caustic soda/sodium hydroxide
 

anybody got any hints or tips on useing this stuff to clean metal?

do you buy it in as a powder that you mix up yourself?
one of my lads told me that his old boss used to use it to clean army kitchens :confused:

Mick, its f*cking deadly. I wouldnt entertain it if I were you.

i know, and its also the main thing in most alloy wheel cleaners bar the actual water

either sodium or potassium from looking at the labels/tech data of the stuff i buy in

It used to come in pellet form,

used to decoke 2 stroke exhausts :)

you used to seal one end, drop in a couple of pellets and add water,

and after xxx mins drain and rinse,

its a b*gger in reality,

not nice at al

Martl

Don't get it in your eyes or on your skin for that matter!

NaOH Material Safety Data Sheet

Steve

Ps I thought it was mineral acids in most alloy cleaners rather than caustic.

You can buy it at the supermarket (drain cleaners) , just don't get it on your skin.

i looked at some older barrels a while back and i could have sworn they said sodium hydroxide, upon checking today with the new labels they said potasium

i dont really want to buy from supermarkets, i was to buy it "raw" so i can mix it myself

i have 4 barrels of stuff here that has phosphic acid *i think* so i can asume its the same kind of nasty crap?

Might have the feds knocking on your door mick.......im pretty sure its used to make bombs too (someone correct me if im wrong, which is possible)

What would you want with 4 barrels of cola?? :D

Phos acid is more corrosive than caustic.

Castic is an excellent degreaser. Phosphoric acid will eat the metal.

I used to work on a plant that made the stuff and you should have seen it fizz with concrete and 316L stainless steel! We used either PTFE lined pipe or hastalloy for pipework, tanks and pumps.

Steve

i used the phosphoric stuff to clean a scooter carb, and it did a cracking job, i left it in overnight as a test and it started falling apart in my hands :eek:

the phosphoric stuff is used to clean tiles would you belive.

i have some heavy duty wheel cleaner that i buy in 5 lite containers, and it is marketed as also having a use to remove concrete from plant machinery when not watered down

do not mix potassium with water ever!!!!!


its lethal


it will explode

Mart

I think he means potassium hydroxide, rather than elemental potassium. Although that would clean drains pretty effectively (mostly by demolishing them).


As stated above, sodium hydroxide is biblically unpleasant stuff. It is strongly exothermic when added to water: under no circumstances add water to the solid form unless you always wondered what it would feel like to be flayed- always add the compound to water (slowly!) and expect the solution to get very hot. And I'm not exaggerating. Strong solutions are extremely caustic, and more dangerous to you than concentrated sulphuric acid. It dessolves fat in your skin on contact, causing the skin to shrink, then break up and blister. There may well be little pain at first, but if you feel a "soapy" texture on your skin, head for running water as fast as you can. Wear goggles and thick rubber gloves when hadling the crystals/pellets, and when handling strong (or even medium) solutions. This is not namby-pambyism, but common sense with that stuff.

Potassium hydroxide is nearly as bad, but not quite: treat exactly the same.


M

What Meridian said. Especially the eyes. Use dilute solutions if you have to use it at all. :)

can be used to clean grout from floor tiles. just do a test patch first, and make sure any stailess items are removed as the fumes can tarnish :o

used a 32% concentration called "spirits of salts" bought from local hardwre store.

Maybe you're thinking of amonium nitrate.

aha...i was right- I said I was wrong :lol1: