I Did Not Expect This: 3 Years in Rust Remover

An accidental experiment leading to a serendipitous discovery.

I left a wrench in Evapo-Rust for 3 years because after about a year, I honestly just forgot about it. Did I accidentally create life? Maybe.

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[HandToolRescue]

I have contacted CRC (current owners of Evapo-Rust) and the original inventor of Evapo-Rust. I have been running this experiment longer than CRC have owned Evapo-Rust, so they did not know what caused this but "will be looking into it". The original inventor has yet to get back to me. I will keep this pinned post updated if something new develops. More detailed updates will be on Instagram @handtoolrescue.

[capnsparky]

Hi, corrosion technician here! My guess is the shiny metal is a result of ALL of the oxide layer being removed, leaving perfectly bare, unblemished steel. This of course is normally hard to do, as contact with oxygen starts rusting it again almost immediately. In my industry we call this " active corrosion", but most of us have only read about it happening. The discoloration is where the steel was not entirely encased, thus allowing oxygen to get to the steel. Either that or alienz.

[MegaModManic]

This is probably the best sales pitch for a rust remover I've ever seen, and it was completely accidental. The fact that the steel is still pristine shows just how gentle it is on the base metal, and that it still works after being redisolved is amazing to me. My brother works in steel fabrication and I'll definitely send this video his way!

[CarlosRodriguez-ddsb]

I was a Chemist in a past life. One old trick to better understand the composition of Evaporust is to contact them for an MSDS. It will contain information on the chemical makeup. Easy to justify since you operate a shop with a 55 gal open drum and are often elbow deep in the stuff.

I’m curious about the chelating agent (used to be my area aka ligands). The most common by far is EDTA and is found in many many products. It could be that or a similar compound. It also sounds like it has a strong reducing agent (the sulfur compounds).

Just remember LEO goes GER - Lose Electrons Oxidation, Gain Electrons Reduction. The shiny surface is likely the removal of an oxide layer.

[jaxjackson]

I love the line "I don't understand the shiny."
You need that on a t-shirt, mate.

[StarSwarm.]

@HandToolRescue What’s really interesting is that when you got a reaction on the black layer with the magnet, it acted like a magnet itself with a North/South polarisation rather than just a piece of iron. It makes me wonder if the microscopic iron particles all aligned in a certain way due to being suspended in solution for such a long period and potentially even aligned with Earth’s magnetic field. It would be fascinating to see if that layer all behaves in a similar way (i.e. has the same North/South polarisation)

[aserta]

This is now, the rarest and most valuable HTR wrench in existence. Everything about it is special. The story, the defect, the 3 years in forbidden liquid nutella worth of newly, mysteriously gathered patina...

[devinteske]

I almost cried when you started banging on the perfect handle screwdriver. I know you can restore any deformation, and I know they can take a beating, but they are rare. I only recently acquired my first one.

[willjosephson]

If there's a sulfur compound, it seems like what you'd end up with is largely ferrous sulfide, after all the reduction had happened, if my 10th grade chemistry doesn't fail me entirely. You should send that to NileRed for analysis...he's got a benchtop NMR machine.

[AppliedCryogenics]

Based on the color and ferromagnetism, I'm guessing that some of the sludge has turned into Fe2O3 (hematite). Also, that "Stay Negative" shirt is magnificient.

[GeneSimonalle]

Eric, the discoloration of the steel wrench parts seem to be at potential contact points with the stainless bowl, and I wonder if some galvanic process took place there over time? Have you cleaned the bowl to the point of seeing any corresponding marks on the bowl? I wonder if there was a very slow transfer of chromium or nickel to the wrench, from the bowl? We must find out!

[markpinther]

After many years of putting it off, I finally ordered a little wrench. I have always loved the design… even printed one out of plastic for fun. Anyway, really enjoy the channel. Even though I am subscribed, this is the first I have seen the channel pop up in my feed in almost a year.

[MrBblhed]

You actually said the solution to why it is shiny, the coating is an oxide layer, just like rust is an oxide layer, the rust remover removes oxide layers. I recall when I used rust remover last there is a warning that it will remove bluing because that is an oxide layer.

[MrYobun]

If you have any solid pieces left, I operate several labs with elemental analysis equipment. Be happy to analyze them.

[maxmotors]

This is your best video hands down, just based on pure intrigue

[davidgreen]

Mill scale is a form of iron oxide, so its unsurprising that Evap-o-ironoxide removed it from your tool.

[texas]

This is Awesome. I don't understand what you did except to let these tools sit in a rust solution. They turned out pretty dang cool.

[danielprivate]

Here's one for the "Best of Hand Tool Rescue" collection. Put this one right in between "Yule Log to Toothpick" and "Best Smelling Penetrating Oil".

[Summer]

I appreciate the selection of grunts provided during the wrench extraction process.

[NikeaTiber]

"Why is it shiny?"

C'mon man. You know that an oxide layer makes steel dull. Your wrench just spent years in a chemical that removes and sequesters oxides.

I think you know why.

Love your channel man.