crashtech;10819 said:
The most important part is the thorough water rinse, there seems to be a real aversion to that on the part of many technicians.
I think this is a normal reaction to putting water on bare metal. But the acid works so good, and sometimes a panel or section doesn't need to be replaced if all the rust can be taken out of the rust pits.I felt the same way about water and bare metal, until I mentioned it to the chemical stripper I use, and he bombarded me with chemical terms and how water can be made neutral, or something to that affect. Anyway, just the sound of all those fancy words convinced me that I should at least give it a try.
He said that tide detergent has the lowest ph level of any soap, and that I should get the panel really wet with the acid, and then just wash it good with a bucket of water and tide---with lots of suds. I use a wheel cleaning brush, and when you are done, pour the soapy water on the panel and then rinse good with water. When you dry it off there won't be any residue or flash rust.
Very simple, safe, and effective. It will be squeaky clean, ----and etched, if the acid contains Zink phosphate. (takes 15 minutes to etch)
I use a small SS wire brush and a curved pick to scrap and agitate the rust, while it is desolving