removing rust with salt & vinegar vs Evaporust (2024)

I need to remove the rust from my drill press column. It's 2-3/4" OD, and 2-7/16" ID by 60" tall. I'm going use a 4" (3-3/4" ID) drain pipe to put it in. That's a lot of liquid; about 2.5 gallons. If I put another smaller 2" OD capped-off pipe in to take up some space, I can save about 0.8 gallons.

I thought I might try this method. Has anyone tried this and does it work better or as good as Evaporust?:

Start by adding ½ cup salt to ½ gallon vinegar in a plastic container. Drop your rusty extras into the solution, and let them soak for about 12 hours. Next, pour out the salt-and-vinegar solution, rinse off the metal objects, and then immediately return them to the container. Now fill with ½ gallon fresh water and ½ cup baking soda to neutralize any remaining vinegar trapped inside the crevices. After about 10 minutes, rinse the items in warm water, and finish by drying them thoroughly.

White vinegar is about 1/10 the price of Evaporust, but I KNOW Evaporust works. Thought I'd ask about something cheaper since I'm using so much.

EDIT: Post #33 has the results: citric acid works just fine!

I’ve never used vinegar or salty vinegar.
Don’t worry too much about using so much Evaporust on one project. I have re used Evaporust many times over. Even after it turns black it still works. A bit slower but tit still works. I don’t discard it until it stops working altogether.

Tip: if you warm it up, it works faster. It doesn’t seem to work at all if the temp is below 60.

I've used straight vinegar several times. Would not add salt.

You might want to check your volume calculations too, seems high...

I used to use evaporust, then vinegar, but switched to citric acid. Its about 1/10 the price of vinegar and, imo, works better than evaporust or vinegar. A five pound bag makes many, many gallons. To give it a try, you should be able to get a small bottle at the grocery store for about $3.50.

Get a #13 rubber stopper and you don't have to fill the column.

soaking camber: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6695488

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8566186

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8691976

Shiftless said:

I’ve never used vinegar or salty vinegar.
Don’t worry too much about using so much Evaporust on one project. I have re used Evaporust many times over. Even after it turns black it still works. A bit slower but tit still works. I don’t discard it until it stops working altogether.

Tip: if you warm it up, it works faster. It doesn’t seem to work at all if the temp is below 60.

Click to expand...

Oh, I know you can re-use it, and I do all the time. Mine is getting old and it's so expensive to buy it. It's $30/gallon. I thought I'd try something else.

Thanks for the temp tip. It's on the colder side here in LA these days!

How heavy is the rust? I used aluminum foil and metal polish to clean up some chair frames... Took about an hour to do two chairs. May be worth trying on your DP column.
Here is the thread:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=330181&highlight=aluminum+foil

FrankLee said:

I used to use evaporust, then vinegar, but switched to citric acid. Its about 1/10 the price of vinegar and, imo, works better than evaporust or vinegar. A five pound bag makes many, many gallons. To give it a try, you should be able to get a small bottle at the grocery store for about $3.50.

Get a #13 rubber stopper and you don't have to fill the column.

soaking camber: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6695488

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8566186

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8691976

See Also

Cleaning rusty bolts with vinegarHow to Clean Rusted Metal: A Step by Step Cleaning Guide | Regional Services

Click to expand...

I see you fix up old drill presses. Do you make any money off of it, or just enough to get the next one? I've restored 3 lathes and really like it and would like to keep doing it, but maybe I've just gotten lucky and had lathes with minimal issues.

Thanks for the tip about citric acid. It looks like you soak them for a few days, then go over it with steel wool (what grit?) and rinse with water, then sand (power or by hand? What grit?), then "shoe shine sand, which sound like you take a longer strip of sandpaper and wrap it around the column (what grit?).

The column is actually pretty smooth, even with the rust, so I'd like to keep it that way.

astroracer said:

How heavy is the rust? I used aluminum foil and metal polish to clean up some chair frames... Took about an hour to do two chairs. May be worth trying on your DP column.
Here is the thread:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=330181&highlight=aluminum+foil

Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea, if it works as well as yours! I'll have to try it in a small area or on something else and see if it works for me. Thanks!

jonshonda said:

Just remember the vinegar will eat everything, not just rust. I would start with the most gentle white vinegar, then apple cider, then pump it up with salt if you need more POWER!!!

Click to expand...

I imagine it smells just lovely afterward, too.

I read that you have to soak it in baking soda to neutralize the vinegar. At least these are cheap.

Dumber than lumber said:

Salt? As in table salt?
Can someone explain how Vinegar + Salt is chemically better than just Vinegar?

Click to expand...

When the acetate breaks down the oxides it creates a layer. When you add chlorides to the solution, the chloride penetrates this layer, creating holes for the acetate to react with the fresh material underneath.

Don't you remember that from chemistry class?

Dumber than lumber said:

Salt? As in table salt?
Can someone explain how Vinegar + Salt is chemically better than just Vinegar?

Click to expand...

Don1357 said:

When the acetate breaks down the oxides it creates a layer. When you add chlorides to the solution, the chloride penetrates this layer, creating holes for the acetate to react with the fresh material underneath.

Don't you remember that from chemistry class?

Click to expand...

Uhm... No, and I know I wasn't sleeping, my chemistry teacher was into cars [he had a Morgan] and frequently tied in the lessons to such, but that would have been good info to know. Thank You for the invaluable Info!

The Cobbler said:

you could explore electrolysis rust removal too . very inexpensive

Click to expand...

This is my next foray in metalworking/rust eradication!
Here is the search for electrolysis: https://www.google.com/search?q=rus...i30i395l4.12285j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I don't plan on using store bought containers for this though, I plan on making containment solutions. I'm going to use 2X lumber, cement blocks whatever I can find and plastic sheet [vapour barrier etc.] as my almost all my metal has at least surface rust because the LAZY piece of rectal tissue that owned the place hasn't hung up or plumbed up the heater he has owned for at least 5 years [Yes I am that @$$ hole] and finding a tub for a 10' long piece of tube is well... not practical. just some added food for thought.
This member started posting a pretty in-depth blog on here, but I can't find it and I don't remember if it was within someone else's thread or his own, #ell it took me like 20 minutes to find his username:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/member.php?u=51589 If you find it please post it up, he went silent and hasn't been here since 10-13-19, at age 75 [then] I hope all is well. Harry

BTL-A4 said:

Oh, I know you can re-use it, and I do all the time. Mine is getting old and it's so expensive to buy it. It's $30/gallon. I thought I'd try something else.

Click to expand...

A 5 gallon bucket of Evapro Rust is $88 on Amazon. It took me 3 years to use up my last 5 gallons, and I just ordered another. I like that I don't have to babysit the parts being cleaned.

I like chemical rust removers just as much as the next person for complex, awkward parts with tight crevices and difficult to reach spots. But for a drill press column? With a scotch-brite wheel for an angle grinder, you could have had the whole thing stripped down to fresh metal by now. Few minutes of back-and-forth with a roll of emery-cloth would have that thing shining.

There's many times I've tried to use chemical or electrolytic rust removal to avoid manual work, only to find out by the time I figured out a setup, got everything working, cleaned everything up afterwards, etc... I would have been better off just cleaning the parts manually. I think this is one of those cases, especially for something as simple as a tube.

Dumber than lumber said:

Monza Harry
For that long tube: could you use a piece of rain gutter? Plastic or aluminum are widely available. It could be less work than cinder blocks, by visqueen and lumber.

Click to expand...

American Locomotive said:

I like chemical rust removers just as much as the next person for complex, awkward parts with tight crevices and difficult to reach spots. But for a drill press column? With a scotch-brite wheel for an angle grinder, you could have had the whole thing stripped down to fresh metal by now. Few minutes of back-and-forth with a roll of emery-cloth would have that thing shining.

There's many times I've tried to use chemical or electrolytic rust removal to avoid manual work, only to find out by the time I figured out a setup, got everything working, cleaned everything up afterwards, etc... I would have been better off just cleaning the parts manually. I think this is one of those cases, especially for something as simple as a tube.

Click to expand...

The Cobbler said:

^^^ I have to agree

Click to expand...

DTL I agree I was just pointing out to the OP that the whole spiel in the links I posted about the containers can be limiting and that he should think "outside the box" The rain gutters are another handy short cut I plan on using these on my bandsaw for cutting when I get my coolant hooked up as it will almost always leak out the ends, Therefore intended use in unintended location.

ALm and the Cobbler Agreed The Purple/Red 3M Scotch Brite with a little kerosene/WD-40/etc. wouldn't take much more than a half hour and would remove only microscopic amounts of the base metal!
I added the links because someone else suggested it (The Cobbler) and I think it is definitely worth investigating if you are working with rust metal projects. Harry

BTL-A4 said:

Oh, I know you can re-use it, and I do all the time. Mine is getting old and it's so expensive to buy it. It's $30/gallon. I thought I'd try something else.

Thanks for the temp tip. It's on the colder side here in LA these days!

Click to expand...

I have been buying it at Rural King (none in CA) for years. Last summer it went up from $17 to $19/gal, glad I picked up a couple of gallons before that. The HF store in the same shopping center, literally 200 feet away, wants $30/gal. I have told people carrying a jug of Evaporust around inside HF to go to RK , they put the Evaporust back on the shelf and went to RK. Nearby HD wants $23/gal, Advance Auto wants $27, pays to shop around.

https://www.ruralking.com/evapo-rust-super-safe-rust-remover-128oz-00er0012804

Muriiatic acid, is fast. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS863US863&ei=7Hn7X6XiGYG_tQbyna-ACg&q=removing+rust+from+metal+with+muriatic+acid&oq=remove+rust+from+metal+with+mur&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgkIABDJAxAWEB46BAgAEEc6BQgAEMkDOgIIADoGCAAQFhAeUN1gWOisAWDHvQFoAHACeACAAeABiAGuCZIBBTMuNC4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesgBCMABAQ&sclient=psy-ab

I tried citric acid on a small steel rod. It works really well. I used about a tablespoon in about 3 cups of water. It soaked for about 40 hours or so. I took it out after about 24 because the container had a leak and it leaked really good. I left it in for longer to see what would happen and it was fine. The rust was all gone and the metal looked fine. I've included pictures of before and after taken under the same lighting conditions. It's hard to see but the rust is all gone.
I am reusing the solution to see if it still works.

I will continue to use Evaporust, but CA looks like a good candidate for larger items. Thanks for all the tips on getting Evaporust cheaper. I'm surprised at all the price differences.

I'm not interested in scrubbing anything anymore. If I can find an appropriate chemical and easily make something to soak it in, and then wipe it off, I will.

I've used cleaning vinegar 6% on steel with great results. Cheap, effective, fast, and no disposal issues. It can be re-used also.

A steel motorcycle body panel, before/after:

Do NOT use it on potmetal!

The second pic is after a day, and the pic below is after 2 days. Quite a difference.

I've used vinegar before to clean rust off small brackets. It only removed the rust but turned the metal darker.

For something like a drill press post wouldn't even think of chemicals. A pad or pulling back and forth with sandpaper or an emery cloth strip etc should handle that pretty easily.

Hi , you can buy 30% vinegar on Amazon for less than $20 a gallon , is that something worth getting and do you use it full strenght or dilute it ?

I need to remove the rust off some old fog light housings just to make them look less rusty ! I am not trying to take the old chrome off ,

And do you warm it up or just use it at 70 degrees room temp ?

Thanks for your help