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relaxificate t1_j6g0mjq wrote

Reply to comment by Alucard624 in LPT: If your home/car has an odor you can use white vinegar as a extremely effective cleaning solution. by Alucard624

Incorrect again. All acids attack and corrode steel. Vinegar can be used to remove surface rust because it dissolves the iron and iron oxide. However, the steel must then be fully rinsed and the vinegar must be neutralized, or else additional extreme rust will be created. Vinegar absolutely accelerates corrosion. I’m an engineer with 15 years of engineering/metalworking experience. Moreover, the statements I’m making can be demonstrated as true with paper/pencil chemistry equations.

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nightraindream t1_j6g5zgt wrote

Out of curiosity, even if it dries on metal it's still corrosive? Or it more a case of, it'll dry, then when exposed to moisture it'll rehydrate and start eating away at the metal?

Or whatever the actual chemistry terms are.

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relaxificate t1_j6gdvu3 wrote

Most of the corrosion happens while the steel is exposed to the liquid vinegar. Once the vinegar evaporates you’d have a pitted texture with rust. Imagine that’s sample A and we have sample B that’s the same but after that first flash-rust, we rinsed and neutralized sample B. From that point on, I think sample A might corrode faster due to remnant vinegar but I’m not sure, and I imagine that if it did, the corrosion rates of the two samples would equalize after some time.

Edit - to explain further, what makes vinegar increase future corrosion is the rough surface finish it creates at initial exposure. The smoother the surface, the more resistant the surface is to rust. Sandblasting is exactly the same (it removes rust, but also primes the steel for increased future rust).

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