Hi all, here's one for those unsightly, rusty tension rods. I've just finished removing rust from some old Ludwig tension rods that were more like rude, crude, Lewdwig tension rods. They were orange! I had some success and I'd like to pass on my secret homemade rust busting formula to anybody out there who is planning on removing rust from old drums. I'd like to think that I discovered this by mixing some things that I found under the kitchen sink, but probably somebody has already thought of this. What you do is the following; Put the rusty Lewdwig or Jolly Rogers parts into a container. I cut a plastic bottle in half. Then you pour thick bleach over everything followed by a good squirt of dish washing detergent or washing up liquid as we call it here. I mixed about 2 parts bleach to one part washing up liquid. After some time the bleach made the green liquid turn clear. I checked back an hour later and the rust had separated from the bolts quite significantly. I got excited and poured the mixture down the drain and a lot of rust had magically disappeared leaving orange powder in the sink. I used a brush and the remaining rust was loose enough to be brushed away. There is still some rust between the threads, but not very much. I think if I left it overnight they would come up looking great! I'd recommend this technique for removing the bulk of the rust from old rusty hardware. I was really impressed at what I saw. Give that a go, but be careful when messing around with harmful substances. I don't even know if I should be mixing chemicals. I don't encourage people to do this type of thing, but I do these things with reckless abandon because I'm brave. If you're brave too you could give it a go.
Homemade Rust Buster
Will be giving that a try. Outside with a bit of a breeze all should be well mixing test potions.
Creighton
The mixing of bleach and ammonia is the deadly mixture, with a possible explosion if the mixture is potent enough.
I have had good results with just white vinegar overnight myself.
The mixing of bleach and ammonia is the deadly mixture, with a possible explosion if the mixture is potent enough.I have had good results with just white vinegar overnight myself.
Right, so please disregard above information. I had no explosion, but it does seem a bit sketchy I'll admit.
Thanks for the warning!!
Creighton
A safer alternative is Citric Acid, sometimes called sour salt.
It's sold in health food stores as an alternative for people on low salt diets. (tastes kind of like lemon)
I buy it for 65 cents an once - 4 ounces = 1/2 cup which I mix with 1/2 gal. of warm water.
Drop the rusty parts in and after a minute or two, they start bubbling.
After about 15 mins, they will look like new!
The mixture is safe enough to pour down the drain after you're done.
My chemistry days are over! Although all of the above solutions are effective, there's nothing like dropping a bunch of parts into a tumbler and letting the electric motor do all the work. When this one breaks... I'm getting another one! No more soaking for me. My wife hated me using her Tupperware to soak my parts in anyway. You know what they say... happy wife, happy life!
Be safe, boys when 'experimenting' at home. I don't want to lose any of you to a freak kitchen explosion. Mind Blowi
John
A big bottle of that dollar store white vinegar. You leave some rusted
in that overnight and it takes the rust off. Dawn and warm water will get the grease and dirt off.
I agree...White vinegar and a toothbrush works well...
Cheers
1978 Ludwig Stainless 22-22-18-16-14-13-12 c/w 6-8-10-12-13-14-15-16-18-20-22-24 concert toms
1975 Sonor Phonic Centennials Metallic Pewter 22-16-13-12-14sn (D506)
1971 Ludwig Classic Bowling Ball OBP 22-16-14-13
1960's Stewart Peacock Pearl 20-16-12-14sn
1980`s Ludwig Coliseum Piano Black 8x14 snare
1973 Rogers Superten 5x14 & 6.5x14 COS snares
1970`s John Grey Capri Aquamarine Sparkle 5x14 snare
1941 Ludwig & Ludwig Super 8x14 snare
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