LeMarechal Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Hey out there, I don't know where I got the tipp to remove the scale by sticking the pieces in a pot with white vinegar for a while. I tried it and it works. Thw most of the scale disappeared and the rest can easily be removed by wirebrushing. Very usefull on complicated works. However I got problems with quick comming up of rust. Even after brushing. After the acid bath in the vinegar I lay the parts into a tub with clean water, then brush it and after a few minutes I got rusty surfaces. What did I wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin0987 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 After soaking your pieces in vinegar you need to nuetralize the acid from the workpiece in baking soda, brush it then rinse with water while brushing it. Afterwords rubbing it down with some oil to prevent the rust even further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Yes, and you need to do what Austin0987 suggested...........as soon as possible after getting the metal dry. If the pieces I've put in acid and washed in baking soda are small enough, I'll even put them in Denatured Alcohol to "chase" the water away. Then blow the Alcohol off and get oil on the parts asap. Frustrating to go to all that trouble getting the rust or scale off only to have it re-rust in a matter of minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMarechal Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Ok, thanks to both of you for that explanations. I'm wondering a littel why that "vinegared" metal is so susceptible to rust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 One of the reasons is there's a whole new surface to oxidize. Rust is irons natural state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuEulear Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 The baking soda is the way you can also make a base solution by dissolving it in water then just soak the workpiece. If you let that light powdery rust take over for a week or so then proceed with a paste wax finish you will end up with a really nice brown finish think instant antique look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Acids such as vinegar ( an acetic acid in water solution), accelerates rusting. During rusting, Iron is attacked by water and is oxidized. I wish to avoid getting into a discussion of the electrolytic chemistry involved. Acid accelerates the waterous oxidation of iron. (rusting). Acetic acid will remove scale, (oxidized iron.) But after using the vinegar bath, the part should be immediately rinsed off and then treated with a basic chemical-water solution in order to neutralize the vinegar. (such as baking soda, washing soda, lye water etc.). As Mr. DeEuler has suggested above Then the part should be rinsed off again, and thoroughly dried, and coated with a substance that protects the iron from further rusting due to water or water vapor in the air. The coating must be done immediately, after drying, because rusting starts right away. (you can see the reaction happening). (e.g. grease, ((e.g. Cosmoline )), paint, metal (e.g. zinc, or aluminum etc.), phosphoric acid etc. etc. To summarize, vinegar accelerates iron rusting. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 DuEulear good tip on the brown finish with the paste wax. Nice to know for future reference. It's amazing how fast something will rust after taking it out of a vinegar soak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Slag; storing the item in a strong vacuum will also work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuEulear Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I had a blacksmithing buddy more experienced than me get all excited how i managed a brown finish since he had trouble doing it any way other than the slow way. Cleaning weathering then finishing Slag, thankyou but it is miss. She or her lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Ms. DuEulear, Sorry, Apologies are in order. I had not noticed, before. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 16 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Slag; storing the item in a strong vacuum will also work. No oxygen no oxidation. Or at least slower oxidation unless in a complete vacuum. Is that correct? Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 correct. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMarechal Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Hi to all of you, let me thank you for all these helpfully tips. Yes the backingsoda works fine. I got some white vinegar 10% from a foodstore here, let the pieces some hours soak and then place it in the backingsoda solution. No Rust!!! After wiping off the BS-solution I went to my big wheel wire brush and remove the loose rest of the scale. So I got very silvery and shiny, surfaces. I noticed, that the pieces will rust(on air) after a while if I didn´t wire brushed them. The other pieces, wich I brushed to silver :) did not rust until now (3-4 days). I experimented a little with oxidation/no oxidation. So I got some nice coloring by putting the pieces back in the acid after!!! I wire brushed the things to this silvery shine. Only for short and with no wiping off the liquid. Let it air dry and look what happens... Greetings Sascha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbelly Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I've been struggling with getting good scale removal with vinegar. I'm using a high carbon steel wire, tempering it with a slow heat and cool, bending it to my will and then re-hardening with a torch. The pieces (intricate sculptures) are small so I've been using a mixture of vinegar and salt in a mason jar on a cup warmer to pickle. Even when I leave them in the solution for an hour, the scale won't come off evenly. I recently purchased some Sparex #1 but was disappointed to see on the can that for high carbon steel, you have to use it with electrolysis, and I'm hesitant to use a dangerous chemical. After the vinegar bath, I rinse, then neutralize in baking soda, rinse again. Then I usually soak them in Liver of Silver to darken them because I like that patina better. Once patinated, I seal them with Renaissance Wax. Are you using regular cooking vinegar or the stronger cleaning vinegar? Is your vinegar in a crock pot or other container? Do you always have to finish the scale removal by had with a wire brush? Some parts of my sculptures are too tight to get into. Has anyone tried Sparex #1? Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 All my vinegar descaling I do a minimum of overnight, generally at ambient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Welcome aboard... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. It's full of tips like editing your profile and how to keep the moderators happy. READ THIS FIRST As far as the strength of vinegar I use the strongest cleaning vinegar and soak till all the scale is gone usually overnight or longer. The container is matched to the size of the work small stuff in old Tupperware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMarechal Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 I'm using vinigar of 10%. Stored in a tub of plastic. Works fine over night. Maybe that the salt in your mixture does eliminate some of the power of the vinegar? But I'm not a chemistry, so that must not be true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.