glisade Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 We have an old stainless steel jacketed tank we bought some time ago that has some rust in it. We're hoping to use it as the base of a pot still. I've tried Bar Keeper's Friend, and a rust removing gel and both have helped but I still can't remove all the rust. The photo shows the bottom of the pot. First, any other ideas on removing the rust? Second, is it usable? What would happen it we ran it with the rust in it? Thanks, Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Haas Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 You could try a wire wheel. Make sure it's a stainless wire wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artisan Still Design Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 hot caustic, then acid #5 after several passes of each it will all but dissappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John D Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Wonder gel. google it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebstauffer Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 +1 to Five Star Acid #5. I've had some devilishly difficult rusting issues on stainless barrels and after cleaning with strong basic caustic (we use NaOH) the Five Star #5 passivated (repassivated?) and prevented any further rusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebstauffer Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 >> Wonder gel. google it. I did. What am I missing?? ;-) http://www.lifeplusvitamins.com/wondergel.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glisade Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Great suggestions everyone. I'll try them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philf34 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 "wonder gel stainless cleaner" that's how I found it after I found the "wonder gel" seat cushions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 You could try a wire wheel. Make sure it's a stainless wire wheel. Also 3M abrasive pads (non-metallic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Rob Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I would use a stainless wire wheel and 3M abrasive pads on a angle grinder. You can go down to about 800 grit and it will shine like new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I agree with uncle Rob. But if I had something like that personally we have a passivation machine. We would use that to clean up any of the damage stainless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DYE Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Totally agree with Rob! Polishing it will be quite easily than passivation machine Penny pennyjiang@zjdayu.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 polishing vs fixing the problem. Polishing will make it go away....butttt............... The problem with polishing is that you put the rust all over the stainless you are trying to get it of of. The reason the rust is there is a couple reasons... 1. some one let bleach set in the still, bleach eat in to stainless 304 2. you have cheap stainless and the steel in the stainless is just rusting 3. **** my pick*** a piece of steel touched and scratced the stainless, you now have steel inbedded in your stainless. The steel is rusting in the stainless. If you have #3 and you try to polish it you will just spread the steel around and it will over time rust even more, EVERYWHERE. I will do this because you are rubbing it all over. If you have #1, #2 and passivate the problem,it will remove the problem. Or a mild acid bath. FYI to clean that up with my machine would take about 3-4 minutes. If you need help please just ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt66 Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 There is a business here that will dip rusty steel into and a solution that consumes the rust and leaves a clean surface. In Portland they are called American Metal Cleaning. They may tell you what their solution is if it's not proprietary. (though it probably is) Or you can send it to them I imagine. An old Ducati tank was $68. I've had them clean things that were heavily rusted and came back with no rust. As far as I can tell it eats only the rust and doesn't etch the steel. I agree that you don't want to spread the existing rust around and need something that will lift the rust away. good luck cp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdInNH Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Any welding shop that does sanitary stainless welding should be able to passivate the stainless for you. There are some do-it yourself techniques worth trying. I recommend you passivate the stainless after any grinding or heavy buffing. The rust resistance of stainless steel is dependent on the layer of chromium oxide on the surface. Usually it will form naturally but sometimes it doesn't. By passivating you help the chromium oxide layer form. As has already been mentioned avoid embedding plain steel in the stainless steel. A plain steel wire brush or steel wool will leave microscopic pieces of steel embedded in the surface of the stainless steel. These will create gaps in the chromium oxide layer and rust will form. Do not use a stainless steel brush if the brush has EVER been used on plain steel. The brush will have steel particles embedded in the bristles which can transfer to the stainless surface. The same warning applies to the non metallic abrasives like the Scotch Brite (3M) pads, never use a pad on stainless steel if it has ever been used on plain steel. The simplest and safest passivation is a strong citric acid bath. Almost as safe and much better removing rust is hot phosphoric acid (the commercial rust remover Navel Jelly is 10 to 30 percent phosphoric acid and a touch of sulfuric acid in a water based gel). Hot sodium hydroxide solution is next. The downright dangerous options are Hot concentrated Nitric acid and Hydrofluoric acid. The Hot Nitric Acid is pleasant compared to the Hydrofluoric acid (HF). A small amount of hot concentrated Nitric Acid spilled on skin will lead to a bad burn. A small amount of HF spilled on skin can be fatal. A friend is a chemist at a pharmaceutical company. The production and maintenance staff will use Hot Sodium Hydroxide solution in the production system for passivation but if that doesn't work the part of the plant is evacuated and a special team comes in to use hot concentrated nitric acid. I would at least try soaking in food grade phosphoric acid (or even Navel Jelly) The Rust Store (http://www.theruststore.com/CitriSurf-Copper-Sulfate-Passivation-Test-Kit-P220.aspx) sells a kit to test passivation. They also have a one step rust removal and citric acid based passivation gel (http://www.theruststore.com/CitriSurf-2310-Spray-Gel-P330.aspx). I plan to use this product the next time I need to clean and passivate stainless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojo3 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 On 9/11/2015 at 8:26 PM, EdInNH said: The production and maintenance staff will use Hot Sodium Hydroxide solution in the production system for passivation but if that doesn't work the part of the plant is evacuated and a special team comes in to use hot concentrated nitric acid. I want to know more about this Special Ops - Chemical Team. aside from that, great info @EdInNH thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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