EvapoRust: Use Aluminum Pot for Soaking?

M

MrCreosote

Aluminum

Joined

Aug 27, 2011

Location

Pennsylvania

• Dec 19, 2021

• #1

They say it does not remove aluminum oxide and that it does not affect aluminum - but that sounds like "won't worry if you get some on aluminum."

Using aluminum for a soaking pot could be another matter - what it soaked for a week? Is the aluminum truly unaffected?

Does anyone have any experience using aluminum soaking pots?

 

kustomizer

Diamond

Joined

Aug 17, 2007

Location

North Fork Idaho

• Dec 19, 2021

• #2

About anything including plain water will work on aluminum in that time, I would look at plastic were it me.

 

M

MrCreosote

Aluminum

Joined

Aug 27, 2011

Location

Pennsylvania

• Dec 19, 2021

• #3

It's an aluminum soaking pot - the rusted item is a Weber steel flywheel.

The flywheel is 13.75 OD and the pot ID is 14 so I really want to use this alum pot.

 

kustomizer

Diamond

Joined

Aug 17, 2007

Location

North Fork Idaho

• Dec 19, 2021

• #4

Put a couple heavy duty garbage bags in it

or

Every thrift store has a 14" stainless electric skillet for a couple bucks, then you can keep it warm if you want

 

true temper

Stainless

Joined

Jun 19, 2006

Location

Kansas

• Dec 20, 2021

• #5

I soaked parts in a aluminum cake pan for several days using EvapoRust, it worked just fine. No damage to cake pan.

 

B

BoxcarPete

Stainless

Joined

Nov 30, 2018

Location

Michigan, USA

• Dec 20, 2021

• #6

true temper said:

I soaked parts in a aluminum cake pan for several days using EvapoRust, it worked just fine. No damage to cake pan.

Click to expand...

Cake pans often come with non-stick coatings though. Was it plain aluminum? For another matter, is OP using a non-stick lined or plain aluminum pan?

 

M

magneticanomaly

Titanium

Joined

Mar 22, 2007

Location

On Elk Mountain, West Virginia, USA

• Dec 20, 2021

• #7

Sounds like a battery to me. Light your shop for free. Problem is the lights will go off about the time you need the light to clean up the mess that leaked throgh the holes on the Al pot.

 

JST

Diamond

Joined

Jun 16, 2001

Location

St Louis

• Dec 21, 2021

• #8

I have no idea whether it would be a problem, but I did have some odd stuff happen when I soaked a part that had a plating of an unknown type on it (did not know about the plating to begin with). Bubbled and got a whitish gunk on it that rinsed off.

Not sure if it was an electrolytic reaction or a straight up chemical one, but the plating looked a bit etched.

I took the part out out and tossed the Evaporust it had been in.

My inclination would be to put the part in on some sort of non-conductive stuff, rubber, plastic film, etc, if I had to use an aluminum container. Just to avoid problems that I do not understand.

 

true temper

Stainless

Joined

Jun 19, 2006

Location

Kansas

• Dec 21, 2021

• #9

BoxcarPete said:

Cake pans often come with non-stick coatings though. Was it plain aluminum? For another matter, is OP using a non-stick lined or plain aluminum pan?

Click to expand...

Plain aluminum cake pan no coating.

 

rons

Diamond

Joined

Mar 5, 2009

Location

California, USA

• Dec 21, 2021

• #10

If you want to get the soaking done now, line the pan with plastic sheet.

I had to soak a couple of 2" angle iron pieces 5' long. Dug a small ditch in the dirt and used a plastic sheet.

Use a small jar and soak a scrap piece of aluminum with the EvapoRust. See what happens after a week.

 

M.B. Naegle

Diamond

Joined

Feb 7, 2011

Location

Conroe, TX USA

• Dec 21, 2021

• #11

I used a plain aluminum cook-pot for some chemical rust removal awhile back. Not evapo-rust but something like it (Rust Cure). Came back in the morning to find that the fluid had eroded around the rivets holding the handles on the sides and the stuff had piddled onto the steel bench and onto the concrete floor. Both are still marked from it.

 

rons

Diamond

Joined

Mar 5, 2009

Location

California, USA

• Dec 21, 2021

• #12

M.B. Naegle said:

I used a plain aluminum cook-pot for some chemical rust removal awhile back. Not evapo-rust but something like it (Rust Cure). Came back in the morning to find that the fluid had eroded around the rivets holding the handles on the sides and the stuff had piddled onto the steel bench and onto the concrete floor. Both are still marked from it.

Click to expand...

I tried phosphoric acid on Al. No problem.

Interesting that the erosion occurred at the intersection of the rivet material and the aluminum. Would appear that a electrical/chemical process occurred
between two dis-similiar metals with the solution in the middle. I looked up "Rust Cure" on the first link. Harbor Freight doesn't list ingredients.

 

M

MrWhoopee

Hot Rolled

Joined

Nov 8, 2017

• Dec 22, 2021

• #13

At the very least, put something non-conductive under the gear to prevent electrical contact between the steel and the aluminum. This will prevent galvanic corrosion of the aluminum.

 

R

rogertoolmaker

Cast Iron

Joined

Jan 3, 2016

• Dec 22, 2021

• #14

MrCreosote said:

They say it does not remove aluminum oxide and that it does not affect aluminum - but that sounds like "won't worry if you get some on aluminum."

Using aluminum for a soaking pot could be another matter - what it soaked for a week? Is the aluminum truly unaffected?

Does anyone have any experience using aluminum soaking pots?

Click to expand...

I might be missing something here. I assume your wanting to remove rust from Iron or Steel. Use a plastic container, Water, Arm & Hammer Washing Powder. Hang the work piece in the solution. Attach the negative pole of a Battery Charger to the part being cleaned. Attach the positive pole to a piece of steel as a slave for the rust to migrate.
To clean Aluminum. Use Lye (drain cleaner) and Arm and Hammer Washing Powder (Sodium Carbonate) in equal amounts in water. Heat the solution to 140 degrees. Do not leave the Aluminum in the solution. Review my previous post for more information.

Roger


Roger