Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:16:11 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?


Have you tried a fine cupbrush on a grinder?

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:16:11 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?


Have you tried a fine cupbrush on a grinder?

Gunner

ATTABOY!!!

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

"Gerry" wrote in message
...
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

A fine (.008", .006") powered wire brush. A small cup brush, "solid-fill
endbrush", or a "pencil endbrush" will do a great job without damage.

On Jul 11, 2:16*pm, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

"Gerry" wrote in message
...
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

Was there a lot of bubbling when you tried the muriatic? Any zinc would have
dissolved while making hydrogen gas.

--
Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC

On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:24 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:16*pm, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

Then go to a welding store and purchase a stainless steel
"toothbrush". They're used for welding aluminum, cost a buck or so.

On Jul 12, 11:38*am, Don Foreman
wrote:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:24 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:16*pm, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

Then go to a welding store and purchase a stainless steel
"toothbrush". *They're used for welding aluminum, cost a buck or so.

I do not want to brush it off. There are too many areas where even a
tiny brush will not reach and still be stiff enough to remove the
corrosion. This is why I ask for a way to CHEMICALLY remove the
corrosion. Looking for a proper dip or soak. Thus far I have tried
Berryman carb soak. Got the carb clean but did not touch the
corrosion. Next I tried vinegar-no good. Then CLR-still no good. Next
was lemon juice-a small improvement. Then came soda/cola-with about
the same results as lemon. Muriatic was way to aggressive on the base
metal to use for long. Next on my list is phosphoric acid, and then
alkaseltzer or Polident. The whole object is to get a good, even
finish and dip or media blasting is the only way I know of being
consistent. I really don't want to have to blast a carbs internal
parts with any kind of grit for fear of plugging tiny orifices up. My
gut tells me a mild acid is the way to go because I suspect the
corrosion itself is probably basic. I think it's a matter of finding
the right one/ones. Surely with all the knowledge in this group
someone else has been here before

I believe aluminum alloy carb parts generally have a surface protection
treatment, and when the "coating" is compromised, the underlying metal is
unprotected, and rapidly attacked by oxidation and any other compound that
gets near it.

You may be able to strip the white "blooming" away, but without the
protective skin, I think it's likely to resume blooming/corroding as it gets
exposed to other materials.. a little water in the gasoline, etc.

If you're adventurous, try blasting the area (low air pressure) with table
salt or other granular material that will dissolve quickly for cleaning
after blasting.

I forget what causes the white crystallization of aluminum.. a salt maybe
(so salt may be a bad choice), and if treated with a base, the white
corrosion may be able to be cleaned away effectively, but that doesn't mean
it will be stopped.
I've seen these same spots on chemistry lab stands, bases/parts, but those
parts can often be repainted after the corrosion is cleaned away.

I think there is probably a method for restoring antique carb parts'
protective layer, so possibly, old car enthusiasts may have an answer.

I had an electric motor at the back of a bench, which sat in contact with a
sandstone wall for about 2 years (below grade and the wall had been coated
with unknown products).
The end bell of the motor was an aluminum alloy, and a considerable area of
that end bell rotted/corroded away by the time I discovered it.
The hole was large enough that a golf ball could've passed thru it, so
compounds in the stone or the flaky coatings rotted the aluminum. White,
crystalline residue around the hole.

--
WB
..........


"Gerry" wrote in message
...

I do not want to brush it off. There are too many areas where even a
tiny brush will not reach and still be stiff enough to remove the
corrosion. This is why I ask for a way to CHEMICALLY remove the
corrosion. Looking for a proper dip or soak. Thus far I have tried
Berryman carb soak. Got the carb clean but did not touch the
corrosion. Next I tried vinegar-no good. Then CLR-still no good. Next
was lemon juice-a small improvement. Then came soda/cola-with about
the same results as lemon. Muriatic was way to aggressive on the base
metal to use for long. Next on my list is phosphoric acid, and then
alkaseltzer or Polident. The whole object is to get a good, even
finish and dip or media blasting is the only way I know of being
consistent. I really don't want to have to blast a carbs internal
parts with any kind of grit for fear of plugging tiny orifices up. My
gut tells me a mild acid is the way to go because I suspect the
corrosion itself is probably basic. I think it's a matter of finding
the right one/ones. Surely with all the knowledge in this group
someone else has been here before

"Gerry" wrote in message
...
On Jul 12, 11:38 am, Don Foreman
wrote:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:24 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:16 pm, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

Gerry, I just had a thought. It's not an informed thought; it's little more
than a guess. However, I'd try it myself, if I were you.

This is an electrolytic cleaning method that I've used very often for rust.
The author of these instructions, Ted Edwards, always seemed to know
electrochemistry very well. He uses it on a lot of different metals, to
remove corrosion:

http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...es/E-CLEAN.TXT

You may be able to get away with just the washing soda; I don't know. I use
the exact formula that Ted recommends, but a similar process, done in a
bucket, uses just the soda (Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. I don't think
"super" means anything here.)

I use a little 4-amp battery charger for power, and I have a slab of
graphite I use for an electrode. You can get a carbon stick from a welding
shop. They're used for carbon-arc heating and brazing. My slab is an old
piece from an EDM electrode -- pretty pricey if you were to go out and buy
one just for this.

It's really simple. And it's *very* effective for removing rust without
using acid. It's worth a try, IMO.

--
Ed Huntress

On 7/12/2010 1:39 PM, Gerry wrote:

Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal?

I use Easy-Off oven cleaner. Don't leave it on for long.

Kevin Gallimore

Gerry wrote:
On Jul 12, 11:38 am, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:24 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:


On Jul 11, 2:16 pm, Gerry wrote:

Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

Then go to a welding store and purchase a stainless steel
"toothbrush". They're used for welding aluminum, cost a buck or so.


I do not want to brush it off. There are too many areas where even a
tiny brush will not reach and still be stiff enough to remove the
corrosion. This is why I ask for a way to CHEMICALLY remove the
corrosion. Looking for a proper dip or soak. Thus far I have tried
Berryman carb soak. Got the carb clean but did not touch the
corrosion. Next I tried vinegar-no good. Then CLR-still no good. Next
was lemon juice-a small improvement. Then came soda/cola-with about
the same results as lemon. Muriatic was way to aggressive on the base
metal to use for long. Next on my list is phosphoric acid, and then
alkaseltzer or Polident. The whole object is to get a good, even
finish and dip or media blasting is the only way I know of being
consistent. I really don't want to have to blast a carbs internal
parts with any kind of grit for fear of plugging tiny orifices up. My
gut tells me a mild acid is the way to go because I suspect the
corrosion itself is probably basic. I think it's a matter of finding
the right one/ones. Surely with all the knowledge in this group
someone else has been here before

I'd go with the phosphoric acid treatment. I think the carbs, I've had 6
Dellorto DHLA, are aluminium rather than zinc alloys but I've not had to
do much cleaning of them. Saying that I've always found a phosphoric
acid based cleaner works very well for cleaning off the powdery
corrosion from various aluminium alloy products. I've used Jenolite, a
rust remover, and alloy wheel cleaner with equal results. Alloy wheel
cleaner being far cheaper and bought by the gallon. I've not found it
attacks the underlying metal, I would be concerned that the like of HCl
would.

On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:39:56 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

On Jul 12, 11:38*am, Don Foreman
wrote:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:24 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:16*pm, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

This is a carburator so there is no way a cup brush could be used on/
in it without destroying something

Then go to a welding store and purchase a stainless steel
"toothbrush". *They're used for welding aluminum, cost a buck or so.

I do not want to brush it off. There are too many areas where even a
tiny brush will not reach and still be stiff enough to remove the
corrosion. This is why I ask for a way to CHEMICALLY remove the
corrosion. Looking for a proper dip or soak. Thus far I have tried
Berryman carb soak. Got the carb clean but did not touch the
corrosion. Next I tried vinegar-no good. Then CLR-still no good. Next
was lemon juice-a small improvement. Then came soda/cola-with about
the same results as lemon. Muriatic was way to aggressive on the base
metal to use for long. Next on my list is phosphoric acid, and then
alkaseltzer or Polident. The whole object is to get a good, even
finish and dip or media blasting is the only way I know of being
consistent. I really don't want to have to blast a carbs internal
parts with any kind of grit for fear of plugging tiny orifices up. My
gut tells me a mild acid is the way to go because I suspect the
corrosion itself is probably basic. I think it's a matter of finding
the right one/ones. Surely with all the knowledge in this group
someone else has been here before

Another chemical to try might be Sparex. A close facsimile to Sparex
(if not identical) is sodium bisulphate, it's used to adjust pH in
swimming pools and as a pickle in jewellry making.

http://store.sra-solder.com/product.php?xProd=6418
http://www.beaducation.com/shop/inde...roducts_id=717

On Jul 11, 9:16*am, Gerry wrote:
Anyone have a way to chemically clean white corrosion from zinc pot
metal? Trying to reclaim an old Weber DCOE that looks like it was set
up with a bit of water in the bowl. I know I'm being anal about this
but I really will not be happy until I get the body looking as good as
I can before I reassemble it. Tried, CLR, Ospho, Muriatic along with
carb soak. The corrosion is all that is left on the body now. Ideas
anyone?

http://oldcarblog.com/
Karl