[Milsurplus] Advice on rust remover ?

[Facility 406]

> It does work extremely well to remove rust.  I had suspected that it was 
> some sort of highly active detergent.

Hard to say how active it is, seems to be common in foods:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-phytic-acid

But, acid is acid.  Years ago, citric acid wipes were used as safer 
anti-bacterial wipes in homes.

Machinists and technicians in the region, military, aerospace, some boys 
from CalTech, regularly talk about using white vinegar to remove rust 
from tools and equipment.

I've seen the pics, VERY impressive, but I've not tried it personally.

Pics online are all over the place, don't know if people are using old, 
or weak vinegar.  Some say use a wire brush, but the people I've spoken 
to in person, and seen pics of their projects, don't mention having to 
scrub away after the fact.

I THINK one fellow mentioned going over the item with 0000 steel wool, 
so nothing too abrasive.  In his example, it was a faceplate for an 
Atlas 618 lathe.  I saw the before and after pics, the lathe had been 
sitting for years, had a good even coating of rust, typical of a high 
humidity environment, the after pic was a nice clean satin finished 
burnished steel.

Here is a simple enough set of instructions with a pic.  Mentions 
scrubbing for more difficult rust:

https://blog.thepipingmart.com/metals/how-to-easily-remove-rust-with-vinegar/

Kurt