Thread: Acids for removing oxididation?

Originally Posted by BigMallard

It is called Printed Circuit Board(PCB) Etchant Solution. It is diluted 50/50 with white vinegar. Be sure to add the etchant to the vinegar. If not, there is the possibility of a "splash-out" which can be extremely harmful.

Any ideas on how long you leave the blade in the etching solution??

Its trial and error. Different metals are going to react differently to the solution. I'd try rubbing it on at first and see how that goes, if you think it needs a soak, start with 1-2 minutes, then go from there. I'm neither a metallurgist, nor a chemist, so I have to do things by trial and error much like most of us here do.

For me I try things on beater blades I get off of eBay, or through flea markets. If I mess it up, I'm out 5-15, depending on whether the scales are worth keeping or not. I've been able to translate some of the things that I know about firearms restoration and knife refinishing to straights, but a lot of the stuff I've learned has come from experience. It is a bitch as a teacher, but the lessons are well learned.

If your going to use oxylic acid you need to be very careful about the concentration. Anotherwords you need to use a very dilute solution like a couple percent. The idea is to attack the major rust on the blade and not mess with the oxide that exists throughout the blade in general. You can't see it but its there. Also oxylic acid will clean all the oxide off but will not polish the metal so if your not careful you can be left with a surface free of oxide and nothing where the oxide was.Also after using the stuff you need to polish the blade like when you use these soak in silver cleaners that will remove all the tarnish off the silver but leave a dull matt finish which then has to be polished.And remember the stuff is acid so...