Cheap rust removal using vinegar

[Quickly]

Perhaps this should be in 'Show and Tell', if so let me know and I'll delete it and create a new one (a mod moving it would rape me up the karma). I was advised on a recent thread to try using vinegar to get rid of some serious rust, but on other threads I dug up there were people saying vinegar would be futile. I tried it yesterday and today, and it's come up quite well, so I just thought I'd share the info.

First off, the part I'm working on is the exhaust collector box on my NC24. I didn't think to take a photo before I began work, but this untreated part shows you how bad it was:

https://i55.tinypic.com/2udwzlh.jpg

Altogether the whole treatment cost £3.27...

https://i55.tinypic.com/33vp2eq.jpg

A pack of wire wool (Halfords, £2.19), kitchen roll (69p) and some cheap malt vinegar (39p). I soaked the kitchen roll in the vinegar then wrapped/stuffed it around the part I wanted to treat. The vinegar made the roll naturally adhesive so I didn't use anything to stick it on.

I left it overnight with the bike just sitting outside my flat under a cover. The following morning the roll looked like this:

https://i53.tinypic.com/10qe6fl.jpg
https://i54.tinypic.com/2nb9gyd.jpg
https://i55.tinypic.com/34y4v1h.jpg

Having removed the kitchen roll, the exhaust looked already significantly better...

https://i51.tinypic.com/2vxpycl.jpg

...and scrubbing it with the wire wool caused it to improve even more...

https://i53.tinypic.com/30a9k5d.jpg
https://i51.tinypic.com/e63amo.jpg

I gave it a quick once over with some soapy water to get rid of the vinegar. Beware: if you leave the vinegar on it will eat away at the newly exposed metal and will compromise any rust protection you apply to the metal.

For me, that protection came in the form of a tin of Halfords very high temperature spray paint. All the advice told me to steer clear of VHT paint, but that was about the Hammerite stuff. Generally I was told to use B&Q BBQ spray, but personally the Halfords stuff was far easier to get hold of. If I've any problems I'll find out by the time I've finished bringing the bike fully up to scratch and I can try with something else. All taped up...

https://i53.tinypic.com/sqh69z.jpg

...and sprayed...

https://i56.tinypic.com/8y7qdh.jpg
https://i55.tinypic.com/20rsf3t.jpg

Absolutely delighted with the outcome, for less than a tenner all in.

https://i55.tinypic.com/2vmhapd.jpg


____________________
...

[Scotsman37]

Sounds like a bike, goes like a bike but smells like Chippy!

[Quickly]

[MarkJ]

The new bike had a few rusty (only surface rust) bolts so I bought some smartprice tupperware containers, filled them with vinegar and left the bolts in for a day. A quick wipe when you take them out of the vinegar and they're rust free

[neil.]

Told ya.

[Kieron]

If it's in a difficult spot to reach, or you can't remove the part, try mixing the vinegar with cornflour to produce a thick paste. It can then be painted onto the part and left until the Vinegar has reacted with the rust (Iron Oxide)

Give it a good wash afterwards and paint over. Vinegar shouldn't react with the other metals too much, but there's no harm in giving it a good rinse, dry and paint.

Phosphoric Acid works a little better, but it's a bit harder to get hold of and is more reactive with the rest of the non-rust metals so if you use this you really do need to make sure it's cleaned and painted afterwards

[Mark65]