Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Cleaning off metal. A warning and a question.


Recommended Posts

Morning all!
Generally, when I finish a piece that is not going to be painted, I give it a run over a wire wheel to knock the worst of the scale off of it and give it a little shine before I give it an oil finish of some sort.

I know that the motorized wire brush wheel is inherently dangerous. I don't mind using it for simple shapes, but more complex ones - particularly ones with hooks - can get caught, flipped and shot out in the blink of an eye. Sure, I always wear eye protection - but that doesn't help when it smashes a finger as it did last night:o

Now the question. I have heard people mention pickling before to remove scale. I have a show coming up in September and so there is no time to build a tumbler. Is there a mix that will work relatively fast (a few days)? It doesn't have to do a perfect job. I've heard of using vinegar. Won't that go rancid in pretty short order? Any thoughts appreciated.

In the meantime I'll be nursing this finger so it doesn't interfere with production this weekend.

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Junksmith, I don't know the answer about the pickling but I use a heavy wire hand brush and clean things when they are still red hot it cleans really well also Smith Boone shows us once at a demo to clean the metal with heavy emery cloth then heat once more but not to the heat to make it scale again it really makes it looks nice and doesnt take much time.
Gaylan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vinegar works really well. Hot vinegar works even better. It needs a light assist from an abrasive, such as a Scotch Brite pad. It doesn't go "rancid" in the sense of spoiling. It does lose its oomph fairly quickly, but vinegar is cheap. Just replace it and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pickle my BBQ tools in Vinegar.
I have a 3' long piece of 4" abs plugged at the bottom with a cap on top that stands off to the side. Takes about 1 and a half gallons of plain old white vinigar to fill.
It will hold 3 3 piece sets.
Over night works good, but 2 days usually cleans them off REAL good, then a light hit with the wire wheel shines em up ready for finish.
The current batch of vinegar has been in there 8 months and STILL works good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only thing that I use to remove scale is vinegar--I just get a plastic container, put my piece in it, fill it up and let it sit for a couple of hours (usually overnight, as I do all this around the end of the day). Of course this only works on pieces that are smaller and will fit in a container--probably won't work well on a hand railing, or something like that! One thing on the vinegar, though--only use WHITE vinegar for this as it's cheap and plentiful. (Use the "apple cider" and balsamic vinegars on a salad or something, not metal.) :)

Edited by chrisfrick
added info
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great ideas guys! I'm going to Lowes tonight to get some pvc pipe & caps. My space is limited so I'm envisioning a setup like rlarkin's with a mesh basket that can be lifted out to retrieve smaller pieces. This will handle most of what I do. Gaylans idea will work well when I'm demoing at the show next month. I also use muratic acid on rare occasion but the fumes can be a killer. This will be a lot safer.
Thank you all!

Edited by Junksmith
senior moment
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,
I'm quite fond of the wire brushed look too. I like how it brings out the highlights while leaving the recesses dark, really nice on the flowers I do. I've just had to buy a new bench grinder with wire wheel, I decided to buy cheap this time, bought a Clarke one, it's not very powerful and I've found that compared to the old one I used to use which was a high spec industrial one, this new one being less powerful is so much better to use. When I really put pressure on it slows, and today I caught the edge of a piece I was working, which got caught and it stopped dead. Not sure if this is a new built in safety feature, but I was soooo glad it stopped!!
I've also used vinegar, it does work too, and vinegar is so much easier on the environment than other acids.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use diluted phosphoric acid or PH-Low (pool treatment… $9.00 at Walmart) in a saturated solution. Warming always helps. Both clean really well and will even etch if you level stock in them too long. Down side… don’t get them on your clothes. Store in glass only.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vinegar works really well. Hot vinegar works even better. It needs a light assist from an abrasive, such as a Scotch Brite pad. It doesn't go "rancid" in the sense of spoiling. It does lose its oomph fairly quickly, but vinegar is cheap. Just replace it and move on.


Matt has a good description of cleaning. If as you said you just want to knock the worst of the rust off, a Scotch Bright pad or 3M pad from the paint section of your hardware store will safely clean off the loose rust. If you want all of it off, then extra effort is needed. Try knocking the loose stuff off with a 3M pad and then spraying with Krylon clear epoxy enamel from the MegaMart. Application of clear spray or linseed oil will turn the oxide black. :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oxalic acid, available from house paint stores also removes rust and is very economical.

Do not keep muriatic or other strong acids in your metal shop, as the vapors cause everything else to rust.

Heres one to remember; " Always do what you oughta, add acid to water".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a piece with a hook on it come off my wire wheel, almost lost 3 teeth... the next day I bought a face shield. Wire Wheel= all safety gear : apron, heavy gloves, safety glasses, respirator(long sessions or heavy grinding), face shield. that was 4 months ago... the teeth are still not quite "right".

Now I see I can use vinegar to pickle... I'll try that... what is proper disposal on used vinegar? I don't want to have any strong acids around, because of storage and disposal issues... and the danger that goes with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...