[changzuki]

Originally Posted by Xist

Do you regularly soak metal for months in vinegar? I watched a video where someone threw rusty tools in a bucket of vinegar, but he did not get back to it for fourteen months.

Perhaps that was a year too long.

Xist, This is the first time I've ever used vinegar for rust removal. The contact area where the centers are welded to the outer rim was the original concern - how to get at the rust in that crevice. Because this was an indoor winter project, muriatic acid was not an option even though it would've been light years faster. Each wheel soaked in five gallons of off-the-shelf vinegar (5% acidity) for three weeks with a wire brushing by hand three times each week. Removal from the vinegar resulted in the bare metal "flash rusting" in about 2 minutes, so on the last pull each wheel got a healthy spray of a water and baking soda solution to neutralize the acid in the vinegar.
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The phosphoric acid should have addressed any remaining rust that was hiding. These wheels will never see any road salt so I'm hoping for a long lasting restore.
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~CrazyJerry~