Dear Loren and mid-60s Buick restorers,
I tried something different yesterday for cleaning a couple of original rubber pieces. I've found it difficult to get original rubber pieces to clean up well. Yesterday, I tried something different. I used CLR. It is a product for removing Calcium, Lime and Rust. I soaked these rear bumper rubber pads in it overnight. I was surprised by how clean they came out and seem to be more flexible as well.
Thought i would pass this on for others that reuse some original rubber parts. Attached are before and after pictures.
Very interesting Loren! I assume this is the product in question:
https://clrbrands.com/Products/CLR-Household/CLR-Calcium-Lime-and-Rust-Remover . . . .
Okay, I'll admit I just made a terrible mistake - I read the instructions! . . .
At first inspection, the stuff seems really aggressive. So that sent me to the product safety data sheet where my rusty memories of college chemistry promptly proved inadequate. All I could locate was the PH. This product is different from many cleaners in that it is mildly acidic. Most degreasers are caustic (high PH.)
Having failed, I went back to the product description where here is a list of ingredients and what they do in "plain language." There are the usual degreasing ingredients. Then there are two ingredients described as
"Chelating Agent." I never heard of this sort of chemistry either. So that sent me on another web search where Wikipedia describes it as: roughly a chemical process to convert metal oxides (rust) into something that is soluble in water (allowing you wash it away.)
The product page also describe the product as part of the EPA’s Safer Choice Program, so this is less harmful than other products that could be used for cleaning.
So you have made a very interesting discovery Loren!
I'm not sure what else it could be used for, but it certainly would be worth doing some experimenting to see what other parts could be rescued by this sort of chemistry.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers, Edouard