Which Vinegar Works Best at REMOVING RUST From TOOLS

Using vinegar to easily remove rust from tools and household items. Vinegar truly is the easiest, cheapest, and most efficient way of removing rust from just about anything. But which vinegar works the best at removing rust? In this video we are going to put three different types of vinegar to the test to figure out which one you should be using to restore your tools to their former glory and remove that rust!

[balicrimechannel]

Care must be taken when using vinegar to remove rust from items that are/ were chrome or zinc plated. If left a day or so the vinegar will remove the zinc/ chrome plating. The problem is that there are carcinogenic elements used in both chroming and zinc plating and these will now be floating around in the vinegar/ rust soup. The most dangerous is the gold coloured plating with the slight rainbow/ oil-slick effect on the surface. This is called hexavalent chromate and it is highly carcinogenic to the point that it was banned in many countries. So, extreme care needs to be taken when disposing of the used vinegar and anything it has come in touch with it.

[bernie]

Great video. My apologies if this has already been addressed in the comments, but it's important to neutralize the acetic acid after removing the rust, with a water-baking soda mixture. Once neutralized, dry with a towel or heat gun, then protect with WD-40.

[paulamassie]

Protective eye wear is a good idea, especially when using wire brushes which can fling vinegar
and/or rust while scrubbing.

[UpperZenith]

I had two old iron skillets from the kitchen that i decided to use solely for camping. Both skillets had taken heavy surface rust from sitting in storage after a weekend camp. No pits or holes in the iron, and still a very sturdy, thick iron skillet, just heavy deep red oxidation. I poured 70/30 vinegar water into one skillet and let it sit about about 1 full day, then cleaned it. The iron was clean metal surface. For the other skillet i put the same mix but let it sit with about one inch of the vinegar cocktail for 5 or 6 days. The iron in the skillet seperated into layers like a stack of potato chips and broke in half, into several large chips as i dealt with it. Standard vinegar will penetrate 3/8 inch soft steel, iron if you let it sit soaking for several days... Dont underestimate regular household vinegar. Also, oxidation after vinegar soak increases very rapidly because it changes the chemical structure of effected areas of the metal. It must be painted within 48 hours, or the return of oxidation will be far worse than original state.

[martincortez]

Inherited a shed full of old tools, and learned a lot about using distilled vinigar. You leave it in at least 24 hours, take it out one tool at a time, the black sludge comes right off with water, the more pressure the better.

[milkweed]

Great video! Didn't realize it cleaned up rust. I accidentally broke a jar of apple cider vinegar on my garage floor and boy did the concrete get real clean and white. Had a bottle of household vinegar freeze and get a hole and spill on the same floor in a different place and did an amazing job of cleaning again. I'm going to do some concrete cleaning this summer. Thanks!

[autumnstarrs]

I've got a humid shop full of rusty dirty tools that I want to clean up. This was extra helpful. Thank you!

[stevesmith]

Many thanks for this video. I had a Gurkha Kukri which had succumbed to a moderate amount of rust. 24 hours soaking in normal white vinegar and a bit of steel wool did the trick. Rinsed well with water to neutralize the vinegar and then sprayed with WD40. Once again, thank you for the video--very helpful.

[ronc]

Did some research, reading MSDS/SDS sheets for all of the vinegar-based products at Lowes and HD. Found typical white distilled or apple cider vinegars run around 4-7% acetic acid, and "cleaning vinegar" runs around 5-10% acetic acid. I had to cover a 16" x 16" x 1/2" steel plate in a large mortar tub (the only thing wide enough to lay the large plate down into) and elevated it slightly on some nuts (so the bottom wouldn't be flush against the bottom of the tub, and the vinegar solution could get at it). I had to use an entire gallon of the 30% vinegar ($20 at either Lowes or HD), mixed 1:1 with water (for a 15% acetic vinegar solution) to fully cover the plate. To remove mill scale, a 48 hr bath in standard white vinegar, with the solution changed out after 24 hrs with a fresh batch after a first go at the steel plate with a scratch pad or wire brush, was recommended to fully get rid of the mill scale. With the 15% solution, I was able to rub off all of the mill scale with a scratch pad at the 24 hr mark. If I had to do it with 2 applications of 2 gallons each of the standard 5-6% or so white vinegar, it likely would have taken the full 48 hours and the cost would have been the same (4 gallons of standard strength distilled white vinegar vs the 1-gallon of 30% vinegar diluted 1:1 with water). So its a wash. But admittedly you won't find the 30% vinegar solution at a supermarket or corner store.

[barryallenflash]

Thank you for taking the time to do this! I have some tools that were in a tool box that has the "waterproof seal" on it, but apparently that does NOT work. IF it did my tools wouldn't be rusted
from being left in it outside.
Tried the baking soda/vinegar mix and that did not work, so now gonna try the STRAIGHT vinegar and
hopefully my tools will look like yours!

[mackjenkins]

Good video brother. I like how you showed how the three different types of vinegar work. I definitely have to agree with you that vinegar works man. I went to Walmart and pick me up a bottle & a gallon of vinegar because I had a mudflat get ripped off at a shipment. Luckily I was on my way home & was off for 2 days. I spray vinegar on those mud flat Bolts so those bolts could come loose. Man it work with no problems and I had a new mudflap on the trailer in 15 min. Good video brother.

[thethracian]

Thank you Southern Gent, for putting the info-out there. While removing packing grease on plumbing pipes on a lamp kit. I decided to use dawn with water, forgetting how quickly rust forms. 5 hrs. in this case. Gradually the rust is coming up. I found the best vinny to be what I had sitting under the sink! Thank you sir.

[lorenreyes]

Thank you for sharing this information! I actually use Braggs Apple cider vinegar with mother for my health benefits. I use distilled white vinegar for cleaning and even laundry? As a fabric softer in my laundry. There's YouTube cleaning channels that rate it top. But I never thought about using it on my rusty tools! 😊! Thanks again and the information!

[leezye]

This is only my second video of yours, and I'm hooked. You keep a good pace, you're super likeable and I like all your points😁.
Thanks for helping with my old hinges❤️

[nathanankersen]

I tried this with a pair of J&M pliers that were rusted shut after watching this video and they freed up. I was about to toss them TBH but after some oil they are good as new. Thanks Nathan. - Nathan

[tc]

Great vid! Thank you! I love seeing people test out theories/products. More expensive doesnt always mean better!

[KensGarage]

Another good rust removal video. I have used vinegar in motorcycle fuel tanks to get rid of significant surface rust. It works beautifully, HOWEVER, the fuel tank then requires flushing out with hot water. Upon emptying the hot water and immediately using a heat gun to dry it out you are left with light flash surface rust. Your vinegar pliers appeared to have surface rust also after your final rinse. What I did after flushing and drying my fuel tank was to use evaporust which reacts with the raw steel and keeps it from rusting after flushing out that material. The evaporust is saved and is good for multiple rounds of doing this process. I'll put up a video on my channel soon doing another RZ350 fuel tank.

[Bowmechanic]

Had the pleasure of visiting Harpswell and Bailey's Island a few years ago, it was a fun day and a beautiful area.

[blackmouthcur]

I’ve been using vinegar as a cleaner since early 90’s when I found out how fast it cut through the grime while cleaning my truck, it started as a class cleaner for me. Now I buy a couple boxes from Sam’s a month. I use it for the shower, toilet, windows, stainless sink and floors in the house. I also use it on almost everything outside, works really well instead of bleach on the facer boards and under hang, also on concrete. It’s my cheapest and safest cleaning product I have and never have to worry about if the dog tries to lick at it.

[anthonygarzon]

Thank you for this video. You have helped us with our decision making.