Is vinegar enough to prep a vise?

[Jonny Rotten]

I got my old vise apart which was very easy. I stood in front of my grinder with the wire wheel for 2 hours trying to get the surface rust off. It works but it's painfully slow. Wondering if normal 5% vinegar is enough to soak and then a simple wire brush before paint. I don't feel like getting involved with muriatic acid. Does vinegar take off the grease or should I spray it with a engine degreaser first before the vinegar. The rust isn't bad it's just surface rust. Trying to avoid dumping money with specialty products.

 

[jobo1004]

I got my old vise apart which was very easy. I stood in front of my grinder with the wire wheel for 2 hours trying to get the surface rust off. It works but it's painfully slow. Wondering if normal 5% vinegar is enough to soak and then a simple wire brush before paint. I don't feel like getting involved with muriatic acid. Does vinegar take off the grease or should I spray it with a engine degreaser first before the vinegar. The rust isn't bad it's just surface rust. Trying to avoid dumping money with specialty products.

I've never used vinegar so can't speak to that, but you're not out much to try it. If the vinegar can't get to the metal it won't do anything, so definitely degrease everything before trying the vinegar.

 

[AldeanFan]

I’ve used vinegar to de rust cast iron engine parts, like exhaust manifolds and also axe heads.

I won’t remove grease or paint so degrease first.

It will etch the metal if you leave it in long enough.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I have de-rusted lots of stuff by soaking in a tub of vinegar. Yours will probably need to soak two days or so. But get the grease off first.
Probably will need to take the parts out after the first day and scrub a bit with a wire brush. Soak again for a day and them wash with clear water. It's going to flash rust pretty quickly, so you will probably need to wipe it down again before painting.

 

[Snip's]

You might look into using citric acid... Picked up a small container from the grocery store in the canning section...
I mixed 1/4 cup to 4 gallons of water... Here is a rusted motor bracket that I left in the solution for 48 hrs after 24 hrs in Simple green...

 

[FrankLee]

You might look into using citric acid... Picked up a small container from the grocery store in the canning section...
I mixed 1/4 cup to 4 gallons of water... Here is a rusted motor bracket that I left in the solution for 48 hrs after 24 hrs in Simple green...

I prefer citric acid over anything else!
I generally use a stronger solution for a shorter time; maybe 1/4 cup per gallon. For steel like that cradle mount, I use the hottest tap water, for cast iron cold water.

 

[vwpieces]

Lemi Shine is another form of Citric acid. Found in the dish washing area of the grocery store.

 

[rsparks64]

Does anyone know if using pickling vinegar works better than regular vinegar? It is usually 8 or 9% acid.

 

[mike93lx]

Does anyone know if using pickling vinegar works better than regular vinegar? It is usually 8 or 9% acid.

Higher the acid, the faster it works (and faster it can do damage)

 

[AldeanFan]

I’ve used regular vinegar, pickling vinegar and cleaning vinegar.
I’ve used them full strength and also diluted with water.

Only difference is how long it takes to eat the rust off

 

[1982fxr]

What is your bench grinder?
My 1/2 hp baldor mows through paint and scale like nothing. Not always the best idea--lead paint.

 

[driftpin]

Big Box stores carry up to 30% vinegar, which will quickly dissolve potmetal! My results using 6% 'cleaning vinegar' are satisfactory for cleaning motorcycle gas tanks. More of a % works quicker, but monitor the results every 12 hours to avoid issues.

Flash rust happens in a half-hour, my experience. That's after a soak/rinse. Thoroughly dry & use compressed air, and then a light coat of oil.

 

[oldmachinenut]

I restored my Grandfather’s antique Weston differential chain hoist a while back. It was very dirty and rusty from years in the barn. I blasted the castings and hooks but the chain was too hard to blast. I put it in a bucket of vinegar for a couple of days then pressure washed it. All of the rust rinsed right off, I am now a believer in derusting with vinegar. It did start to flash rust so I hung it in the sun and coated it with cold galvanizing.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Vinegar does work, but it can also eat the metal, so you do need to watch it carefully. When you remove it from the vinegar, be sure to rinse it with water.

Evaporust works quite well, and it is safer. Rustoleum has a spray-bottle rust remover that seems to work well but I've only used it once in sub-optimal conditions. When the weather is good, I'll give it another shot. It seems to work fast, though.

 

[cgrutt]

Used vinegar with good results but not on a vise. Still needs a little elbow grease with scotch Brite pad. I don't think it will remove grease. Coat with BLO if you're not painting immediately. Presently working on an old Wilton post how it turns out. I was planning on using an angle grinder and wire wheel next after chemical stripper.

 

[Shiftless]

My usual approach is to soak in hot undiluted Simple green for a few hours or overnight to remove paint and grease, pressure wash and then soak in Evaporust to get rid of rust.
After that, I either pressure wash again or scrub under running water and immediately dry with a heat gun. Just toweling dry is not enough to avoid flash rusting. After drying with a heat gun I either apply primer paint or boiled linseed oil.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

It's not fast, temp and concentration dependent.

You will have to neutralize the acid immediately, then try to remove any water from the casting pores.

There is a lot of variation in agressoness of wire wheels, and speed costs in finish.

Figure out beforehand if you want the paint removed, and be prepared for it to come off anyway.

Remove chromed parts as early as possible.

 

[Jonny Rotten]

if oiling after cleaning to prevent rust what to use to clean the oil off directly before paint?

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Rust!











JK
Acetone is good, it demoisturizes as it degreases

 

[Komet]

if oiling after cleaning to prevent rust what to use to clean the oil off directly before paint?

Acetone will work, ideally you'd be ready to paint as soon as the rust is off and it's dry though. I recommend a metal etching primer first.

 

[d.mcfarland]

if oiling after cleaning to prevent rust what to use to clean the oil off directly before paint?

There are paint prep sprays if that is easier. Some people even use brake cleaner, iso alcohol, dawn dish soap, etc.

 

[flyingblind]

I use simple green in a five gallon bucket with a screw on lid.
Eta

 

[cvairwerks]

CAUTION: If you use high % concentrate vinegar, wear the proper respirator for it. I use 30% for killing weeds and even out in the yard in a breeze, it's quite a lung irritant.

 

[Paco Pena]

One thing about vinegar is that it will give you a nice blued type finish. I neutralize the vinegar with baking soda and water then oil to prevent rust. My sister left some of my Dad's very old German made wrenches out in the damp car port and they were covered with rust. Vinegar did the trick.

Paco