Claudio DeLorenzi wrote:
[Snip]
Does anyone know if the edges of steel files are permanently damaged (or
weakened) by soaking in acid?
[End of Snip]
Of course the answer is, "Depends". Depends on the strength of the acid, the
time of contact and no doubt other things I can't
think of at the moment. I recall The Old Millrat writing about a used rasp that
he put into a container of serious acid (muriatic acid?)
to clean the rasp. He forgot about it for a while (a week or weeks?) and when
he remembered to remove the rasp it had holes in the
tool. I recall the photos of this rasp and what was left resembled a surform
blade or a cheese grater. One very dead useless rasp was the result.
[Snip]
Don't forget your stuff in there for weeks though (it will eventually
'dissolve').
[End of Snip]
I too use household/grocery store vinegar for my rust removal. I use it because
it's cheap, available, kitchen safe and vinegar works. My flea market old
tools get washed with hot water and maybe a squirt of dish washing soap in the
kitchen sink. I scrub the tools with a green dish washing pad and maybe a
small brass bristled brush. Then I dry them and dump them in a container of of
vinegar usually overnight. The container is left open on the kitchen counter
exposed to food preparation and a pair of cats who sometimes venture onto the
counter. When I pull them out of the vinegar I use the same cleaning method
I used before I dumped them in the vinegar with the addition of special
attention to the drying.
The only problem I have had is neglecting to remove the tools after an overnight
soak. When I have soaked the tools in the vinegar for a week it seemed to
me that there were more and deeper pits in the "cleaned" tool that I had
expected or desired. I have yet to "dissolve" a tool or turn a file into a
cheese grater
but I suspect that given enough time it could happen. Also if the tools is not
completely submerged there will be a line on the tool to indicate where the
vinegar level was.
chuck
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