Maybe some of you guys and gals know about this stuff but I thought it was worth sharing. Actually found this thread on the HAMB about cleaning old chrome by a biker and I figured why not. I'm in the middle of a rust-o pump and the goal is to used everything that was on the pump as found.

The first pic is what they looked like when starting. Its pretty easy, about a half a gallon of water and add a half cup of oxalic acid, put the chrome pieces in a container and walk away for 2 to 3 days and when done brings back the shine, cleans out the pits and then spray some clear lacquer on them and your done.

Far from prefect but great for what I'm doing. You can get the stuff at big boxes but be prepared when you ask an "associate" where it is. You get that look of a deer in the headlight look. It should be by the paint section if they have it because it is used to clean old wood and not raise the grain.

Good info Les. I would guess that the Oxalic acid would remove rust and oxidation from about any metal. Might work good on porcelain to clean the rust stains? Thanks for posting....GB

GB, I did place an old bolt in the pot and the acid had no affect on it. I also forgot to mention that it is biodegradable, it will clean the drain pipes, bonus.

Must not be strong enough to attack the heavy rust. Wonder if thats the main ingredient in that Evapo-rust that Harbor Freight sells? It's biodegradeablet too but takes forever to dissolve heavier rust. But it does eventually do it....

Have you tried Evapo-rust on chrome?

In the 1970's , I used to sell this out of my Van accessory manufacturing company retail office under the name of "Ospho" . Now you can use this on sheet metal too. The problem is if you need to use Plastic filler on it , you have to clean as much as you can and THEN apply the acid OVER the filler . If you apply the acid BEFORE, the Plastic WILL NOT stick !

I used to use this years ago to clean beer cans for my collection. It won't work on the heavier stuff (well, maybe with enough time), but it will clean them up. I never had any issues with the paint, but I was warned to try an inconspicuous spot to make sure. After I was done I would clean it off with a solution to neutralize the oxalic acid, then rinse and dry. I can't remember what the solution to neutralize it was, but it was a common kitchen item.

...baking soda, maybe?

Never tried the evaporust on chrome Les...

NEVER use it on Porcelain, A beer can collector told me about it also and it works amazingly well on light rust on PAINTED tin but he warned me about porcelain, so i took an old junk sign and immersed half of it overnight in some and it faded about half the color out, just a word of advice.

Gasgeezer, I was told the same thing that it eats the color. I did try an old painted sign and it faded the colors and left the rust on it. I probably didn't mix it correctly?

Good buffer will work just as well, no chemical.

Not so much, tried that the pits collect the abrasive. But you known better.

Use lacquer thinner to remove any abrasive in tips by dipping and wiping.