"Ken Grunke" wrote in message
...
Rex B wrote:
Electrolytic Rust Removal - Bought a Craftsman 618 parts lathe that's a
prime candidate for rust removal. I went to HD and a supermarket in
search of washing soda, sodium carbonate, but all I got was quizzical
facial expressions from the help. So ....where do you get that stuff?

Muriatic acid will dissolve the rust without hurting the steel.

Sorry, Ken, that's not true. If you leave steel in muriatic long enough,
it's gone, assuming you don't consume the acid first. Muriatic acid will
also attack particular spots on steel and eat them faster, assuming you
leave your pieces in long enough. It's a lot smarter to use phosphoric acid
if you're going to use an acid at all.

In the case of HCL (muriatic) it doesn't really matter if you pour the water
into the acid, but it's a bad habit to acquire, especially if you work with
sulfuric acid. I've seen it empty an evaporating dish when it finally
decided to mix with the water.

Harold