jakemac
Well-known member
EvapoRust™ - Miracle elixir, or demon fluid from hell ?
So, I’ve been reading a lot of threads that mention the use of EvapoRust™ to clean up rusty parts and tools, and wondered if it lived up to the hype. Most products don’t. I decided to pick up a quart at my local HF and give it a try. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the product, I thought that I would post my experience with it. For those who already use it, this won’t be earth shattering news.
First, the tag on the bottle - see pic #1 - Is this endorsement really that helpful ? Is Rick Dale the guy you want hawking your product ?
Moving on -
The initial price seemed a little high (8.99 per quart, $29.99 per gallon), but since it can be saved and re-used, it will mitigate the cost over time. I started with a pair of GL-10 tongue and groove pliers that I picked up on ebay. They looked pretty roached with rust, but I only paid $1.25, so I wasn’t out of pocket much.
To start, I poured the liquid in a quart mixing cup (no odor no fumes, yea) up to the level of the handle grips. Then I put the pliers in head first and let them soak for an hour. After 60min, I took a peak and decided to leave them in for another half hour.
After a total of 2hrs (I got distracted) I pulled the pliers out of the solution and rinsed them off in water and dried them, as per the instructions. The rust was gone and the metal had turned dark with a light chalky film. The vinyl grips were unaffected.
To finish off, I polished the pliers up on a fine wire wheel and wiped the pliers with PB Blaster™ to prevent rust. Then cleaned the grips with Simple Green. The bare metal shined up nicely.
I tried the same thing with a pair of CL-426’s that still had a little chrome left, but the solution took the rest of the chrome off after only 20min in the solution.
Once done, I filtered the EvapoRust™ through a cheap coffee filter and put it back in the bottle for future use. (I use a quart mixing cup, cheap coffee filter, and a plastic pickling funnel for mason jars)
My final verdict is “Miracle Elixir”.
Not only does it work well, but it is non-toxic and shouldn’t need any special steps to dispose of it when it stops working, other than filtering out any iron grit. It shouldn’t work on paint or grip materials, but other than vinyl grips, I didn’t test it. It gets into places that a wire wheel or brush can’t, and requires no elbow grease. Just dip and go about your business, remembering to check it periodically. Don’t forget to treat the bare metal afterwards, to prevent flash rust.
If you are looking to restore a rusty item down to bare metal, this is the stuff. If you want to leave a patina, try another method.
Here are before and after picks for the GL-10’s (pic #2 & #3) :
So, I’ve been reading a lot of threads that mention the use of EvapoRust™ to clean up rusty parts and tools, and wondered if it lived up to the hype. Most products don’t. I decided to pick up a quart at my local HF and give it a try. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the product, I thought that I would post my experience with it. For those who already use it, this won’t be earth shattering news.
First, the tag on the bottle - see pic #1 - Is this endorsement really that helpful ? Is Rick Dale the guy you want hawking your product ?
Moving on -
The initial price seemed a little high (8.99 per quart, $29.99 per gallon), but since it can be saved and re-used, it will mitigate the cost over time. I started with a pair of GL-10 tongue and groove pliers that I picked up on ebay. They looked pretty roached with rust, but I only paid $1.25, so I wasn’t out of pocket much.
To start, I poured the liquid in a quart mixing cup (no odor no fumes, yea) up to the level of the handle grips. Then I put the pliers in head first and let them soak for an hour. After 60min, I took a peak and decided to leave them in for another half hour.
After a total of 2hrs (I got distracted) I pulled the pliers out of the solution and rinsed them off in water and dried them, as per the instructions. The rust was gone and the metal had turned dark with a light chalky film. The vinyl grips were unaffected.
To finish off, I polished the pliers up on a fine wire wheel and wiped the pliers with PB Blaster™ to prevent rust. Then cleaned the grips with Simple Green. The bare metal shined up nicely.
I tried the same thing with a pair of CL-426’s that still had a little chrome left, but the solution took the rest of the chrome off after only 20min in the solution.
Once done, I filtered the EvapoRust™ through a cheap coffee filter and put it back in the bottle for future use. (I use a quart mixing cup, cheap coffee filter, and a plastic pickling funnel for mason jars)
My final verdict is “Miracle Elixir”.
Not only does it work well, but it is non-toxic and shouldn’t need any special steps to dispose of it when it stops working, other than filtering out any iron grit. It shouldn’t work on paint or grip materials, but other than vinyl grips, I didn’t test it. It gets into places that a wire wheel or brush can’t, and requires no elbow grease. Just dip and go about your business, remembering to check it periodically. Don’t forget to treat the bare metal afterwards, to prevent flash rust.
If you are looking to restore a rusty item down to bare metal, this is the stuff. If you want to leave a patina, try another method.
Here are before and after picks for the GL-10’s (pic #2 & #3) :
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