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farmbif
05-08-2024, 06:22 PM
not exactly gun related but ive read other posts about evaporust here
can it be reused, if so to what extent, im thinking of ordering a 5 gallon bucket full. once using does it provide coating to prevent future rust?
I just came home with at more than a couple tons of new tool steel , steel rod, drill rod and 50lb bins of bolts, nuts and nails. some had light to moderate surface rust after being stored for at least a decade and then after loading and during trip it all got drenched by rain. and then today these dang tornado storms passed by the area and drenched everything some more. im thinking nuts and bolts I could tumble in cement mixer with sand first on a hot, dry, sunny day. then soaking everything by basketful in evaporust.

steve urquell
05-08-2024, 06:46 PM
Muriatic acid works better and is tons cheaper. Check out Project Farm's vid on it on youtube to see the results. I've used muriatic on very rusty bolts and they come out white after a short soak.

M-Tecs
05-08-2024, 06:55 PM
It works very well for rust and seems to last a very long time if the metal is oil and grease free. I not sure if it does provide future rust protection? If it does it's very limited. They do make a rust blocker for post evaprust use.

JonB_in_Glencoe
05-08-2024, 07:23 PM
Evaporust is basically tannic acid, as I understand it. It's very safe, but kind of spendy, I have no idea if it can be reused?
.
I've used Milkstone remover (Phosphoric Acid), it's cheap and powerful, probably needs to be diluted some for most uses. It acts quick, but is dangerous and you need to neutralize the metal quickly afterward in a baking soda bath. It leaves no rust protection, metal should be coated with oil or something like WD40 afterward. This is my trick on vintage metal hand files, I use it full strength.

deltaenterprizes
05-08-2024, 07:35 PM
I have used and still have plenty of Evap o Rust!
It works well and doesn’t remove any metal.It leaves a coating on it if you don’t wash the part.
It needs to be covered or it will evaporate and turn into a molasses type stuff.
It can be reused until it turns black. It is safe for aluminum.
Rust beeter is good and is about half the price but not safe for aluminum.
Phosphoric acid is good too but needs to be diluted.

elmacgyver0
05-08-2024, 07:39 PM
Iron Out also works well, but no protection.

john.k
05-08-2024, 08:52 PM
If you want cheap,molasses works more effectively than expensive store bought chemicals ........electrolysis also works cheap ,but needs a bit of juggling of large parts with shaded areas ..............For big stuff ,like old car sheet metal ,one of the plastic tanks on a pallet (250gal) and molasses is as cheap as you can go .....molasses from the stock feed store .

36g
05-08-2024, 09:12 PM
I've found EvapoRust to work well. It's basically non-hazardous (just don't drink it) and probably is a combination of citric and oxalic acids plus maybe some EDTA. It won't harm solid metal, only rust. As noted above, it can be used multiple times until it turns very dark. I normally use it for small parts that I can submerge the parts in it. Degrease them and throw them in and let soak for a couple of days. The parts come out rust-free. I usually rinse them in water, de-water with acetone, then oil.

HWooldridge
05-08-2024, 09:31 PM
CLR works well, especially with agitation. The process needs to be “killed” with baking soda and the bare metal must be protected with some sort of barrier.

I used to produce thousands of small craft forgings (hooks, cabinet knobs, etc) from mild steel, and would tumble a few hundred at a time in CLR for about 40 minutes. The parts were then rinsed in clean water, followed by dunking in water that had several tablespoons of baking soda added. The batch was agitated by hand then rinsed in clean water a second time, followed by spraying with WD40. The last step was to place the lot into a colander and allow it to drain.

This leaves parts clean and rust free for a long time if not exposed to the atmosphere, so a sealed polybag containing a desiccant works well.

Delkal
05-08-2024, 09:39 PM
I wouldn't count on any rust remover to provide protection if it is not rinsed off well, dried, then oiled. Most will corrode the metal if left on.

Naval Jelly / phosphoric acid takes off the rust and also leaves a thin parkerized finish that does protect the metal. You do need to thoroughly wash the metal with hot water then oil it though. It will strip anything but can also give a matt grey finish so if color is important might not be be best choice.

No clue how to clean ton's of metal though.

challenger_i
05-08-2024, 09:49 PM
As John.K states, molasses (mixed 1pt M to 9pts distilled water) works very well, if a bit slow. Pour used mixture on your ant beds. :)
Also, a citric acid bath works well. Rinse well and then spray a heavy coat of 1pt Ballistol to 6pts distilled water to keep the metal from flash rusting.

DeuceTwo
05-08-2024, 09:50 PM
Citric acid will remove the rust (1 teaspoon per gallon is plenty strong enough), but you will have to provide future protection from rust with a coating of oil of some sort to form barrier.

Handloader109
05-09-2024, 08:34 AM
Can't add more, except s gallon will work quick on light rust and can be reused for a long time. But it needs to be grease free. Grease will actually turn the metal black and reduce the effectiveness by 90%
I used less than a gallon when I rebuilt a couple of machines that had some pretty severe rust.
The nice thing is you can dump parts in a bucket cover with evaporust and walk away. If you forget it, it doesn't matter. But really little protection for future rust.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

lightman
05-09-2024, 09:23 AM
I have found it to work well and I reuse it. But I don't know about future protection.

Rickf1985
05-09-2024, 09:32 AM
Evaporust works by Chelation. It will never harm metal like acids. Muriatic acid will eat clean metal. I left a rusty bold in pool grade muriatic acid diluted 50% and it ate the threads off of the bolt in 6 hours. I also tested vinegar with a 7/16 wrench and I forgot about the test. two days later there was very little left of the wrench. I tested the Evaporust on a similar wrench and checked on it every day for over a week and once the rust was gone nothing else happened. Once you rinse off the black coating there is no rust protection so you need to oil or paint the surface.

"Evapo-Rust is a rust remover that uses selective chelation, a process where a large synthetic molecule bonds with metals and holds them in solution. It's non-toxic, non-corrosive, biodegradable, and contains no acids or alkalis. It's also safe on all surfaces and won't harm copper, brass, aluminum, plastic, rubber, or vinyl. "

John in WYO
05-10-2024, 02:53 AM
Evaporust does NOT provide post-use protection from further rust but dang sure cleans the rust right down to the bone on traps and tools.
I endorse it.
As if that matters….��

lightload
05-10-2024, 05:05 AM
It can be reused. Oil or grease on metal to be treated slows down its action. It will remove gun blue. Harbor Freight sells it.

john.k
05-10-2024, 06:17 PM
I tried Evaporust on a complex mechanical part......for sure it removed the surface rust ,and rust from th gear teeth,but the rust jamming up the clearances is still there ,and the part is still useless ..............My brother gave me the evaporust ,he tried it for removing the ironstone that blocks irrigation pipes,no good ,so hes now using oxalic acid ,which is sold as deck cleaner................which does work .

Tall
05-10-2024, 06:37 PM
Good stuff. It is sold at every Harbor Freight. Seems to be reasonably priced when I buy it. Something like $12 a gallon.

Rickf1985
05-10-2024, 06:58 PM
Been a LONG time since it was that cheap!!!! it is 30.00 a gallon now but because it can be used over and over it is worth it to me. And remember that the bluing on guns IS rust!!! It will remove the bluing.

Horn Ridge
05-10-2024, 09:20 PM
Loctite Extend is great stuff as well. It will convert the rust into a coating. I've used it on all sorts of stuff and it flat works.

abunaitoo
05-10-2024, 11:40 PM
I've tried it and was not impressed.
Give white vinegar a try.
The smell is the biggest drawback, but it worked great for me.
Rust flakes off, and everything turns black.
Just wash it in water, and scrub with wire brush, stainless scrubber or scotch bright.
It's also so much cheaper.

Wayne Smith
05-11-2024, 08:12 AM
Vinegar, if left over a weekend, will eat through a stainless steel bowl. Our son found that out unintentionally.

SeabeeMan
05-11-2024, 08:22 AM
I can't weigh in on the other options, but I've used quite a bit of evaporust. I had a 5 gallon bucket about half full and I was de-rusting a bunch of stuff from my 68 Mustang as I was building it, as well as a bunch of misc parts from my other hobby...simplicity garden tractors. Everything from timing covers to mower deck shafts, spindles, and pulleys went in that bucket over the course of about 2 years. Never saw a drop in performance and it cleaned everything up down to bare metal. Nastier parts took some brushing off and then putting back in, but it never failed to do what I wanted. My typical soak was about 8-12 hours and I'd just keep putting things back in until it was where I wanted it. Everything got rinsed, degreased and painted, or rinsed and bagged with a healthy spray of WD-40 into the bag before sealing. I actually had hands on one of the bags of mower spindles yesterday and they are as good as they day I put them in, which was probably back in '18.

Remmy4477
05-11-2024, 08:24 AM
I use evaporust on some of the antique kerosene lamps I deal with.
Quite a few have iron bases and iron or steel stay bolts, almost always rusted.

I put the parts in an old sealable coffee can with the vapo and let them soak a day or two. Pull them out and rinse in hot water, clean off the black that's left behind by the vapo. Dry and either leave in the white or coat them with paint or lacquer.

They always come out looking good and no complaints from fellow collectors or customers.

It is reusable, until it starts looking black or kind of thick. Or both!

Tall
05-11-2024, 10:52 AM
Been a LONG time since it was that cheap!!!! it is 30.00 a gallon now but because it can be used over and over it is worth it to me. And remember that the bluing on guns IS rust!!! It will remove the bluing.

I guess it's been that long since I bought any. I have one gallon that is dirty but still good and another gallon that is waiting unopened to be used next.

Steelart99
05-16-2024, 08:13 AM
Okay, a bit of an aside to this topic ... we have a water will with high iron content. The iron stains in the toilets tortures my wife, so we've tried all kinds of "bathroom" cleaners and chemicals that are supposed to remove that rust ... but not really. One mix of chemicals (I don't recall what it was) worked, but was obviously putting out vapor that was harmful, so I killed that idea.

Is evaporust ever used on ceramic successfully, or have any of you found something that "really" works.

Sorry about digressing WAY out from casting bullits.

BTW, I'm a newbie here and to casting bullits, though I have spent my life working with metals in many art forms and even done some casting in bronze and silver.

dverna
05-16-2024, 08:29 AM
Okay, a bit of an aside to this topic ... we have a water will with high iron content. The iron stains in the toilets tortures my wife, so we've tried all kinds of "bathroom" cleaners and chemicals that are supposed to remove that rust ... but not really. One mix of chemicals (I don't recall what it was) worked, but was obviously putting out vapor that was harmful, so I killed that idea.

Is evaporust ever used on ceramic successfully, or have any of you found something that "really" works.

Sorry about digressing WAY out from casting bullits.

BTW, I'm a newbie here and to casting bullits, though I have spent my life working with metals in many art forms and even done some casting in bronze and silver.

I have used pumice stone to remove rust on toilets. Bought it on Amzon. Comes in a stick.

steve urquell
05-16-2024, 01:34 PM
Okay, a bit of an aside to this topic ... we have a water will with high iron content. The iron stains in the toilets tortures my wife, so we've tried all kinds of "bathroom" cleaners and chemicals that are supposed to remove that rust ... but not really. One mix of chemicals (I don't recall what it was) worked, but was obviously putting out vapor that was harmful, so I killed that idea.

Is evaporust ever used on ceramic successfully, or have any of you found something that "really" works.

Sorry about digressing WAY out from casting bullits.

BTW, I'm a newbie here and to casting bullits, though I have spent my life working with metals in many art forms and even done some casting in bronze and silver.

I sent you a PM on how to get rid of the iron stains as well as the iron and possibly sulfur in the well.

David2011
05-16-2024, 02:08 PM
Evapo-Rust works safely even on items that have great precision. It lasts a very long time if you only put grease and oil free steel into it. It does not convert rust into magnetite or some other iron compound like some chemicals; it just removed the rust and stops working. Often the steel will turn dark or black but that brushes off easily. The manufacturer recommends rinsing the metal in running water after removing it from Evapo-Rust and letting it air dry. They say that it will protect from further rusting for two days. https://www.evapo-rust.com/rust-remover-crc/#how-to-use