How To: Degreaser, the power of ZEP

[rob love]

After spending literally weeks to months trying to remove the rust/dissimilar metal that formed in between the sled and cradle of an old German gun, I poured in some muriatic acid. It immediately started to smoke and the rust dissolve. I am starting to see the brass rails.

I had tried all the usual rust dissolving products, and only the naval jelly gave some results. But, alas, the product is no longer sold in Canada. I resorted to hacksaw blades, reciprocating saw blades, bandsaw blades, and was even welding multiple blades together on the reciprocating saw with very little luck.

The fumes from the muriatic acid are quite strong, and I did get a good whiff of it the first day which kind of stuck with me for a day or so. Wearing the proper mask now, and with each application of the acid, things are looking better. I also noted it cleans and etches the bare metal. I may be using it in the future on small parts to strip them and remove the rust.



By the way, it is not environmentally friendly nor safe....but damn, it works.