Antique lighting
-
phil
- Has many leather bound books
- Posts: 4616
- Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:11 pm
- Location: Near Vancouver BC
Re: Antique lighting
one other thing you can use that takes paint off is brake fluid. I dont' know how many others fix their own cars here but if you bleed your own brakes you can re-use the old fluid for paint removal on small metal objects that you dunk. I wouldn't put it on wood. Its good to bleed your brakes every few years at least to get the water out of the braking system, Many just have a mechanic do it but I'm able to keep my own old cars running and so usually have waste brake fluid left over. It might as well get used for that before it goes to recycling with the used oil etc. keep it off your hands. If you are using used stuff or stuff you don't trust to use because it is opened and old ( absorbs water) it's free ! once the paint is off you have to wash the brake fluid off but that's no problem for little metal objects.
-
Texas_Ranger
- Knows where blueprints are hidden
- Posts: 968
- Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:50 pm
Re: Antique lighting
Muriatic acid is super-nasty in some ways but not actually toxic I think. My dad (who studied chemistry in a previous life) even said it's less problematic than sulfuric acid if you spill some on your skin.
We had two plastic bottles in the cupboard with our paint tins and the acid fumes went through the closed plastic bottles and rusted all the surrounding metal! Thankfully none of them actually rusted through, that would have been a mess!
We had two plastic bottles in the cupboard with our paint tins and the acid fumes went through the closed plastic bottles and rusted all the surrounding metal! Thankfully none of them actually rusted through, that would have been a mess!
Re: Antique lighting
Texas_Ranger wrote:Muriatic acid is super-nasty in some ways but not actually toxic I think. My dad (who studied chemistry in a previous life) even said it's less problematic than sulfuric acid if you spill some on your skin.
We had two plastic bottles in the cupboard with our paint tins and the acid fumes went through the closed plastic bottles and rusted all the surrounding metal! Thankfully none of them actually rusted through, that would have been a mess!
Well, it's hydrochloric acid, which is what's in your stomach, and of course if strong enough will definitely eat your skin and everything else.
-
Texas_Ranger
- Knows where blueprints are hidden
- Posts: 968
- Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:50 pm
Re: Antique lighting
kelletim wrote:Texas_Ranger wrote:Muriatic acid is super-nasty in some ways but not actually toxic I think. My dad (who studied chemistry in a previous life) even said it's less problematic than sulfuric acid if you spill some on your skin.
We had two plastic bottles in the cupboard with our paint tins and the acid fumes went through the closed plastic bottles and rusted all the surrounding metal! Thankfully none of them actually rusted through, that would have been a mess!
Well, it's hydrochloric acid, which is what's in your stomach, and of course if strong enough will definitely eat your skin and everything else.
Yeah, if strong enough. We have 30% and he said small splatters of that won't hurt. Of course I wouldn't want to pour half the bottle over my hand or anything stupid like that! The smell is of course super-nasty but not really dangerous either. That said, I probably wouldn't use it unless I absolutely had to and that's true for several non-toxic but seriously annoying substances.
-
phil
- Has many leather bound books
- Posts: 4616
- Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:11 pm
- Location: Near Vancouver BC
Re: Antique lighting
I used it to clean the grease off my dads garage floor, moved everything to one side and did that then the other and painted it grey. the results were good. what i did was used a bit and scrubbed it around then dumped baking soda and water on to neutralize it then vacuumed it up and did about a square yard at a time. I wore a respirator but somehow I got a lung full of the fumes and I remember sitting outside catching my breath and thinking how stupid I was and that If I had passed out where the fumes were I might have never got up. i did use fans and stuff and kept both doors open but somehow I did almost get overcome with the fumes to the point that I thought for a moment that i had done some serious damage to my lungs. it hurt!
I filled a garbage can with about a 1:3 mix of it and I did treat a lot of rusty parts and I was loving how I could put rusty painted stuff in and go back and take the parts out and it was really clean no scraping or strippers. after neutralizing I did imron? it was two part epoxy primer. the acid left the surface with a real hook and that paint bonded so well, it is incredible paint too, but even the epoxy paint is stinky. It would be a one way to do something like a rusty lamp that is out in full weather. Much better paint than anything from a spray bomb, but I think there are actually two part epoxy paints in spray bombs now, you somehow cause it to mix the two parts and then you have to use it up but they sound interesting as then you don't have to live with a brush finish or do more coats, or try to clean dried epoxy from your spray equipment.
I did a rusty trailer with a product called rust mort, it turns the rust black rather than removing it. the trailer wasn't worth the same kind of restoration you could do on a car so I pressure washed it then used rust mort and then sprayed some really old flame blue paint on it , it said Tank paint on the can whatever it is it lasted and the rust really didn't come back despite the trailer being that kind of rusty japanese metal from the 70's I think it was impure metal they had then, cars lke the datsun 510 that era, they would rust even where there was no paint damage. anyway the rust mort was a good product.
another I have used a lot is called "naval gelly" that is a different acid and of you paint it on it comes like gell stripper, it dissolves the rust and the metal doesn't rust right away like it does with the muriatic but it is more expensive and I don't seem to see it on the shelves any more. it is bright pink in color. I'd use that on things that are too big to dunk, that I really wanted to restore in other words not neutralize the rust but completely remove the rust without scraping and abrasive methods. You can wire brush rust off but you can't get into the pores, the acid can. I think it is phosphoric acid.
whenever I work with acid I keep baking soda handy and a bucket of concentrated baking soda in solution , Id stick my hand in that or throw it in my face even if I had to rather than waiting for ambulance, If I take the car battery out of my car I'll soak a towel in that solution and put that under the battery and clean the case of the battery. that way the battery won't rust out the battery box as if you get some spillage it'll hit the backing soda impregnated If you stick the battery cables in it it will lean them really well too. Baking soda is great stuff and cheap. don't get it in your car battery , it will kill it.
I filled a garbage can with about a 1:3 mix of it and I did treat a lot of rusty parts and I was loving how I could put rusty painted stuff in and go back and take the parts out and it was really clean no scraping or strippers. after neutralizing I did imron? it was two part epoxy primer. the acid left the surface with a real hook and that paint bonded so well, it is incredible paint too, but even the epoxy paint is stinky. It would be a one way to do something like a rusty lamp that is out in full weather. Much better paint than anything from a spray bomb, but I think there are actually two part epoxy paints in spray bombs now, you somehow cause it to mix the two parts and then you have to use it up but they sound interesting as then you don't have to live with a brush finish or do more coats, or try to clean dried epoxy from your spray equipment.
I did a rusty trailer with a product called rust mort, it turns the rust black rather than removing it. the trailer wasn't worth the same kind of restoration you could do on a car so I pressure washed it then used rust mort and then sprayed some really old flame blue paint on it , it said Tank paint on the can whatever it is it lasted and the rust really didn't come back despite the trailer being that kind of rusty japanese metal from the 70's I think it was impure metal they had then, cars lke the datsun 510 that era, they would rust even where there was no paint damage. anyway the rust mort was a good product.
another I have used a lot is called "naval gelly" that is a different acid and of you paint it on it comes like gell stripper, it dissolves the rust and the metal doesn't rust right away like it does with the muriatic but it is more expensive and I don't seem to see it on the shelves any more. it is bright pink in color. I'd use that on things that are too big to dunk, that I really wanted to restore in other words not neutralize the rust but completely remove the rust without scraping and abrasive methods. You can wire brush rust off but you can't get into the pores, the acid can. I think it is phosphoric acid.
whenever I work with acid I keep baking soda handy and a bucket of concentrated baking soda in solution , Id stick my hand in that or throw it in my face even if I had to rather than waiting for ambulance, If I take the car battery out of my car I'll soak a towel in that solution and put that under the battery and clean the case of the battery. that way the battery won't rust out the battery box as if you get some spillage it'll hit the backing soda impregnated If you stick the battery cables in it it will lean them really well too. Baking soda is great stuff and cheap. don't get it in your car battery , it will kill it.