Will Coca-cola remove rust?

[rambus007]

I've heard that coke will shine up a copper penny if left alone sitting in the soda. I've never tried this but then I was reading another thread just now on removing rust and wanted to start my own thread on using cola to remove rust. Has anyone tried this and can anyone mention if they were successful? Thank you.

 

[superbleu]

I have not tried this, but I would guess that it would not work with carbon steel razors.

 

[jsrdrnr]

Have not tried it personally, but I have heard the samething.

 

[DavyRay]

I've heard that coke will shine up a copper penny if left alone sitting in the soda. I've never tried this but then I was reading another thread just now on removing rust and wanted to start my own thread on using cola to remove rust. Has anyone tried this and can anyone mention if they were successful? Thank you.

Good luck finding a copper penny. They are antiques. Modern pennies (in the US) are made of a zinc alloy. The surface is copper-plated. I do not think rust works on zinc or copper, so the Coca-Cola experiment will not say much about Coke and rust.

 

[TMH478]

Good luck finding a copper penny. They are antiques. Modern pennies (in the US) are made of a zinc alloy. The surface is copper-plated. I do not think rust works on zinc or copper, so the Coca-Cola experiment will not say much about Coke and rust.

Good point! The copper thieves would be keeping all of the pennies out there!

 

[rambus007]

Good luck finding a copper penny. They are antiques. Modern pennies (in the US) are made of a zinc alloy. The surface is copper-plated. I do not think rust works on zinc or copper, so the Coca-Cola experiment will not say much about Coke and rust.

Thanks for pointing that out. I was just curious to know if coke will actually remove rust from our precious straight razors. I at least wonder if it will shine it up? I think I'll have to try and report back here.

 

[Legion]

What you are talking about with the penny is tarnish, not rust. Copper does not rust, it reacts with sulfur or sulfur compounds, like hydrogen sulfide in the air. Rust corrosion is a process of oxidization which happens because of the carbon in the steel reacting with other elements in the water and air.

The PH of Coke means it is quite acidic (If I think of it tomorrow when I'm at work I can test and see exactly what PH it is, if anyone is interested.) and I would keep it well away from a carbon steel blade. While it might help removing a certain amount of surface rust, long term it might actually cause the metal to oxidise faster.

 

[Greybeard]

What you are talking about with the penny is tarnish, not rust. Copper does not rust, it reacts with sulfur or sulfur compounds, like hydrogen sulfide in the air. Rust corrosion is a process of oxidization which happens because of the carbon in the steel reacting with other elements in the water and air.

The PH of Coke means it is quite acidic (If I think of it tomorrow when I'm at work I can test and see exactly what PH it is, if anyone is interested.) and I would keep it well away from a carbon steel blade. While it might help removing a certain amount of surface rust, long term it might actually cause the metal to oxidise faster.

Coke contains phosphoric acid. PH of 2.8. Not having tested it, but I don't think it would be particularly healthy for a blade.

 

[rambus007]

What you are talking about with the penny is tarnish, not rust.

Thanks. I realize that rust is a different reaction than tarnish. The penny myth was what got me thinking about other 'uses' for coke. Well it seems that those that have commented don't suggest cleaning a razor with coke. I didn't realize it was acidic but I guess if it was either alkaline or acidic it would most likely be acidic. I guess trying to polish a razor (even stainless steel) by soaking in coke might be a bad idea then. I was just thinking out of the box and trying to create a new method of polishing or cleaning for everyone wanting to do restores.

 

[rambus007]

Coke contains phosphoric acid. PH of 2.8. Not having tested it, but I don't think it would be particularly healthy for a blade.

I think you guys are right. Thanks for the input.

 

[honed]

If you do want to experiment with something commonly found in the house, try oven-cleaner (the foamy kind) Apply, let it sit for 10 minutes & scrub, scrub, scrub with 0000 steel wool or a coarse rag (milder)
Rinse thouroughly afterwards & polish with polish of choice.
Then put on those sunglasses because it's gonna be shiny

 

[rambus007]

If you do want to experiment with something commonly found in the house, try oven-cleaner (the foamy kind) Apply, let it sit for 10 minutes & scrub, scrub, scrub with 0000 steel wool or a coarse rag (milder)
Rinse thouroughly afterwards & polish with polish of choice.
Then put on those sunglasses because it's gonna be shiny

That's thinking outside of the box! I'm going to definitely give it a try on one of my razors. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll report back.

 

[Legion]

PLEASE be careful with the oven cleaner. It is strongly alkaline and will burn you badly. Wear gloves, eye protection and a respirator if possible. I once burned my sinuses with sodium hydroxide fumes and it was not fun at all. I don't want to be a fear monger but that stuff is nasty. And I play with nasty chemicals for a living.

 

[superbleu]

Seems to me the quick and easy methods/ideas always results in ruined razors.

Nothing beats good old fashioned hand sanding/buffer for restoring blades. In my opinion anyways.

 

[Joe Edson]

PLEASE be careful with the oven cleaner. It is strongly alkaline and will burn you badly. Wear gloves, eye protection and a respirator if possible. I once burned my sinuses with sodium hydroxide fumes and it was not fun at all. I don't want to be a fear monger but that stuff is nasty. And I play with nasty chemicals for a living.

Can't agree more on oven cleaner. I've used it several times to degrease old Charnley's and man is it nasty stuff. Burned my hands pretty good the first time using it.

 

[SpyvSpy]

I've seen it done before but not shaving stuff and also heard lemon juice works.

 

[Drybonz]

There is some stuff you can get in most stores that sell household cleaners that removes rust. It is called Bar Keeper's Friend.

It comes in a liquid and powder. I have found that the powder works a lot better.

I have never used it on a straight razor, so you might want to be cautious with it.

 

[sanfranciscian]

I used to use it back in the day to clean up the rust on the chrome of my old 66 t-bird, not sure what it would do to a razor. sure do miss that car though.

Ian

 

[Haiku]

Can't agree more on oven cleaner. I've used it several times to degrease old Charnley's and man is it nasty stuff. Burned my hands pretty good the first time using it.

I nearly lost the sight in one eye because of oven cleaner. Doctors told me I would be damn lucky if all I ended up with was permanent part vision loss.

Wear eye protection with that stuff and a respirator and gloves.

 

[mmack66]

Only New Coke removes rust from metal.