The Joy of an Acid Bath :)

Ian Raleigh":1fpaztsb said:
So how much did you spend on the Oxalic Acid ? What do you do with the 'waste' product ?

A new chrome seat clamp-set is only about £3 off fleabay,
but then you can use the acid on other parts like rusty skewers/washers etc etc.

A 500g bag is only around £3 and will last for ages. I use it where its nice to try and keep the original parts, sometimes irreplaceable parts. The seat clamp is "Made in England", well worth saving and not one of your Korean thread stripping bits of crap :) You can just about make out where its stamped on the back of the clamp in the second pic, can't be seen at all in the first pic.

It can also be used as a drain cleaner so I pour the waste down the toilet.
 
BobToo":28juw3so said:
Robbied196":28juw3so said:
Thought I'd post this for anyone planning their first restoration/rebuild project.

Top tip, thanks. As it happens I have just stripped down a bike for cleaning. Can it be used on unchromed parts that just need a bit of cheering up?

Its best for cleaning rusted chromework I'm not sure anything would be gained so far as cleaning plain steel. That probably best down with some wire wool.

One thing I do avoid dipping is aluminium, so something like a derailleur is best stripped down so only the chrome parts get dipped.

I'm going to have an experiment with a wheel rim, so I'll post the results :)
 
Robbied196":4tsnad44 said:
David B":4tsnad44 said:
Couple of non-bike related points:

Sorry to come across as some sort of "crime pedant" but Rillington Place was Reg Christie, who gassed his victims.

I work as a school lab technician and oxalic (aka ethanedioic) acid is always labelled as "Toxic"; if ingested it forms insoluble salts (chiefly calcium oxalate) in the body and those salts can accumulate to give you kidney stones. It's the same reason people are always told not to eat rhubarb leaves, which are abnormally high in oxalic acid compared with other fruit & veg. Best to wear rubber gloves when using it and wash your hands afterwards.

David

I seem to have got my murderers mixed up :D

Some good advice on the health and safety aspects, I must admit it does smell quite strong when you take the lid off the coffee jar, also it turns an odd green colour after a few hours of soaking parts.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over getting your murderers mixed up. Unless you work in CID of course. ;)

The green stuff is probably chromium oxalate, at a guess.

David
 
Robbied196":fayusp40 said:
Ian Raleigh":fayusp40 said:
So how much did you spend on the Oxalic Acid ? What do you do with the 'waste' product ?
A new chrome seat clamp-set is only about £3 off fleabay,
but then you can use the acid on other parts like rusty skewers/washers etc etc.
A 500g bag is only around £3 and will last for ages. I use it where its nice to try and keep the original parts, sometimes irreplaceable parts. The seat clamp is "Made in England", well worth saving and not one of your Korean thread stripping bits of crap :) You can just about make out where its stamped on the back of the clamp in the second pic, can't be seen at all in the first pic.
It can also be used as a drain cleaner so I pour the waste down the toilet.
Thanks for that Rob, I'd never heard of oxalic acid until I read your post and thought the stuff was expensive.
 
Ian Raleigh":3sxovo69 said:
Robbied196":3sxovo69 said:
Ian Raleigh":3sxovo69 said:
So how much did you spend on the Oxalic Acid ? What do you do with the 'waste' product ?
A new chrome seat clamp-set is only about £3 off fleabay,
but then you can use the acid on other parts like rusty skewers/washers etc etc.
A 500g bag is only around £3 and will last for ages. I use it where its nice to try and keep the original parts, sometimes irreplaceable parts. The seat clamp is "Made in England", well worth saving and not one of your Korean thread stripping bits of crap :) You can just about make out where its stamped on the back of the clamp in the second pic, can't be seen at all in the first pic.
It can also be used as a drain cleaner so I pour the waste down the toilet.
Thanks for that Rob, I'd never heard of oxalic acid until I read your post and thought the stuff was expensive.

I get it off the Bay from here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/500g-Oxalic-a ... 20b219307d

Not sure how easy it is to find on the High Street. I tipped some out on the patio yesterday and discovered it makes a nice job of cleaning the slabs as well :D
 
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Back
Top