Yes, Boeshield Rust Remover is effective but it’s also very noxious. I bought it in a small pump spray bottle to clean the rust off of woodworking machinery. It filled the air with its vapors. Definitely an outdoors in a breeze product. It’s about the same as the Kleen Strip product, though. Any phosphoric acid solution strong enough to remove rust is going to be harsh.
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Lets try this rust remover again .
- Thread starter mmcmdl
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2024
- Messages
- 6
How would the citric acid work on aluminum? I have Radio Control engines that need to be cleaned on occasion. Usually they are dirty from baked on oil. Some of the other cleaning solutions (alkaline )tend to darken the aluminum castings. I would most likley use the citric acid in an ultra sonic cleaner. Thank you!
Ken
Ken, I can’t tell you anything about using citric acid on the engines.
For surface cleaning I’ve used L. A.’s Totally Awesome straight out of the spray bottle with an old toothbrush. It only takes 5 minutes or so for Awesome to do its job. Rinse with water and done. No disassembly required.
Last year I rebuilt a bunch of glow engines. I used Awesome diluted 1 part to 9 parts water in a zipper freezer bag along with the parts. Some people have said that Awesome’s formula may have changed and their crankcases darkened. It could also be that they either didn’t dilute or used a stronger solution. It might be worthwhile to try it on a damaged or swap meet junky engine first. I bought a gallon 2 years ago and don’t have any newer Awesome. A half hour at 150-160 degrees F is usually enough time. I fill the US cleaner with water and put the bag in the water. That keeps the small parts safe, uses less cleaner and keeps the ultrasonic cleaner tub clean. Simple Green works, too but I like the way Awesome cleans cooked on glow fuel. The crankcases usually look very good.
Don’t put the bearings in the ultrasonic cleaner unless you plan on replacing them anyway. In my actual experience they will get very loose in the ultrasonic cleaner. I’ve been told that won’t happen but it did for me. Either Awesome or Simple Green does a good job of loosening piston rings if you have any ringed engines.
For surface cleaning I’ve used L. A.’s Totally Awesome straight out of the spray bottle with an old toothbrush. It only takes 5 minutes or so for Awesome to do its job. Rinse with water and done. No disassembly required.
Last year I rebuilt a bunch of glow engines. I used Awesome diluted 1 part to 9 parts water in a zipper freezer bag along with the parts. Some people have said that Awesome’s formula may have changed and their crankcases darkened. It could also be that they either didn’t dilute or used a stronger solution. It might be worthwhile to try it on a damaged or swap meet junky engine first. I bought a gallon 2 years ago and don’t have any newer Awesome. A half hour at 150-160 degrees F is usually enough time. I fill the US cleaner with water and put the bag in the water. That keeps the small parts safe, uses less cleaner and keeps the ultrasonic cleaner tub clean. Simple Green works, too but I like the way Awesome cleans cooked on glow fuel. The crankcases usually look very good.
Don’t put the bearings in the ultrasonic cleaner unless you plan on replacing them anyway. In my actual experience they will get very loose in the ultrasonic cleaner. I’ve been told that won’t happen but it did for me. Either Awesome or Simple Green does a good job of loosening piston rings if you have any ringed engines.
I like Evaporust although it is a bit weaker. It runs out of steam before it can do damage. I did have a gun re-rust because I forgot it in the bath for a month or 2. I bought a Rustoleum product, in identical packaging, from auto zone. Something different. It won’t stop working even with repeated re-oiling the surfaces. Smells like a high content of brick acid.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2024
- Messages
- 6
The LA Awesome is what I had trouble with. I have also been using it to clean small engine carbs. Funny not an issue with those pieces. Always on the search for a better product it seems. You need an alkaline product for oil and grease but that can darken aluminum. Acidic "shouldn't" darken aluminum but it doesn't cut grease and oil... I think this a case of no matter what you do it will be wrong!
Ken
You might try Simple Green. It didn’t harm the aluminum. Again, try it on a junker first. Who knows; it could even be a difference in the water from one area to another that’s causing Awesome to darken crankcases.
If the rust is light and “hard” to the surface you can boil the parts in distilled water and the rust will turn to black oxide, clean card off the loose stuff and soak it in dark cutting oil over night.
You can even “rust” blue the pieces if you want them to look more even.
For cleaning I find myself coming back to Hot water and dish soap.
You can even “rust” blue the pieces if you want them to look more even.
For cleaning I find myself coming back to Hot water and dish soap.