Hello everyone, this is my first post and I'm very glad to be a member of this forum. Thank you all for the mountain of knowledge that can be found here. Now that the intro is handled, let's get down to business.
I recently purchased a set of 4 rusty chrome cargo hooks and a pair of very rusty Corvette hood latches that are the same part, albeit not chrome.
After doing some research across the web I decided that I'd try to clean them up using oxalic acid, or at the very least a household cleaner that contains it. The acid can be purchased just about anywhere but curiosity led me to see what could be accomplished with items anyone could walk into a store and buy. The item I chose is Barkeeper's Friend, and as the name implies it does a wonderful job cleaning up a bar or kitchen- but wait, there's more! It can be used to clean a great number of things due to its contents: it's basically oxalic acid and "an anionic surfactant" (whatever that is). It's important to note that while my new Friend comes in powder and liquid form I opted for the former. This way I have control over how potent the solution is. This also provides you the opportunity to make a nice face mask and peel away those wrinkles! Just kidding, please don't. But you can make a paste that allows you to scrub the demons from the items you're cleaning. Beware, this paste will leave very fine scuff marks just like steel wool, Comet, or for those who still have cleaning products their grandmother gave them: Cameo Copper Cleaner.
I did not use Cameo at all on these hooks and don't know how well it would work for rust removal. Maybe I'll try it some time. I used it to clean a copper dish in my kitchen once, only to polish away the copper plating in the process. It was clean though.
I'll admit that I first tried scrubbing all of these cargo hooks with Meguiar's Hot Rims and a green Scotch-Brite pad to see what that would accomplish, and it accomplished very little. The rust seemed more defiant now that it was a brighter shade of orange. Time to drown the little bastards.
After thoroughly rinsing the Hot Rims wheel cleaner from the parts I continued on my quest to eradicate the rust. Don't go around mixing cleaners unless you want problems! Always be cautious when playing Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, as mixing the wrong chemicals can make chlorine gas, mustard gas, a big bada boom- the list goes on.
I put the 4 chrome-ish hooks in an empty plastic container that once housed deli sliced turkey, and the 2 rusty 'Vette latches in another, smaller food container... I might have been performing this experiment in the kitchen. *I don't recommend doing this with full strength acids of any kind, but with a fan on to promote good air circulation I used the store-bought cleaner with no ill effects to me or the kitchen, even after dumping it down the sink. In fact, the sink has never looked better. So if the wife catches you marinating your dirty part in the kitchen just tell her it's good for the sink. Don't worry, the Barkeeper's Friend is safe for your plumbing as well as your septic tank if you have one. The chrome hooks received roughly 4 Tb of B.F., and the others got to soak in the Hot Rims and nothing else.
These are the cargo hooks after soaking in some acid for a bit. I think they'll look better if I soak them for another couple of hours. It's hard to say how long they actually soaked, as I kept taking them out and scrubbing. Further research indicates I could have just left them in the solution(s) and let it do all the work. When I decided to pack it up for the day I scrubbed and neutralized the parts with a healthy rinse of water and baking soda. I then doused them in rubbing alcohol and wiped away any remaining soda. I believe I invested about 2-3 hours in that learning experience.
Don't let the picture fool you- the rear hooks aren't rusty anymore, they're a dull grey. I'm going to soak all of them in a mixture of B.F. and water for another 2 hours soon and see what that yields. But that will likely be next week when my other cargo hooks make an appearance.
I recently purchased a set of 4 rusty chrome cargo hooks and a pair of very rusty Corvette hood latches that are the same part, albeit not chrome.
After doing some research across the web I decided that I'd try to clean them up using oxalic acid, or at the very least a household cleaner that contains it. The acid can be purchased just about anywhere but curiosity led me to see what could be accomplished with items anyone could walk into a store and buy. The item I chose is Barkeeper's Friend, and as the name implies it does a wonderful job cleaning up a bar or kitchen- but wait, there's more! It can be used to clean a great number of things due to its contents: it's basically oxalic acid and "an anionic surfactant" (whatever that is). It's important to note that while my new Friend comes in powder and liquid form I opted for the former. This way I have control over how potent the solution is. This also provides you the opportunity to make a nice face mask and peel away those wrinkles! Just kidding, please don't. But you can make a paste that allows you to scrub the demons from the items you're cleaning. Beware, this paste will leave very fine scuff marks just like steel wool, Comet, or for those who still have cleaning products their grandmother gave them: Cameo Copper Cleaner.
I did not use Cameo at all on these hooks and don't know how well it would work for rust removal. Maybe I'll try it some time. I used it to clean a copper dish in my kitchen once, only to polish away the copper plating in the process. It was clean though.
I'll admit that I first tried scrubbing all of these cargo hooks with Meguiar's Hot Rims and a green Scotch-Brite pad to see what that would accomplish, and it accomplished very little. The rust seemed more defiant now that it was a brighter shade of orange. Time to drown the little bastards.
After thoroughly rinsing the Hot Rims wheel cleaner from the parts I continued on my quest to eradicate the rust. Don't go around mixing cleaners unless you want problems! Always be cautious when playing Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, as mixing the wrong chemicals can make chlorine gas, mustard gas, a big bada boom- the list goes on.
I put the 4 chrome-ish hooks in an empty plastic container that once housed deli sliced turkey, and the 2 rusty 'Vette latches in another, smaller food container... I might have been performing this experiment in the kitchen. *I don't recommend doing this with full strength acids of any kind, but with a fan on to promote good air circulation I used the store-bought cleaner with no ill effects to me or the kitchen, even after dumping it down the sink. In fact, the sink has never looked better. So if the wife catches you marinating your dirty part in the kitchen just tell her it's good for the sink. Don't worry, the Barkeeper's Friend is safe for your plumbing as well as your septic tank if you have one. The chrome hooks received roughly 4 Tb of B.F., and the others got to soak in the Hot Rims and nothing else.
These are the cargo hooks after soaking in some acid for a bit. I think they'll look better if I soak them for another couple of hours. It's hard to say how long they actually soaked, as I kept taking them out and scrubbing. Further research indicates I could have just left them in the solution(s) and let it do all the work. When I decided to pack it up for the day I scrubbed and neutralized the parts with a healthy rinse of water and baking soda. I then doused them in rubbing alcohol and wiped away any remaining soda. I believe I invested about 2-3 hours in that learning experience.
Don't let the picture fool you- the rear hooks aren't rusty anymore, they're a dull grey. I'm going to soak all of them in a mixture of B.F. and water for another 2 hours soon and see what that yields. But that will likely be next week when my other cargo hooks make an appearance.
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