I have some old metal parts with corrosion. They are off of an old 53 year old Fender amp (corners and chassis straps and such). Some of it is pitted so I don't hold much hope for that. It seemed the rusty screws come out very nicely, it even gets the rust out of the Philip heads.

How long should I leave something in there? Can I get grittier media to really grind the rust away?

Some tumblers aren't made for course media. May grind a hole in the drum.

People on the Knife Forums were "Stone Washing" parts in a water bottle with small river rocks put in the center of a rolled up sleeping bag cycled in a dryer.

Evaporust would be perfect for that.

It will remove the rust without taking good iron. (by chelation)

It may leave chromed parts with splotchy areas. If so, you could tumble those in the media used for brass for about the same time and it would be less time in the tumbler.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Evaporust would be perfect for that.

It will remove the rust without taking good iron. (by chelation)

It may leave chromed parts with splotchy areas. If so, you could tumble those in the media used for brass for about the same time and it would be less time in the tumbler.

Yep, had good luck with Evaporust from car bits to tools. Also removed bluing. Great to remove your corrosion, you could then tumble for surface effect, like the river rock suggestion. If it comes out like I think... maybe matte clear coat after.

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
Yep, had good luck with Evaporust from car bits to tools. Also removed bluing.

Naturally, since bluing is merely a form of "controlled rusting" (oxidizing).

I have had Evaporust in my wishlist for about a year now but haven't picked it up yet. The time is come.

Thanks for the tips.

I add NuFinish car polish onto my tumbler to coat the parts and prevent rust. Works fine. I use half a capful.

I clean all kinds of stuff in my tumbler. The last batch were some quartz based rocks my granddaughter found in the woods. They came out looking good.

I bought a tumbler off amazon to clean up fasteners I found at a flea market.

It cleaned about 95 percent of them, at least half with surface rust and worse.

I bought reptile tank bedding (crushed walnut) 5 pounds for 12 dollars.

I ran the worst of the bolts and nuts for 10 hours sometimes more. I also put a teaspoon or two of Flintz polish in there.

It worked excellently.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nickelsig229,