Evapo-rust

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
I'm letting Evapo-rust do it's magic on my 29 block. I inverted the water inlet and added a hose to get the level up to the block deck. I'll leave it in for several days. This stuff dissolves rust by chelation, no phosphoric acid in it, non-toxic, it wouldn't hurt you if you drank it. I could also wait until the car is back together and fill it up instead of anti-freeze but that would take more. It won't harm copper, only rust. It took about half a gallon. I'm also soaking a bucket full of rusty parts. You have to leave it overnight to get the rust out.

Evaop.jpg


The ingredients of Evapo-Rust are propriety but has been figured out by some:

"I thought I would share a few results of some experiments. After searching the web, it appears that Evapo-Rust and similar products are actually chelation agents. These are compounds that bind tightly to oxidized iron and pull it into solution. I could go into detail, but this is posted elsewhere. In any event, one of the best chelation agents out there (rumored to be the active ingredient in E-R) is ethylenediaminetetraacetate or EDTA. One can purchase this pure in bulk (for example from sigma aldrich). Get EDTA, not its disodium salt. It is around $110 per kilogram. I made up about a 5% solution, and adjusted the pH to 9.0 with sodium hydroxide pellets (dangerous, know how to handle). Even extremely rusted wrenches were remarkably cleaned with this very cheap solution. After about a day in the solution with an occasional mild scrub with a scrub pad to remove bulk rust, they were essentially rust free, and ready for passivating (some kind of treatment to prevent flash rust of pure iron crystals that form on the surface of the tool during this process). One can use WD40, or microcrystalline wax. It is probably not superior to electrolysis, but is really easy. The solution is relatively non-toxic. About 80 million kilograms of EDTA are synthesized annually. Some people even take minute quantities as a (probably quack) cure-all. That being said, it does break down into some compounds with some pollution potential. Another compound with potent chelation properties is EDDS (ethylenediamine NN Disuccinic acid). This compound is much easier on the environment, but is also much more expensive ($400 for one liter of a 35% solution), and I have not yet tried this on a rusty wrench."

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69793

I saw the EDTA on fleabay for $32 a pound:
http://cgi.ebay.com/EDTA-Reagent-AC...aultDomain_0&hash=item4aa566fcab#ht_500wt_969
 
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Hey MR Texas
I wonder how this would work on those stubborn spring perches (on-going thread) Would there be enough penatration to do any good or is this just good for surface type rust? I'd try anything on those perches next time.LOL
 
I would question if one treatment would be enough to really remove the amount of rust that is in the water jacket.

When done manually you get a large amount of rust out. The other worry I would have is breaking larger chunks loose. Some are like onions and sort of held together by the rust. Remove the rust and you have some thin sheets of iron. I clear my block by probing, blowing, and then flipping the block around many times till little comes out.

Not saying it is a bad idea. I am just saying you need to be watchful. Probe around before and after and see what you have. You may need to do the process longer or change out the evaporust with fresh.

Just some thoughts.

The spring perches are a problems because of the small surface area presented. It take quite a bit of time for the chemical to get the stuff out. I did have some luck with bump end bolts that were frozen solid by rust and electrolytic rust removal. After several days I was surprise to find the rust significantly eroded back. Bolts that would not budge now came out with a moderate amount of force.
 
it does help to have the solvent warm. I found out last winter using it in the garage. By getting it up to about 90 degrees it worked much faster than the 50 degrees in my garage.
 
It sounds like this stuff works the same as molasses, but much quicker. Molasses takes about 5 to 7 days at 90 degrees. I've also seen beet juice for sale at swap meets as a rust remover.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
It sounds like this stuff works the same as molasses, but much quicker. Molasses takes about 5 to 7 days at 90 degrees. I've also seen beet juice for sale at swap meets as a rust remover.
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That must be where my Dad got the term "Slow as Molasses in January"!
 
When I purchased Evaporust a year ago it was $19.50 a gallon, now $29 at Harbor Freight, so I thought I would try Vinegar on a rusty intake manifold I just picked up at a swap meet, what little rust that remained after 24 hours could be brushed of with a paint brush, I saved the old vinegar and will see our well it works the next time.
Brian T.
 
Has anybody tried it inside a gas tank? Sounds like the perfect thing for a gas tank that is a bit rusty, or is it impossible to clean out the loosened rust?
 
got any before and after pics. I also would like to know if it would work well in a gas tank. did the electrolicis on my tank with a 55 gallon drum it took the paint and light rust off the out side I left it in for a week I will try it again next week to see if any more comes off.
 
Hotrodster said:
Has anybody tried it inside a gas tank? Sounds like the perfect thing for a gas tank that is a bit rusty, or is it impossible to clean out the loosened rust?
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The rust is not loosened. It is dissolved. The solution turns black and the rust disappears. I don't see why it wouldn't work on a gas tank. It would leave you with clean steel and wouldn't affect any coatings.
 
Their website actually recommends it in gas tanks and cooling systems. You could clean the tank while still mounted in the car and painted. It doesn't affect paint at all. You would just need ten gallons of it. It has to soak. No brush on.

But at the cost of 10 gallons (you can buy it in 5 gallon buckets for cheaper than $30 a gallon). It's still cheaper than boiling and then repainting your tank.
 
what about pouring a little bit of this into the radiator of a running car to clean the rust out of the engine/radiator that has built up over time? Good idea or bad idea?
 
I think, judging from other people's posts, that white vinegar in a cooling system might be a better choice money wise. I believe the evaporust wants to be full strength. I just got some this past weel and it's neat.
Paul in CT
 
Jordan said:
what about pouring a little bit of this into the radiator of a running car to clean the rust out of the engine/radiator that has built up over time? Good idea or bad idea?
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I have not used this stuff yet, but have looked into it.

Evapo-rust actually sells a cooling system engine block rust removal solution. They give instructions. They don't want you to get it too hot, just warm, then let it sit for a long time (overnight, as I recall). Because it chemically only reacts with Iron Oxide (rust) and no other material, they say it will not harm your radiator or hoses.

I think I would rather keep any scale or flakey rust that it dislodges out of my radiator tubes. I was thinking of putting long hoses on the inlet and the outlet, remove the fanbelt (so the waterpump does not turn), pull the hoses up high (tie them to radiator support rods) and fill just the block with the evapo-rust (uses less volume of solution if you don't have to fill radiator, too) and run the engine for a few minutes to warm up the solution. If you use a clear hose on the outlet (upper block connection), you can see the level of the solution when you fill it.

They say you can catch the used solution and keep reusing it on all kinds of rusty parts, tools, etc. It is not like you drain it out of the block and throw it away.
 
Jim/TX said:
I have not used this stuff yet, but have looked into it.

Evapo-rust actually sells a cooling system engine block rust removal solution. They give instructions. They don't want you to get it too hot, just warm, then let it sit for a long time (overnight, as I recall). Because it chemically only reacts with Iron Oxide (rust) and no other material, they say it will not harm your radiator or hoses.

I think I would rather keep any scale or flakey rust that it dislodges out of my radiator tubes. I was thinking of putting long hoses on the inlet and the outlet, remove the fanbelt (so the waterpump does not turn), pull the hoses up high (tie them to radiator support rods) and fill just the block with the evapo-rust (uses less volume of solution if you don't have to fill radiator, too) and run the engine for a few minutes to warm up the solution. If you use a clear hose on the outlet (upper block connection), you can see the level of the solution when you fill it.

They say you can catch the used solution and keep reusing it on all kinds of rusty parts, tools, etc. It is not like you drain it out of the block and throw it away.
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I just looked on their website, and it says to run for 1-2 hours. So it looks like you cant just run it for a minute or two.
http://www.evaporust.com/evaporustcsc.html
 
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