Cleaning old nuts & bolts.

[Rick in PA]

There was an early reply about using vinegar. I'd try that. I use a vinegar soak on any lightly oxidized metal. Overnight's good. Then use a nylon bristle brush under hot water to remove the residue. While I'm not sure how it would work on heavey rust, but it works surprisingly well on oxide films. I think the hydrogen ions in the acid "pick off" the oxygen atoms on the oxides. Any acid should do, but vinegar is fairly benign. I think this is how Coke works too, I just wouldn't drink it afterwards.

 

[paulo57509]

My first thought would be to try this:

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

Unless you have the tumbler, you're probably better off from a cost stand point to try something else.

 

[Jim Spahr]

More tips from the Shadetree mechanic: after soaking the hardware over night, use an old toothbrush to scrub the threads of the bolts clean. Less abrasive than a wire wheel or wire brush.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
There was an early reply about using vinegar. I'd try that. I use a vinegar soak on any lightly oxidized metal. Overnight's good. Then use a nylon bristle brush under hot water to remove the residue. While I'm not sure how it would work on heavey rust, but it works surprisingly well on oxide films. I think the hydrogen ions in the acid "pick off" the oxygen atoms on the oxides. Any acid should do, but vinegar is fairly benign. I think this is how Coke works too, I just wouldn't drink it afterwards.

Was that the vinegar or the coke?

 

[exranger06]

I just use the wire wheel on my bench grinder. Cleans them up really nice and doesn't take long at all. It's a heck of a lot faster than waiting 1+ days for them to soak in solvent.

 

[Jim Spahr]

The WW on the bench grinder is great and they look like a new bolt. I usually have one fly across the room never more to be seen. It is always the hard to find and replace odd size. But what about the nuts. How do you wire wheel them?

 

[exranger06]

You can't really wire wheel the threaded part of a nut, but you can wire wheel the rest of it. You would have to use solvent and/or wipe the threads with a rag to clean the threads.

 

[mechtech2]

Naval Jelly - phosphoric acid. Water flush afterwards and lube them.

 

[Mustang_Cougar]

After the suggestions here, I tried two things: Coke and vinegar.

After four days of soaking, the vinegar solution was clearly superior to Coke. While Coke did have an effect, the bolts, nuts & washers in the vinegar solution (50/50) were much cleaner. That said, I returned the parts to their respective solutions and will let this little experiment run for another 3-4 days. After that I'll briefly hit them w/a wire brush and soak them in ATF for a day.

All this for something no one will ever see. Aw, it's still worth it...

M_C