2022 - Volume #46, Issue #6, Page #34
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Metal Clean Up Using Baking Soda And Vinegar
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“I had a company lined up to sandblast it and polish the brass, but they wanted me to remove the grime first,” says Deardorff. “The baking soda and vinegar worked great. I later used it on an old toolbox, and it brought it back to a brand-new appearance. It worked great on the hinges.”
He notes that hinges can be especially difficult to clean and often rust out as a result. Once he cleans them with the solution, he sprays them with Picklex 20, his preferred rust preventative.
Deardorff uses a mixture of a cup each of baking soda, vinegar, and hot water on projects. “Mix the baking soda and water and then add the vinegar,” he says. “Let it foam up and then brush it on. Let it sit overnight. I’ll come back the next day with rubbing alcohol and a scrub sponge to get any remaining dirt. Depending on the amount of material, it can take several rounds.”
The baking soda has an added benefit for Deardorff, a long-time advocate of preventative coatings for extending the life of all types of equipment. It leaves a white residue on dirt. One of his favorite tools for ensuring a proper paint job is a black light (Vol. 24, No. 1). He uses a fluorescing undercoat. When the final coats have been laid down, he uses a blacklight to find spots that were missed.
“Baking soda contains an optical brightener that shows up under black light,” says Deardorff. “It shows pits and cracks in a coating before they can create a problem, as well as where I need to do extra cleaning. A regular application would let you see where maintenance is needed.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Superior Coatings Co., 205 McCormick St., Chillicothe, Mo. 64601 (ph 660-646-6355; info@classicblast.com; www.classicblast.com).
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