Rusty gear restoration. Non-standard solution

[Andrey Konovalov]

[Manitoba Man]

Greetings from Canada. Excellent!

[NortonDommi]

I don't understand the rock in the tank?
Have you tried Molasses? Super cheap if bought from a farm supply. Dilute 40:1 - 60-:1 with water. Leave objects in for as long as needed, very gentle and lasts forever. When finished you can empty the contents in the garden.

[RetiredFAE]

Probably used the rocks to take up space so it would take less vinegar to cover the entire surface of gear would be my guess.

[DIYer]

Thanks Andrey Konovalov! We've added your De-rusting Method to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Andrey Konovalov's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

De-rusting Method by Andrey Konovalov

tags: de-rust treatment

[hemmjo]

Yes it is certain he added the rocks to take up space. However it is really counter productive to use rocks for that. That gravel he put in there looked like a mix of various types of rock so the odds of getting a bad reaction are very good. Calcium-based rocks like limestone are particularly reactive and is actually used commercially to reduce acidity. In fact the crust on that gear appears to be calcium based so adding rocks containing calcium simply depletes the vinegar more quickly. Some Igneous and metamorphic rocks, such as granite and gneiss release toxic aluminum ions. So he created a toxic mixture by adding the rocks.

It would be better to just use more vinegar, or molasses as mentioned above.

Although, not knowing for sure the chemical make up of the crust on the gear, I would not want to dump the residue on the garden. If it was just rust he was removing, the iron might be a good addition to the garden, but I try to keep the unknown chemicals out of my garden

[Andrey Konovalov]

Thank you for your advice.
In my video, I used regular vinegar and used stones as filler to fill the void. Since it took 10 liters of vinegar to clean two gears, it would take twice as much without stones. everything is simple - budget savings.

[NortonDommi]

Although, not knowing for sure the chemical make up of the crust on the gear, I would not want to dump the residue on the garden. If it was just rust he was removing, the iron might be a good addition to the garden, but I try to keep the unknown chemicals out of my garden

A couple of years ago I holed the bin I had been using for Molasses for about 30 years. I dumped it all in the garden and the growth rate of everything was amazing.
I clean dirt, loose material of first usually with a degreaser and a water-blast then soak for as long as needed. Won't eat sound metal unlike any acidic mixes I have tried. I have lost stuff due to forgetting about it or going off somewhere.
I figure if I can eat molasses straight out of the tin then it can't be too bad aye.