I have a large quantity of grey Mexican river rocks that have aquired rust spots of varying degree on their surfaces. Is there a way to remove these spots without destroying the surface of the rocks? To email snipped-for-privacy@orchids.ca replace orchids with shaw
If the rust is caused by iron-bearing minerals in the rocks, no.
If you use various products made for removing rust stains from sinks, etc, the stains will reappear after the rock has been out in the weather for a while.
J. Del Col
To email snipped-for-privacy@orchids.ca replace orchids with shaw
Oxalic acid is the school solution for rust stains. Available at home improvement stores, usually. Poisonous, so take due precautions with it.
Purchase a product that removes rust. Naval Jelly, CLR, Zud, The Works, all remove rust. Most of these contain oxalic acid. But, I would not uses any of these if you intend to use the rocks in a fish pond.
Oxalic acid (available from a good hardware store, if you still have them where you live) is a nice safe acid that should work. It comes in crystal form. Add about 1/4 cup to a gallon of warm water, stir to dissolve. Soak the pebbles in a bucket if you have a few, or spray it on with a tank sprayer if you have a lot. If spraying, spray repeatedly over the coarse of a few hours. Then rinse with fresh water. This should clean them up pretty well. David
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