Phosphoric acid is the active ingredient in Naval Jelly.
Philbert
Philbert
Rust removal from chains?
- Thread starter ClintC
- Start date
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That rusty 7/8 chain that Dave86 has (which I think is super cool BTW) is unique, vintage, collectable & worth doing what you can for it if only for display/conversation. I would probably fit a mini wire wheel brush to my Mastercarver™ (like a Foredom) handpiece & take my time removing all the rust from every angle. I think I could get it lookin pretty nice. Out of interest does the top plate have chrome on it? Or is it too old for that.
Canyon Angler
Addicted to ArboristSite
The problem with ULSD is that it no longer has the lubricity to properly lubricate injectors, etc. If you have an older diesel (like the 7.3 PSD in my F-250), you need fuel with more lubricity to reduce wear on the hydraulic injectors. To restore that lubricity, I add castor oil to my diesel fuel at a concentration of 200 ppm (1 ounce per 39 gallon fillup) which according to this paper should help:
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/38157/InTech-Lubricating_aspects_of_automotive_fuels.pdf
There are also fuel conditioners from Stanadyne (which manufactures diesel injectors) and others that do the same thing, I believe they also use castor oil.
Canyon Angler
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thanks for the tip. I've never heard of the stuff, but if it's better than Kroil, that's saying something.
CentaurG2
Addicted to ArboristSite
I thought about how to use that big chain. Putting it on the wall is the right idea. You could MIG weld the links together to make a rectangle or a square frame. Pop a piece of mirror in it and I bet some steam punker would think it was the cat’s meow. I better use would (if you have enough) be to make a frame to hold a stihl/Husqvarna chainsaw calendar. Couple of rare earth magnets to hold the calendar in the frame and it would look great on the wall of the shop.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
That big chain could easily fetch + $1.00 a link now, considerably more cleaned up and usable depending on gauge. Have to find the right person,
Have recently been through this with some chain that was so rusty it was permanently kinked up - until I got done with it.
1) bench grinder with wire wheel - use this to knock off the excessive/nasty stuff
ran it around both sides, with the cutters down (wheel spinning down)
so basically the wheel was hitting perpendicular to the links, from the drive links toward the cutter
could use a drill with a wire wheel, but you get the idea
also go across the chain with the links - back of the cutter toward the front, you don't want the wire wheel hitting the cutter and wire flying off in your face
2) soak in rust remover - I used krud kutter rust remover, and it did a pretty impressive job. If I had it to do over, I'd use evaporust. Soaked for several days
3) I hung the chain off my bench vise handle after the rust remover, put my boot in the loop, and stepped down - this broke any remaining stuck links free-ish
I kept moving the loop around and doing this to try and break free the stubborn links, should look like a loop now...
4) soak in a good lube - I used old engine oil. Let it soak for a few days at least
5) hang and let oil drip off
6) work your way around the loop by hand and work any funky links - they should start to loosen up by now. If not, get on them with pliers to break them free
7) put on saw and work the chain around by hand, put something behind the cutter head to pull it around (screwdriver with square shank for example)
this will loosen it up even more (there will be tight spots) - tighten chain as necessary, repeat
8) use thin bar oil, fire up the saw, and spin slowly - this will start to free up the links even more, make sure bar oil is getting on there
8) TIGHTEN - the chains start to get loose very quickly at this point, so spin, tighten, spin, tighten...
9) once you get to the point that it stops loosening up, sharpen, take it out and cut something. Go slowly and check tension frequently
this will knock off any remaining gunk and free up the links the rest of the way. Don't get crazy yet, because it'll loosen up more while doing this
I've done this with about half a dozen chains now (given to me), and it has worked out very well. I certainly would not keep the loop if I felt like the links were compromised. Not worth getting a chunk of chain in the leg, or face, or whatever.
Regarding acids and such... Muriatic acid is VERY good at eating rust. When I was in high school, I worked at a moped shop where we had to clean up and line rusty gas tanks. We filled them with muriatic, let them sit for a couple hours, drained them, rinsed with water and then alcohol (to dry), and coated with a liner. The tanks looks like new steel before coating. With that said, it's nasty stuff, and with much safer things like evaporust out there, I wouldn't bother. Also, muriatic + chrome is a no-no as some others have pointed out.
For anyone doing this, again, please be safe and go slowly. Loops are cheap, the E.R. is not.
1) bench grinder with wire wheel - use this to knock off the excessive/nasty stuff
ran it around both sides, with the cutters down (wheel spinning down)
so basically the wheel was hitting perpendicular to the links, from the drive links toward the cutter
could use a drill with a wire wheel, but you get the idea
also go across the chain with the links - back of the cutter toward the front, you don't want the wire wheel hitting the cutter and wire flying off in your face
2) soak in rust remover - I used krud kutter rust remover, and it did a pretty impressive job. If I had it to do over, I'd use evaporust. Soaked for several days
3) I hung the chain off my bench vise handle after the rust remover, put my boot in the loop, and stepped down - this broke any remaining stuck links free-ish
I kept moving the loop around and doing this to try and break free the stubborn links, should look like a loop now...
4) soak in a good lube - I used old engine oil. Let it soak for a few days at least
5) hang and let oil drip off
6) work your way around the loop by hand and work any funky links - they should start to loosen up by now. If not, get on them with pliers to break them free
7) put on saw and work the chain around by hand, put something behind the cutter head to pull it around (screwdriver with square shank for example)
this will loosen it up even more (there will be tight spots) - tighten chain as necessary, repeat
8) use thin bar oil, fire up the saw, and spin slowly - this will start to free up the links even more, make sure bar oil is getting on there
8) TIGHTEN - the chains start to get loose very quickly at this point, so spin, tighten, spin, tighten...
9) once you get to the point that it stops loosening up, sharpen, take it out and cut something. Go slowly and check tension frequently
this will knock off any remaining gunk and free up the links the rest of the way. Don't get crazy yet, because it'll loosen up more while doing this
I've done this with about half a dozen chains now (given to me), and it has worked out very well. I certainly would not keep the loop if I felt like the links were compromised. Not worth getting a chunk of chain in the leg, or face, or whatever.
Regarding acids and such... Muriatic acid is VERY good at eating rust. When I was in high school, I worked at a moped shop where we had to clean up and line rusty gas tanks. We filled them with muriatic, let them sit for a couple hours, drained them, rinsed with water and then alcohol (to dry), and coated with a liner. The tanks looks like new steel before coating. With that said, it's nasty stuff, and with much safer things like evaporust out there, I wouldn't bother. Also, muriatic + chrome is a no-no as some others have pointed out.
For anyone doing this, again, please be safe and go slowly. Loops are cheap, the E.R. is not.
Simply dropping the chain in a can of diesel fuel for a few days will free the chain up. Have used diesel fuel for years to free up rusty parts. You can put the chain in the diesel fuel for a few days then take it out and work the chain if it's not all free soak it for a few more days or until it's free. You can brush the parts and put them back in soak till they are clean. You could always put the drive links in a vice use wood on the jaws as a buffer, tighten some and brush the crap out of the links with a wire brush to remove the rust. That's the way I always cleaned up my Coon Traps before boiling and getting ready for trapping.
Teemore
ArboristSite Lurker
Since there may be a few two stroke owners on this forum, I'll add that 100ml of two stroke oil to a fill of diesel will do the same job.
