Anyone have a favorite recipe for cleaning rusty gunk out of a plastic radiator overflow tank. CLR has been chipping away at it, first 50% strength, then full strength, but still, that has only gotten it about half clean ... it was very dirty. Anyone have a magic formula for this?
...i have used a handfull of...small rocks...and done pretty good. put the rocks in with the CLR and shake it up... i have also done the same thing but used water (about 2 cups)...tape up the openings and wrap it up in a blanket...put it in the dryer...(after the Bride leaves for the store) for some reason they don't understand the doesn't hurt anything... i etch my motorcycle tanks like this to get them ready for sealing... ...Frank...
I used a similar method for my gas tank. But I didn't use the clothes dryer...thought about renting a cement mixer and hooking it up somehow, but ended up just having the wife grab one side and i grab the other and we danced like fools in the front yard for a half hour. I used fish tank gravel in the dry tank, but a sharper edged gravel would likely work better. The fish tank gravel tended to be more rounded.
Thanks for the ideas guys. I have a vibratory polisher that is typically used to clean up bullet casings. It works great on cleaning up old bolts, etc. The piece I want to clean up is small enough that I might be able to rig something up here and fill the inside with polishing media. Frank, I got the best mental picture of you waiting for Effie to leave so that you could hijack the cloth dryer...
Hi all. In reply to this thread in it's entirity-----"and you guys are still alive?" Ha ha. And I thought I was doing bad when my wife was away and I did a bake on paint job in our oven a few years ago. Ha ha. Watch your backs guys, and don't sleep too soundly. Jack
With a mix of different things, I have managed to get this 99% clean. A buddy of mine is pretty wise to chemistry, and clued me into a couple of ideas. First I used CLR like I mentioned. After that, some used laundry water (hey ... the washer was running, and I was right there). A little dishwasher soap next - he says that is the most caustic soap most folks will have in their homes. Made to cut grease. I also use it to clean the paper filter for our hot tub. Washing parts in the dishwasher has some merit as long heat won't hurt them. Then ... this is a very interesting step ... liquid fabric softener. It is a surfactant, which means it breaks the surface tension between two liquids. I made a lot of progress with this and an old toothbrush and a Q-tip on a dowel. Fabric softener is also the best thing to use to get latex paint rinsed out of paint brushes while it is still wet... works amazingly well. Still have the overflow soaking with some CLR to get rid of the last little bit stuff in there, some deposits that look like tiny pebbles in the bottom PS... baking paint in the oven ... probably not good if you want to cook in it later. A lot of out-gassing. I just happen to have an old toaster oven in my garage that I use for small parts, though. Very easy to get one cheap at a thrift store if you don't just retire one from the kitchen. I have thought about getting an old full size oven to use for home powdercoating.
Lye is the best thing to remove rust - next to that is Sulfuric Acid. You want to use protection for face and eyes and an apron (rubber) to protect your body and clothes. Full wrap safety goggles, full face shield, and full length rubber apron, just like in chemistry lab. the plastic might be sensitive to Lye so test it on something disposable made from the same stuff first.
