole frame.

SJX426 

That works too.

Velognome 

Just used Evapo Rust to clean out a Motorcycle Gas tank. Worked great, part or the painted tank sat in the bath for 3 days and didn't harm the metal. Reclaimed the liquid for the next job. Sure it's more expensive than OA or vinegar but it works well, doesn't eat the metal if left in too long, doesn't harm paint ,doesn't require a neutral bath; I'm sold on the stuff.

P.S. I saw a $3 rebate for Evapo R. in the August Classic Motorcycle and Harbor Freight will take 20% off with their generic coupon. So that nets something like $16 a gallon. Jug says a gallon will clean something like 300 lbs of metal.

old's'cool

Not promoting this kind of cynical behaviour by any means, but I know of a case where 2 tons of decorative pebbles (in handy 50lb bags) were purchased from Home Depot, used as ballast for motor vehicle testing, then returned for refund the same day.

Glennfordx4

I picked up a gal of Evaporust on sale at Auto Zone for $16.99 a couple of months ago just to try it out. I had mixed results, on a few chrome bike parts I tried, it worked pretty good with just a overnight soaking but on some rusty Toyota parts from a truck I am building it didn't work as good as I would have hoped for even after 48hrs of soaking. I like it for ease of use & clean up and the fact that I can reuse it ( after I strain it thru coffee filters ) but for heavy rusted parts I prefer Navel Jelly over the Evaporust. I like Oxalic acid but it is a pain to deal with correctly and I only use it when I have a lot to clean at once.

Glenn

Ed.

Now that's funny, not to mention energetic. I do use marble-like things to displace varnish in a partially used can to keep the varnish from skimming over.

I'm an Evaporust user/believer. A suggestion for doing large, flattish objects. Get a plastic bag of substance, large enough that the object/s can lay within the perimeters of the bag. Put sufficient sand into the bag that the object can be pressed into (on the outside of the bag) the bag and sand, sort of a canyon shaped like the item/s. Pour in sufficient Evaporust to cover. (Note: if there are sharp edges, cover them with duct tape.)