I have been reading high praises for Oxalic Acid as a rust dissolver on bicycle restoration forums.
I get Oxalic Acid from The Chemistry Store. Works great cleaning up
rust and Ferric Chloride stains.
Hi all. I live near the water, so this is a constant hassle. I use
something called Dri Z Air, just one of several brands of calcium
chloride air dryers. It looks like a 4" plastic flower pot with a
collander set inside the top. You put a pile of this material in this
collander, and as it pulls moisture out of the air the water drips
into the pot below. Just empty the pot occasionally and replenish the
calcium chloride.
I have about 10 of these things in various spots around my studio,
and the amount of water they can collect is amazing. And this is on
top of a dehumidifier running in an adjacent area! I’ve seen them at
various hardware/home improvement places. I keep threatening to find
some industrial source for the calcium chloride, rather than the
small refill packs they sell in the stores, but haven’t followed
through. This stuff cannot be exposed to air or else it will just
start sucking moisture, so storage is an issue.
Allan Mason
Hermosa Beach, CA
Oxalic Acid is also used as a type of Leather Bleach. If you have a
local supplier of shoe cobbler supplies/equipment they may also
carry it. Be careful (as always with any acid) as it carries some
nifty warnings with it - just read the label like with any new
chemical ;).
Vince
Hi all:
I just had a thought: what about renaissance wax?? They use it in
museums to protect metal blades and armour… In its ‘set’ state,
it’s a thin film that’s almost undetectable. Yeah, sure it’ll rub off
as the tool is used, but so what? Just re-wax it after using. If it’s
a tool that gets used enough for that to be an issue, rust shouldn’t
be.
I mention Ren Wax because most jewelers already have it sitting
around, and if not, all the suppliers carry it, so it’s not hard to
find.
For whatever that’s worth.
Brian
"Oxidation, per se, has little to do with oxygen, in an
electrochemical sense. It is just the loss of one or more electrons.
The oxidized forms of iron are Fe++ and Fe+++. Rust is a complicated
mixture of oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates of iron.
The tendency of iron to oxidize is affected by concentrations of
ions such as halides that will form coordination compounds with the
iron ions, thus lowering their chemical potential. Refer to the
Nernst equation to understand this."
So once rust starts You need to stop the reaction. Putting any thing
over rust will keep rusting. One of the treatment for small parts are
to submerge the part in a mixture I believe Sodium carbonate its a
washing soda. mix this with water. Submerge the parts and connect a
battery charger to Negative to the part and use a stainless Steel rod
and connect to the positive I’m not sure if the polarity is right you
may have to switch it. It’s not fast but will do the job.When this is
working right the stainless bar with receive the rust. The rust color
will be removed.
Any auto store that sell Automotive paints will have phosphoric acid
it’s used for the pre wash of the steel to neutralize the rust and
etch the metal for better paint adhesion.
All the product that are put on metal all have some draw back motor
works but will oxidize with time an collect dust It also will
transfer to any thing that touches it and can smell bad. Vegetable
oils are similar but will polymer with age some time good some times
bad
Brownpolymer doesn’t oxidize like oil will stay on one surface and
not transfer doesn’t collect dust and some even like the smell. Yes
the cost is high reason being It not made in volume so materials are
not purchased cheaply. the container cost are rising and you use very
little of the product when used properly Plus it’s still free
shipping to almost any where in the world. it doesn’t stop rust that
has started but will keep moisture from metal once applied and is not
effect by touch or use. The film is almost not seeable doesn’t effect
it use and can be used for other jobs. If you where to analyze it’s
cost compared to other products it’s really cheap and also you don’t
have to keep applying each time so if you forgot to apply once you
are still have the protection.
Thanks Randy
AKA Enjen Joes
Hello Orchidland,
Although I’ve had little problem with rust, as a precaution I got
some of Enjin Joe’s polymer stuff and wiped it all over everything.
So far, no rust. FYI re cast iron skillets (also prone to rust), I
use a light coating of Vaseline petroleum jelly all over the surface.
Again, no rust and no food safety hazard either.
Judy in Kansas, who is seeing a lightly sunny day and 60 degrees.
Redbuds are beginning to color up.
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
I keep threatening to find some industrial source for the calcium chloride, rather than the small refill packs they sell in the stores, but haven't followed through.
Allan, you do know that you can recycle those, right? You can bake
them to something over 212F (gently) and drive the water off, and
reuse them. Not something they want you to know, obviously. Water
in, water out, water in, water out…
FYI re cast iron skillets (also prone to rust), I use a light coating of Vaseline petroleum jelly all over the surface. Again, no rust and no food safety hazard either.
Judy, I truly wonder about the safety end of it. Vasseline is a
petroleum product. Doesn’t thi8s generally indicate dixoins? curious
Cheers,
CS
you can recycle those, right? You can bake them to something over 212F (gently) and drive the water off, and reuse them. Not something they want you to know, obviously. Water in, water out, water in, water out....
I believe you are thinking of silica gel, it can be rejuvenated in
the oven as you describe. The calcium chloride units like Dri-Z-Air
pull the water out of the air and condense it on the crystals which
then melt and the resulting liquid ends up in a collection pan below
the crystals. Eventually you must replace the crystals as they have
all melted away. They are able to remove lots more water from the air
than an equivalent volume of silica gel but they do need to be
replaced periodically.
James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
360-756-6550
I keep threatening to find some industrial source for the calcium chloride, rather than the small refill packs they sell in the stores, but haven't followed through.
We can get 50 pound bags at the farm supply store up here quite
cheap… It’s used during the summer to be spread on dirt roads for
dust control because it is so hydroscopic. Has I recall last year a
bag was going for under 10$
Kay
Living on the Outer Banks of NC, even wood tries to rust in the salty
humidity. We’re having a noth east storm today which means even 1
mile away from the ocean our windows are covered with salt. We run a
dehumidifier in the shop and try to keep the indoor atmosphere at
about 55% humidity, which means emptying the thing frequently. Once a
year I wipe down all the tools with wd-40. I also drape the rolling
mill and anvil, and other large metal tools with a rag soaked in
wd-40. Not pretty, but it works. Haven’t had rust in 15 years doing
it this way.
Hello Carol,
Judy, I truly wonder about the safety end of it. Vasseline is a petroleum product. Doesn't thi8s generally indicate dixoins? curious
Good question. I wipe a light film of petroleum jelly on the skillets
before storing them for extended periods of time in my basement.
Since they have been sitting on a shelf for months, I wash them
before use. (That probably means that any residue is removed, but I
really don’t know.) I like the petroleum jelly because it is easy to
apply and doesn’t go rancid or get gummy, like vegetable oils can do.
Petroleum jelly contains mineral oil and paraffin. Ingestion of
large amounts will irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing…
diarrhea. Mineral oil is well known for a laxative effect.
Dioxin is produced by burning plastics (primarily a petroleum
product), so burning petroleum jelly might give off dioxin. Perhaps a
chemist could comment?
Anyway, there have been no rusted iron skillets since applying the
petroleum jelly before storage. No diarrhea either 
Judy in Kansas
I have used motor oil, vaseline, spray silicon, and occassionally
ren. wax to protect my tools. I am never consistent enough, and rust
does get through. but they all help. If I won’t be around for a
while, I coat exposed parts with vaseline. I keep things covered,
even just dropping a rag over them help (keeps condensation out of
contact with the metal). Keeping tools in a tool box or drawers also
helps a great deal, esp with silicon packs (raid shoe stores for
those, they’re always tossing them out.)
My big note of caution - DON’T use WD-40 on tools and leave tools
out. It will eventually attract water, and rust the heck out of your
tools! I’ve made that mistake, huge rust mess. Spray silicon
lubricant DOES seem to work, though, and smells pleasant, too.
Lisa W
Dioxins and vaseline… I don’t actually know, but I looked in
Wikipedia to get some clues. I’d suggest any knowlegeable person can
do the same (it’s not so technical to understand). Petroleum jelly is
a blend of paraffin and other natural petroleum based things - it
depends who makes it what is actually in it. It’s basically distilled
oil sludge. Dioxins are a family of chemicals, not “A” chemical.
Search for Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins - in Wikipedia, just
searching for dioxins will lead to that… Dioxins are halogenated,
benzene based (polychlorinated=many chlorines, dibenzo=2 benzene
rings). While you might get some of that from natural petroleum, it
should be in trace amounts - there is some chlorine in petroleum, but
it’s not the same as being “halogenated” or polychlorinated. Plus any
benzene based compounds should distill away in the beginning, I would
think. It’s just my impression from reading, but it seems there’s
little or no connection between the two, even if heated, most likely.
Happy to be shown wrong, as always…
Hi John.
you do know that you can recycle those, right? You can bake them to something over 212F (gently) and drive the water off, and reuse them. Not something they want you to know, obviously. Water in, water out, water in, water out....
With the calcium chloride, it just disappears into solution. The
liquid left behind is a little slimy. I believe you may be thinking
of those white pumice-like pebbles that come in a mesh bag that you
can set in the sun to renew.
Allan Mason
As I understand the original question… What to put on tools to
prevent rusting…
For years I have used Eezox. It’s really the ideal product as it
applies easily and puts on a thin protecting coat which becomes
nearly dry. It does not attract dust or water. It prevents rust, it
does not remove dust; it preserves what you have. It is therefore
widely used in the collectible/antique firearms trade to preserve but
not disturb patina.
For tools I often use, i rub the stuff in then wipe off with a clean
rag after each use. For tools I rarely use, I rub the stuff on and
put away without wiping. In this use it dries to a very lite, waxy
feeling film that wipes clean with a lite touch. A tiny amount on a
swab goes a long way. A 4 oz can will last more than a year.
If your local gun shop/sporting goods store does not have it, search
on eBay.
Bob, One thing I’ve been trying to find is a great tool protectant
that is not too very toxic or greasy.
Very likely we absorb some of what’s on our tools daily. Eezox is
mainly Trichloroethylene–a substance used to clean airplanes and
one that the US military and EPA have been trying to keep from
spreading to base area water tables for decades. It does not go away
very quickly and it is considered a health hazard.
While Trichloroethylene has not been definitively linked to cancer,
according to the manufacturer’s safety sheet, prolonged exposure can
lead to kidney and liver damage, depression of the circulatory
system and or ventricular arrhythmia–via skin absorption, and
inhalation (see below table).
Way back in the 90s (in another incarnation) I wrote several
articles on the military Trichloroethylene pollution problem. I
think there’s one still posted at the below link.
http://www.albionmonitor.com/9706a/underpoison.html#up1
Sorry to be a killjoy on that one, but knowledge is a good thing
right?
Anyway, has anyone tried silicone spray?
CS
Austin, TX
Hi dear all,
Have been following this thread and just wondering whether 3-In-One
oil by WD40 is good enough for the job? As i am currently using
it…
Thx!
Cheers,
Vivian
just wondering whether 3-In-One oil by WD40 is good enough for the job? As i am currently using it....
As far as I know 3 in 1 is just a plain light oil. WD 40 is better
even if it has been tarred by a lot of myths. A good light rust
preventative is Sheath ( now rebranded as Barricade) it is made by
Birchwood Casey. I have been using it on tools and firearms for over
50 years without a complaint. Found in most gun shops. They also make
metal finishes ( patina chemicals)
LPS 3 is a similar one.
http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/corrosion_pg/LPS_Corrosion.html
jesse
Of course I am aware Eezox contains Trichloroethylene; I have an
MSDS for every product I use. It goes without saying that one should
use any chlorinated solvent with adequate ventilation. That said, you
are completely overstating the toxicity case in_this_situation.
Unless you’re huffing this stuff, there is little, if any danger of
being anywhere near the 8,000ppm in 7 hours inhalation rate that is
the lower limit of toxicity.
It is not, as you say, “…Trichloroethylene has not been
definitively linked to cancer…” rather, there is no evidence
whatsoever of a link to cancer. In addition, skin absorption and
accidental ingestion of the exceedingly minute quantities of 1-1-1 in
the normal use of this product must fall into the “not significantly
toxic” category of the OSHA spec.
I can think of 20 products we all use every day whose toxicity so
far exceeds Trichloroethylene so as to defy comparison, but I have
yet to see this level of hyperbole about them (with the possible
exception of recent discussions of Hydroflouric acid).
There is no question that tens of thousands of gallons of
Trichloroethylene used by the military have resulted in ground water
pollution which is a serious problem; but that situation bears little
relevance in this case.
An objective assessment of Eezox would likely reveal this product to
be “…a great tool protectant that is not too very toxic or
greasy…” not to mention inflammable.