"SteveB" wrote in message
news:GNrWd.159$qf7.105@fed1read03...
Muriatic acid. Cheap stuff. Gives of strong chlorine fumes. Some of the
nastiest stuff known to man.

Er... hydrogen chloride fumes. Hydrochloric acid is HCl gas dissolved in
water. It does evaporate a little, leading to a white cloud on opening the
bottle, this is due to the gas grabbing moisture in the air forming an
aerosol of saturated acid, kinda interesting.

Combination with oxidizers such as manganese dioxide will oxidize the
hydrogen, releasing chlorine gas. Ammonia and bleach will, too. But this
isn't a concern with iron oxides or metal.

Speaking of which, leaving in overnight will certainly remove a small amount
of metal, at least reducing size and tolerances, and at worst contaminating
the piece with hydrogen and chlorides, leading to weakness and corrosion.
Supposedly a bake at 800F or so will clean that up...

Tim

--
"California is the breakfast state: fruits, nuts and flakes."
Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms