how to neutralize LYE

sphooch

sphooch

Senior Member
Hi guys , if i use LYE to remove painted wheels what is the mix ratio and what do i use to neutralize it and how? thanks THE HOOCH
 
Are you talking about netralizing it on the metal before painting? Or neutralizing the waste? I'd just wash carefully with soap and water then rinse and dry the metal well, then prime and paint. Pour the waste lye on the ground somewhere out of the way, then after its dry use a broom and clean up the waste and put it in the garbage.
 
Why do you say lye is not environmentally friendly? It is just natural ingredients (NaOH). It might not be friendly to your skin though.
 
For years lye soap was made using animal fat and home made lye. Wood stove ashes were stored in a wooden barrel/tub that had a hole in the bottom of the side. Pouring water in the tub trickled down thru the ashes and the liquid coming out of the hole was lye, NaOH, + some other things.
Lye can be neutralized with acid like vinegar but it takes a lot as vinegar is quite weak. Bill
 
Most paint related problem have been attributed to soda blast. I don't know what the OP is referring to, ie disposal of material from a vat of caustic soda or just cleaning the parts off.

There is no need to neutralize for a caustic soda dip or after soda blasting. The parts just need to be washed well with normal cleaning solutions & water. Wash & blow out entrapment areas well to remove residue. A person would have to do that after any form of dip cleaning.

Acetic acid or vinegar has already been mentioned to neutralize a strong base solution like sodium hydroxide. The PH has to be normalized to render it inactive. This would not apply to parts though since acid is an oxidizer and can cause flash oxidation on ferrous parts. Just wash the parts well before final prep for paint coatings.
 
Beer is excellent for neutralizing lye.
When I worked in a brewery, bottling department, lye was used in the bottle washer. If someone accidentally got some lye on their person, the first thing done was to grab a bottle or 2 or 3 after they came out of the filler and pour the beer over the lye. It "killed" that lye right away.
 
katy said:
Beer is excellent for neutralizing lye.
When I worked in a brewery, bottling department, lye was used in the bottle washer. If someone accidentally got some lye on their person, the first thing done was to grab a bottle or 2 or 3 after they came out of the filler and pour the beer over the lye. It "killed" that lye right away.
Click to expand...

Hi Katy. Beer, yes great idea. First drink it then pee on the effected area.
 
Big hammer, I thought the Land of Lincoln also had acid rain and could use some BASE to neutralize it's hazard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top