2 front and 2 rear caliper mounts off my MK1 showing 15 years of rust, the lettering was totally hidden and the majority of the surface was covered by rust growths, they would have looked at home on the Great Barrier Reef.
After 22 hours in Deox C @ 12.5% ie 500gm to 4 litres of water @ room temperature here are the result:
I recon 1 more day and they’ll be good as new, used this on other components too with great results. Not bad for £6.00 plus it will save in the garage to do other components.
Bilt hamber also do some decent underseal their car shampoo autofoam, autowash, clay, korrosol, S50, UB and UC underseal products are excellent I have used both UB and UC (a clear version).
If you’re not in a hurry, you can achieve the same with vinegar, Tesco Value about 15p a bottle last time I bought some. Mix it about half and half with water. Takes a few days and benefits from a bit of a brush from time to time, but cheap. Google “derusting with vinegar” there’s some examples on there. If it’s copper or brass you’re cleaning, citric acid takes the tarnish off almost instantly, saves a lot of polishing. Half a lemon if it’s a small area or buy some powder from the chemist if you want to bath it.
Bernard
Blimey Bernard until 10 minutes ago I was happy with a £6 cost, now a £1 fix seems even better , time is on my side I have SORN’ed for a month to rebuild the brakes and a few other jobs
Ok to finalise, the mounts turned out good however the surface although clean was very rough (caused by the original rust) just like they had been blasted by a very coarse grit so I “polished” where I could with a wire wheel in the drill before spraying them.
The calipers were treated by Deox gel, brushed it on and then tied a food bag around each caliper to stop it drying out, after two days they were better but no where near as good as the mounts. Even so after a quick once over with the wire wheel they were good enough to spray.
Many thanks for the vinegar tip, I’ve followed your Google suggestion & can’t wait to get home to try the ‘alchemists recipes’!
You have also given me a smile through remembering some of my father-in-laws early motoring tips… which went far beyond egg in the leaking radiator stuff & onion on the windscreen tricks… & almost extended into a full repertoire of “101 things to get you home, from the contents of the average weekly shopping basket”
I know what you mean Steve, OAP now, grew up with a spanner in my hand, late father a lorry driver, late brother ex-REME mechanic and haulage contractor, and myself spent 38 years in the motor trade, I reckon I know all those “101 things” and then some! (Potato on the windscreen is better, doesn’t make your fingers smell).
Oops… I stand corrected Bernard:- Potatoes on the windscreen makes much more sense than onions! Our side would have been well hampered in the desert with me; the enemy would have smelt us from miles away
My father in law was in the Middle East in WW2 & then in haulage for many years afterwards. Sounds as if a lot of the old ‘get you home’ tricks must have come from similar sources. He often said that diesel was the best penetrating oil invented (back then!) & I’ve occasionally used it myself when stuck. However, I’ve only tried the sugar mixed with lard trick to clean my hands once (ran out of ‘swarfega’)… had sore hands for days! That particular concoction might be better used as a substitute for grinding paste!!!
Steve
