wrote in message
oups.com...
My problem with putting acid on steel is that once it gets going, it
doesnt wanna stop.
I have had really good luck by first sandblasting, then spraying with
salt water- take rock salt, mix a couple tablespoons in with a quart of
water in an old windex spray bottle, and spray it on. The advantage is
the salt doesnt keep rusting the piece away all the way into the next
century.
Something about not using too much tool for the job that appeals to me.

Having used acids to dissolve metals for years (refining precious metals), I
can assure you----acid does stop. When the element contained within an
acid that is responsible for a given reaction has been consumed, what you
have left is no longer what it used to be----otherwise a drop of acid could
do the work of a million gallons----which it can't, and doesn't. The
chemists on the board can describe the reactions, but, sadly, I'm not one.

Harold