Citric Acid Bath - HELP

ken werner

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Location
Central NY State
I bought some citric acid powder, and am wondering what concentration to use for de-rusting iron. To process tomatoes, it's 1/2 tspn / quart. Can those who've used it describe the mix? TIA.
 
I was just reading from the label of the product. We don't use it either. It says on the package that it reduces spoilage. We never had any spoil though. Dunno.

Anyway, best info I've found is a 10% solution. So a 1:9 ratio ought to work.
 
Ken whats so special that you want to make your own mix? Have you tried Evapo Rust. Its also safe and environmentally friendly and really works. Its not cheap though but does a good job.:thumb: Be interested to hear about your results and what sort of cost your mix ended up being. I need a batch of Evapo Rust to do some old tools but would be keen to try what you doing.
 
I've used it for de-rusting some old planes I got on Ebay, and I didn't care about the proportion, it worked fine for me, if you want it fast add more, if you want it slow put less and let it on the bath overnight.:dunno:

I don't think it is that critical.
 
Rob, I'm just looking to try it. I've done electrolysis - works fine. And I've used Evaporust. It also works fine, but I don't like how it smells. It's non-toxic, and doesn't smell much, but I don't like the odor. Also, it's kinda pricey. I'm not sure how long it'll last, but so far, I've done a number of small items with a quart.

I've heard about citric acid, and was getting curious. FWIW, I paid about $3.39 for 5 oz at a bulk food store. 1 or 2# bags seem like a better value, I didn't know it came that way.
 
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