Tool soaking in vinegar - can I leave it over weekend? RESULTS!

[amecks]

Hi guys, I'm at work and I have a rusty Ridgid soil pipe cutter - the tool with cutter wheels on a chain. I just put it in a 5 gallon pail and covered it with vinegar. Would it hurt it to leave it over the weekend? The rust isn't bad - just enough to make the chain tight and the wheels hard to turn.
Thanks.
Al.

[mrchuck]

A-ok to leave it in.
I have left tools in vinegar for over a week with zero problems.

[amecks]

Thank you! I'll let 'er soak.

[turnnut]

remember to rinse it, dry it & lubricate it, pronto !

[mvwcnews]

I'd also make sure there's  no different metal in the bearings for the roller cutters -- you don't want to end up with rough bearings.
One of Don Snyder's books shows a wrench he soaked in old battery acid & "forgot" it for a month -- the grain of the wrought iron was clearly visible as a result.  Vinegar is not as aggressive but still...

[amecks]

Here's the results: This is not an antique tool but a working rental tool - so this isn't necessarily the process I would use on my personal tools. I don't have any "before" pictures but this chain was stiff and most of the cutter wheels were hard to turn with your fingers.  When I rinsed off the vinegar a lot of fine black stuff washed out of the chain. After drying with compressed air it had only a fine powdery looking coat of rust.  I sprayed a very thin coat of Zenex Rust Converter which drys transparent but turns rust black - some sales rep left a can here for us to try. Then I used another trial can - Nut Cracker foaming penetrant (normally we stock PB Blaster). Now the chain links are free and all the cutter wheels spin easily.
After rinsing and drying...


After spraying Zenex and oil...

Now the tool is professional looking and ready to rent.
Thanks.
Al.

[Nolatoolguy]

A little late but....

Me an my cousin used two five gallon buckets of Zep professional rust converter. It wasn't cheap but worked miricales on a storage unit of plumbing tools/supplies we bought. After a coat of that, rinced, dried, oiled, we made a good profit of reselling the tools. Not a tool it didn't work on.

[HeelSpur]

Ratcheting cast iron pipe cutters, great for tight spaces aint they.

[amecks]

I finished it just in time. Someone came in and rented it this morning!

[Aunt Phil]

Ummm, you do realize,
Rotation of the wheels is not necessary to the operation of that cutter, and will generally damage the wheels.
Second, PB Blaster is NOT a lubricant, says so right on the can

[Chillylulu]

It took me forever to find a pair for what I wanted to  pay.  I use mine for cracking open geodes.

Chilly

[bonneyman]

That did come out nice. And rented already? Cool!