[ARC5] Evapa-Rust Report

[Robert Eleazer]

Some months back I asked here about what might clean up the extensive corrosion on the tuning cap of a National NC-270 I had purchased.  I think it was Ken that recommended a product I had never heard of, Evapa-Rust.

I ended up buying 4 quarts of Evapa-Rust and used it on some parts for my airplane and a few other items.  I found it worked quite well, but often required at least 24-48 hours or more to get the job done.

I finally got around to pulling the tuning cap from the NC-270 last week.  I had purchased a replacement but decided to try the Evapa-Rust on the old one.  I dropped the tuning cap in a container of the Evapa-Rust and waited.  By the way, I find it useful to use a plastic bag for this purpose, since suitable containers to enable total immersion of the item often are not available without buying huge quantities of Evapa-Rust.

After 48 hours the cap looked better but still had a ways to go - rust was visible on the frame and heavy corrosion still was on the shaft.  But 24 hours later there was a definite improvement.  And 48 hours after that the cap looked very good indeed, with still some corrosion on the worst parts of the shaft.

I rinsed the cap, brushed away at the worst corrosion on the shaft and put it back in the Evapa-Rust for another day or so.

The Evapa-Rust I am using has seen extensive use and is quite dark but it still worked.  I think that removing the item and rinsing it off after 24 hours is probably a good idea, enabling the Evapa-Rust to get to the most severe corrosion if you need to continue with the soaking.  Merely taking the cap out after the first 48 hours and accidentally wiping off some of the crud with my hands probably is the reason there was such an improvement for the 24 hours following the first 48.  

Anyway, it's great stuff!

Wayne