Homemade Evapo-rust

How well does it work for etching PCBs? When using for PCBs can it be "rejuvenated" by adding more peroxide? or does it just stop working after a while like ferrric chloride?
Strantor- You've probably already heard of this, but the hardware store muriatic acid mksj mentions is a pretty darn good one. I believe it's two parts standard drugstore hydrogen peroxide to one part acid. I moved from years of ferric chloride (yuck!) through a brief stint with sodium persulfate, then found the muriatic acid mix. It's cheap as dirt (they usually require me to buy too much acid), and it seems to do its own heating. It can get weak after a while, and I think I narrowed that down to the acid, so I'm not sure what the shelf life is, but again it's cheap! Just read up on it and follow all the safety precautions (mix in the right order, have water and baking soda on hand, and don't breathe it). It's some dangerous crap, but I guess most of that other stuff is too.

- Don't mean to sidetrack the thread with off-topic. I'm actually looking for rust info myself. :)

Take Care
 
Don't mean to sidetrack the thread with off-topic. I'm actually looking for rust info myself.

Hi Jidis,

First, Welcome to the Hobby-Machinist!

Second, Thanks for jumping in with your experience. It's always good to get advice from people that have actually used it and other solutions.

This site has a bunch of stuff on dealing with rust (removal, prevention, products, electrolysis, etc.).
However, I have always found the best way to search is to use google or better duckduckgo(1) and phrase the search like this:

"rust site:www.hobby-machinist.com"
(without the quotes)

doing that I get results like this:
upload_2017-7-30_8-32-23.png


If you have not heard of/tried electrolysis, you might look into it.
I used it again recently on a vice, and it worked splendidly:
http://hobby-machinist.com/threads/...4-double-swivel-bench-vise.58849/#post-484951

(1) duckduckgo gives the same results without google tracking everything you do!
it passes the search text directly to google, and gives back the same results, but it does not store your search history or sell it to advertisers.
https://duckduckgo.com/

-brino
 
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Do you guys have a preference on solutions for stuff which can't be soaked? I was attacked by a rust wave a few years back and still have some things which need to be cleaned up, but there's a bunch of stuff like my radial arm saw column, bar clamps,etc. which obviously can't be removed and dipped in anything. I'm thinking maybe a spray bottle of something (commercial or homebrewed). Evapo-Rust did well on most of the smaller parts, but the instructions didn't really sound like it was made for that.

Thanks!
 
there's a bunch of stuff like my radial arm saw column, bar clamps,etc. which obviously can't be removed and dipped in anything.

Jidis,
If the rust is fairly light then I use a scouring pad like a scotch-brite.
If it's heavier rust then I use a wire wheel, either on a bench grinder or even a cordless drill.

My drill press column got rusted but I got it with a scouring pad and now use this on my drill press column and table, the table saw surface, band-saw tables and even on my block planes, etc.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=40952&cat=1,230,64343,64350

I can usually find it at my local hardware store.

-brino
 
Thanks Brino!

I sort of hoped there was a lazy way. I've got an assortment of wheels and such, so I'll go ahead and see what I can do, and look into that GlideCote. I've been much better about oil coating things I've been cleaning up lately, putting camphor in all my tool drawers, and was running a dehumidifier until it cooled down outside, so I'm probably going to be safe from having it happen again, but I've still got some recovery to do.

Take Care
 
I read a lot rust removing threads here on the forum.. thought I'd throw in my two cents. home depot sells a concrete floor cleaner called prep & etch
12-13 bucks for gallon. it contains phosphoric acid. I mix it 5 parts water to 1 part. soak parts over night and the rust is gone. it will clean chrome nicely to,, do NOT use it for aluminum, or any kind of pot metal/white metal . I use this all the time when restoring motorcycles. great for gas tanks..

crap I had a typo and I didn't notice it for awhile. I missed the NOT .... I hope nobody tried this on aluminum

jbalp
 
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Inspired by Andre, I just did an old chuck too. I forgot to take a "before" picture, but stuck in a shot of the drill it came off of which should give you an idea. It wasn't as bad as his, but was a nice crusty bronze color. I must admit I cheated and did a bunch of the clean-up and sanding on a lathe, but the first overnight soak did great. Weird part is, it looked good after the initial de-rusting, and I cleaned it a bit and soaked it a second time to see if I could get any more. The second time, it came out with that weird charcoal gray look that Evapo-Rust sometimes gives. I had to sand and buff to get it back. I did add a tiny bit of Hydrogen Peroxide to rejuvenate it and a pinch of salt on the second run, but that's about the only difference.

It moves smooth as silk, and the threads and insides looked good, but unfortunately all the keys here are too big and the one which seems to be the right size still doesn't seat quite right. I'm pretty sure the issue was the same before I took it apart, and pictures of others online look as though the rear of the body protrudes from the shell by about the same amount as mine, so I'm figuring that's as far back as it goes, but it does seem as though the key would fit better if there were a bit more space between the holes and the rack ring part.

Chuck.jpg

Take Care

PS- jbalp's warning about the aluminum sounds like what I get from the muriatic acid I use for PCBs here. The reactions to Al can get pretty "colorful" sometimes. I did something with it once where it heated up and started bubbling so bad I had to run away from it. Fortunately, this was on top of a plastic trash can in a nice open area outside.
 
Any rust removing method that uses acid is not at all the same as Evapo-rust. Acids will remove good metal as well as rust, Evapo-rust will not. Sometimes that matters, sometimes it does not. If you do not want a frosted surface, use Evapo-rust. If you do not care, acids work OK. Properly used, electrolysis can also remove rust without removing good metal.
 
For what its worth, I've been experimenting with using a peroxide salt mix for a rust bluing solution. If you leave steel in there too long, the solution will cause pitting in the metal.
 
Here's a muzzle cap I did. It was polished to 1000 grit wet/dry before the peroxide/salt solution.

Message_1521329147303.jpg
 
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