- Joined
- Feb 27, 2015
- Messages
- 105
First off, if you are thinking of using muriatic acid on cast iron, STOP. Yep, STOP and don't do it. I read online and saw a video that demonstrated it as effective and a safe method of cleaning and derusting. And to that end it does work. EXCEPT (and after it was on already), I found gobs of sites and threads saying don't use it on cast iron. One said that he left it in a soak tank for a day or so and it actually softened the cast iron so much he could remove some with a fingernail. I used it to take some flash rust off the legs on my 1937 South Bend 11" lathe. Only after applying it with a spray bottle did I read that it gets in the grain and continues eating cast iron for years if not completely neutralized and/or removed. So I scrubbed the legs with Soda Ash because it was handy and a green scratchpad. The legs are all white now from the soda ash (about 50/50) rinse and scrub. The worst is I am now worried about painting the legs.
So the question is, will soda blasting neutralize muriatic acid on cast iron or would media blasting with black diamond be enough? The legs are almost all back to metal except a couple spots where the black original fillers were applied.
So the question is, will soda blasting neutralize muriatic acid on cast iron or would media blasting with black diamond be enough? The legs are almost all back to metal except a couple spots where the black original fillers were applied.