Citric acid brass cleaner

[WallyM3]

Brylcreem? Afro-sheen?

[Molly]

Brylcreem? Afro-sheen?

Not Brylcream - it's just grease, and wouldn't go into a water system too well. (Is it still sold?) Dunno about 'Afro-sheen'. Never heard of it.

But since the thought just came to me, how about a little corn starch or flour thickened water to dissolve the citric?

[Charlie Sometimes]

Charlie,
If the citric solution doesn't do a dy-no-mite job on really tarnished range brass, something is not quite right with the solution. In this case, your solution is not strong enough.

I mix 1 or 2 teaspoons citric per quart water. That's 8 teaspoons per gallon. Since 1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons, you should to mix 3 tablespoons citric per gallon water to equal the recommended solution strength. Use hot water and your range brass should look a lot better. With hot water, the brass cleaning happens almost instantly.

The other ingredients could possibly make a difference in how effectively the citric cleans metal. I'm not sure either way, but it is possible.

If anyone else is using the "Fresh Fruit" citric, maybe they can chime in and report on their results.

I didn't put that much into my water- I will try increasing it today.

Mold will definitely grow in the Fresh Fruit mixture- there is sugar to feed on, besides the citric acid. The silicon dioxide is just super fine "sand". Pure quartz ground up- neutral effect, but it clouds the water some.

Since the solution is biodegradeable, I am dumping mine around my blue berry bushes. They need the most acidic soil around, and this waters and acidifies at the same time! They haven't produced very good in past years, and I think that is the issue.

Making a gel mixture? Maybe the moisture absorbing gel crystals that they use to put in glass bowls for plants to grow in would be good. Probably much similar to those found in diapers. Craft stores should have it, I'd think.

[waksupi]

Brylcreem? Afro-sheen?

I'm a Dapper Dan man.

[Turk]

Greetings group: Today I was at Walmart looking for some Lema shine I found it ,it was $4.oo a jar . So I didnt get it,instead I bought some cheap Great value leminade drink mix like cool aid for 10 cents a pack,mixed it with 2 quarts of water no sugar. Put in a 1918 FA case with 92 years of tarnish on it in 5 minute you could see a change in 20 minutes the tarnish was gone. That worked so good I'm gona pop some primers out and see if it cleans the pocket and insides. Looks like citric acid at $5.00 for 4 oz would make about 8 gallons of mix, $5.00 worth of Walmart cool aid makes 25 gallons of mix. Not only that when your done you can strain it though a coffee filter ,add some sugar and you got lemonade, now thats recycling ---Turk

[Turk]

On another test mixed 1/2 peroxide 40 volume with 1/2 vinegar,removes lead real good . used some of this on an AK copper coated steel case in 15 minutes it ate all the copper off,that was yesterday and the case hasn't rusted yet so I dont know if thats a problem or not. Turns lead to mush.

[sagacious]

On another test mixed 1/2 peroxide 40 volume with 1/2 vinegar,removes lead real good . used some of this on an AK copper coated steel case in 15 minutes it ate all the copper off,that was yesterday and the case hasn't rusted yet so I dont know if thats a problem or not. Turns lead to mush.

Warning:
Mixing hydrogen peroxide and vinegar produces peracetic acid. Peracetic acid is very corrosive to some metals. It is definitely not safe to use on brass or copper alloys, and will damage carbon steel and galvanized steel. When it breaks down it will leave an acetic acid residue on metal surfaces. Be careful.

[Turk]

Dont intend to use it ,just playing around,thanks for warning--Turk

[pjh421]

Back in the day, city bus windows were a good source of afro sheen. Times change though...
If I get time (haha) I'll try the Jello and maybe poke around the hobby store. Thanks again.

Paul

[Charlie Sometimes]

I'm a Dapper Dan man.

Are you "a man of constant sorrow", too?

[Charlie Sometimes]

I am going to try a pack of cool-aid next. That would get rid of the sugar, etc. in the mix. I tried the extra strength mix of 3 tblspn to a gallon- it worked better. Trying it on tools right now.

[RP]

Been looking at this thread for awhile and I got ? I see it works best if hot could I use a old coffee maker adding water to tank letting it run just like making coffee? I know that would work to heat the water adding acid in pot but could i run the mixture in the tank to reheat ? I was thinking glass would be better then a pot to heat the mixture back up in.

[sagacious]

Been looking at this thread for awhile and I got ? I see it works best if hot could I use a old coffee maker adding water to tank letting it run just like making coffee? I know that would work to heat the water adding acid in pot but could i run the mixture in the tank to reheat ? I was thinking glass would be better then a pot to heat the mixture back up in.

I've thought about that too-- it's not a bad idea. Citric and/or acetic acid is used to de-scale coffee makers, so if one ran the solution through the tank it shouldn't hurt the machine. The glass pot is ideal, and the solution would be very hot. Seems like it would work fine.

The only concern is that the citric solution will pick up copper from the brass, and copper is not good to ingest too much of. So, if one ran the solution through the tank, one would probably not want to use a coffee pot still used to brew coffee. And your coffee would taste like brass!
Plus, always add acid into water, never add water to acid. That can risk a splatter of hot acid, as there is a chemical reaction that generates heat whenever acid and water mix. This is just a basic precaution when working with any acid. So, when mixing the solution, one would want to heat the water first, and then add the citric powder to the water in the pot. Good luck!

[RP]

Sagacious when the coffee pot gets into my hands its not used for coffee or anything to digest anymore. Melting lube is what i been using the pots for just went to a hot plate and the coffee maker got put to the side just in case. So I guess iam going to pic up some critic acid and try it out in the coffee maker.

[sagacious]

Sounds good, that's what I figured. Let us know how it goes.

[Charlie Sometimes]

Just use it to heat the water, then add the citric acid powder. You should be able to mix more into solution- called supersaturation. Once it cools, it would fall out of solution, if that was possible for it.

I don't think the Fresh Fruit powder works as good as the pure powder. I've mixed it at 6 tblspn per gallon today, and it is working faster on the rusty tools now. It took a double dip in the bath to get some really tarnished brass to clear up, and a longer wait. Showing some progress, but the Evapo-Rust had the best effect so far on tool steel.

[Rickk]

Wow, what a great thread. I look forward to trying this on brass. I am sure there are many hunters reading this thread that may be interested in yet another use for citric acid.

This is from the Alaska Hunting Regulations booklet (2010-1011) page 23.

"Once all the meat is hung, remove the bags and spray the meat with a citric acid/water solution. The meat should be sprayed until the mixture begins to run off the meat. About two ounces of citric acid for each quart of water will do the job."

"Food grade citric acid can be purchased at most pharmacies or feed stores. The citric acid will slow down bacterial growth that spoils meat. It also creates a dark outer "crust" that makes it harder for flies to lay their eggs on the meat. Don't worry about the citric acid mixture getting the meat too wet. the mixture will dry quickly."

RickK

[Rickk]

question: I have an aluminum griddle on our old sears gas kitchen range that is very difficult to clean. Would a citrus acid bath work on it?

RickK

[sagacious]

question: I have an aluminum griddle on our old sears gas kitchen range that is very difficult to clean. Would a citrus acid bath work on it?

RickK

As far as I am aware, citric acid should be safe to use on aluminum.

I would mix a hot solution of 2tsps citric per qt water and try an overnight soak. Put the griddle in a large non-metallic container of the citric solution, and be sure that the entire griddle is completely submerged. If it works, the residue should lift-off, or soften/dissolve and be easy to scrub off with a nylon brush.

If you try it, let us know how it worked. Good luck.

[Elkins45]

Wow, I'll bet this stuff cures cancer too!