GonzoRacer wrote:
Quote:
Geez, and I always thought Jack Daniels was the go-to mouthwash...
Tom, are you SURE you ain't a Southerner???]
JD, my heart may be in Dixie when it comes to whisky, but my Southerner credentials would probably get disqualified for opting to use vinegar instead of possum pee to remove the galvanizing.
Well, the vinegar worked, albeit a bit on the slow side. I used Cleaning Vinegar (6%) and soaked the cut EMT tube lengths. It took about a day and a half and a refresh on the vinegar to remove all the plating. I set the vinegar soaks outside so my eyes wouldn't water and the garage wouldn't rust up worse than it is. The outside temperature was 40*F - 50*F, which probably lengthened the removal process. The organic anti-corrosive lining on the inside of the EMT tubes came off as well. When the plating was off, I hosed off the tubes followed by a short soak in a weak ammonia solution to neutralize the vinegar and then a final rinse. Result: nice shiny steel tubes ready to bend, fishmouth and weld.
There will be several welds on the tubes, some in really awkward positions. No way I could avoid the welding plume on all of them. And I turn blue in the face if I hold my breath too long. But now no worries, other than blowing holes through the thin-wall tube.
Hmmm, does JD stand for Jack Daniels? A curious world want to know...