Removing dross, mill scale from plasma cut parts

[thefabguy]

I tried the muriatic acid tonight, and I cant believe how great it worked! Unreal! 1:1 mixture with water....The material is .059 HRS, and I let the parts sit in the solution for 3 hours, and they were totally burr/dross free! The scale is gone, and the parts look fantastic! Man what a time saver! I retrieved the parts with a long magnet, and rinsed them in clean water, then a quick wipe or two with a WD40 soaked shop towel. I just cant believe how great this works!

Thanks for all the lessons guys!

[bigjondrags]

how long does the acid water mixture last? ive been using my tank for about 5 months and seems like its not working very well anymore and it turned cloudy rusty the other day? should i just add fresh acid?

[Gamelord]

Muriatic acid is suspended in water. It will eventually evaporate (which is why you need to cover it and also why you don't want it venting inside of your shop). Over time it will get weaker and weaker. Normally I just add another gallon of acid to the mix and all is well for a couple months. If the tub is getting to nasty, I will change out the entire thing and go all new....but that is usually only once every 8 to 12 months for me.

[Masons Forge]

I use the acid mix also but my tumbler is a little different. I have a small concrete mixer that doesn't have paddles in it. My first mixer was from harbor freight, I wore it out in 3years next was one from Home Depot, works great. For the media I use sweeping compound or clean sweep the Zep brand works best. The first few times you use it the parts will have a film on them until the compound dries out a little I add dry play sand to the mix to help dry it out faster. After I use it a few times I add a little more compound. If it is throwing dust add more until it stops.
I first used this to knock the forge scale off everything I forged. Hope this helps

[RevvedAC]

Great info guys! Anybody have suggestions on where to find a bin with a lid that would fit 24" x 24" pieces? I'd like to be able to put a lid on to store the acid in the same container.

Sean

[Jwagnon89]

I'm cutting 18x18" 14 gauge pieces, can I stack them in the solution on top of each other or do they have to be the only thing in the acid?

[steelfx]

You can stack them.
Bill

[walker992]

best thing I have found is a wire wheel cup for hand grider just make sure your using a variable speed grinder, always have it spin towards the edge of the part so it can knock off, works for me hope it helps you.

[acourtjester]

I bought a horse water tank from tractor supply littler under $100 holds 100 gal. worked fine for larger parts. I cover it with plywood that was painted. If I am not going to use it for a while I drain it and store the acid mix in plastic 5 gal gas containers.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=IOPDP1

[RDillon]

I am using hot rolled. First attempt with the acid bath was last week. I am sold on the idea. The acid does the work, super clean after a few days, NO DROSS TO REMOVE! Thanks for this awesome forum! Great info every time I need it.

[cstroke]

I use this as well. Tried something a little different when I got tired of the surface rust. I dip them in baking soda water after the acid soak. Then rinse them with clean water and dry them in the sun. Rust is much lighter now.