Sodium citrate for rust removal!

[Beerhippie]

After reading how some folks are mixing citric acid and baking soda to make a rust remover, I got to thinking. What you should get from that is one hell of a mess, lots of CO2 and sodium citrate.

So I just cut to the chase. After a little research, I found that sodium citrate is used in food prep, so I asked the cooks in the pub kitchen if they had any. They gave me this bag,



about half-full, left over from a previous culinary experiment.

I picked up this neat little rabbet plane back in April, and put it away and forgot it. I ran across it again today and decided to give the citrate a try.



Sorry, the only "before" picture I have of it.

After an hour-and-a-half in a saturated citrate w/160F water and an industrial ultrasonic cleaner:



No elbow grease was used in this experiment.

May as well see how much use I can get out of the now-near-black solution, so I grabbed these from the brewery tool box:



They're in the ultrasonic right now. I'll report back when they've buzzed for an hour or so.

 

[The Cobbler]

first results look great .

 

[Beerhippie]

After one hour in citrate and ultrasound:



I'm likin' this stuff. Not only isn't it hazardous, it's food-grade! Does no damage I can see to paint or plastic.

Now to find some cheap industrial grade sodium citrate!

 

[Beerhippie]

The best price I could find at the Jungle:

https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Organic...tioxidant/dp/B07CT4NXSS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The only grades I could find there were food grade and USP lab grade. USP is more expensive.

 

[Shoreline_]

Is this the stuff that gives you the runs if you eat it dissolved in a tea?

 

[Beerhippie]

Is this the stuff that gives you the runs if you eat it dissolved in a tea?

I'll just skip the eating or drinking of it. I'm using it to remove rust--which doesn't give me the runs (but rust gives me the willies).

 

[tncatadjuster]

Is this the stuff that gives you the runs if you eat it dissolved in a tea?

I think that is Magnesium Citrate. Works like a charm.

 

[WildBill]

Throw 1-2 tablespoons of that food grade stuff in a pan with some grated cheese and a little milk to make super creamy, not hardening cheese dip or sauce.

 

[PCustoms]

The best price I could find at the Jungle:

https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Organic...tioxidant/dp/B07CT4NXSS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The only grades I could find there were food grade and USP lab grade. USP is more expensive.

Isn't this cheaper?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B46VG8YB?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[KenB]

Throw 1-2 tablespoons of that food grade stuff in a pan with some grated cheese and a little milk to make super creamy, not hardening cheese dip or sauce.

Double duty! Reminds me of the old SNL skit: It’s a floor wax AND a dessert topping!

 

[Beerhippie]

Isn't this cheaper?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B46VG8YB?tag=atomicindus08-20

Yes, $8.80/lb vs. $9.50, but I don't really feel the need to have eight pound on hand. One nice thing is I'm getting a lot of use out of a single batch.

Just used the same batch to clean some more plane parts today:



Take my word for it, it was a lump of rust.

The SC seems to be easy on paint (that might be Japanning), which is sometimes desirable.

 

[Nutria]

Stanley No. 75 bullnose plane (the first one at the top)?

 

[Beerhippie]

Stanley No. 75 bullnose plane (the first one at the top)?

Bingo!

Not the most popular plane in the interwebby....

 

[Dagny]

Wonder how it would work for rust stains on a fiberglass tub iron out is so nasty I hate using it

 

[Nutria]

Bingo!

Not the most popular plane in the interwebby....

I tell ya, they don't get no respect . . . but they are just the ticket for some jobs.

 

[Beerhippie]

Well, my experiment with how long the solution will last and how many uses I can get out of it is at an end.

My mistake was simple: I needed a container, preferably wide-mouth with a good lid, for storing the solution. I went to the pub kitchen in search of such and was successful--in a way. The container was exactly what I was looking for--the cook simply consolidated the contents of two two-pound jugs of black pepper into one, and I was set to go.

Turns out, you can't clean the smell of black pepper out of a poly container. Worse, when the pepper gas combines with iron, the result is something now banned by the Geneva Convention.

When this awful substance is used on porous cast-iron, the result is a tool that forever stinks--and if you file, sand or grind on it, your hands and shop will too.

My half-gallon of SC solution will be going to the toxic waste facility at Arlington tomorrow. Let's hope they accept it. If not, we'll move it on to the chemical weapons disposal facility in nearby Umatilla.

 

[Beerhippie]

Wonder how it would work for rust stains on a fiberglass tub iron out is so nasty I hate using it

I'd give it a try!

I'm using about five hundred grams per quart of hot water, plus a small shot of Dawn dish soap.

I believe that oxalic acid is the usual chemical used for rust stain removal, but oxalic acid is pretty toxic if consumed.

 

[Dagny]

I believe iron out is lye and alkaline.

 

[Beerhippie]

I called the Hazmat disposal line. The nice folks in white moon-suits tell me I might be able to leave my big plastic bubble in a day or so. The machinery they're rigging up outside the shop is a little concerning.

 

[rlitman]

Is this the stuff that gives you the runs if you eat it dissolved in a tea?

No. It has a lot of sodium though, as the name should make clear.

I think that is Magnesium Citrate. Works like a charm.

Correct. It's the magnesium that's the laxative.

Throw 1-2 tablespoons of that food grade stuff in a pan with some grated cheese and a little milk to make super creamy, not hardening cheese dip or sauce.

That's a lot. Sodium citrate is probably the best additive for making cheese super melty, but I find it off putting when used at the suggested 2-3% w/w. It turns the cheese too much into a velveeta goo, and I'm happiest at 1.5% w/w, though even as little as 1% helps prevent fondue curdling.

 

[Beerhippie]

I'm back to singing the praises of this stuff!

I'm restoring a 1950 Coleman lantern right now. I used a hot lye solution in the ultrasonic cleaner to remove dirt, pigeon **** and grime. My next step has always been phosphoric acid to remove rust and oxidation. Phos acid will ruin the porcelain enamel on a lantern ventilator (or any other porcelain, like the bathroom sink). It turns brass pink by removing some of the surface zinc from the alloy, requiring a fair amount of elbow grease to restore to brass-colored brass. So I tried a hot sodium citrate solution (1 lb/gal H2O) in the ultrasonic instead. I've been doing this to remove rust from steel for a while, but this was the first time trying it on nickel-plate, brass and glass.

Before:





After, no elbow grease invested:









The last pic is some parts that required absolutely no elbow grease and are ready for use. They got a rinse with denatured alcohol, as I've fount that eliminates spotting and streaking from our hard water. The brass parts are left bright brass.

I'm lovin' this stuff!