This may sound odd, but I have used plain ole brake fluid to remove rust. Wear
goggles when using it because it is death to eyes. Not really, but it is bad stuff.
No harm done to try it on some totally unimportant rusted steel or iron. "Nothing
ventured Nothing gained"
Hoyt W.

Ken Vaughn wrote:

I have used the salt and vinegar method for cleaning small hand tools for
several years. It works slowly, but works well for high carbon steel --
especially plane irons and chisels. You will need to use something slightly
abrasive to help clean the surface -- I have found that 3M ScotchBrite pads
work well. On badly rusted plane irons, 2 to 3 cycles (soak for 30 minutes
and scrub with pad) will clean it pretty well.

The mixture is simple, standard 5% acidity white vinegar and table salt --
just dissolve as much salt in the vinegar as it will take, and it takes
quite a bit and dissolves slowly as it nears the saturation point. The
mixture can be reused several times even though it turns red from the rust.
Another important point, the steel will rust very quickly when removed from
the solution. Keep some clear rinse water and a can of WD40 spray handy to
clean and protect the tool.

--
Ken Vaughn
Visit My Workshop: http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65/

"Paul O." wrote in message
...
Did a google for rust removal and saw a few references for removal of
lightly rusted hand tools using table salt and vinegar. Any of you use
this
method? If this works would like to try it before scrounging up the parts
for electrolytic rust removal. How much vinegar and salt do you mix with
water? Thanks.

--
Paul O.