[John Brown]

My basement metal laundry has a lye tank that removes paint and grease, then it's over to the vinegar dip to remove the rust. I mix the vinegar half and half with water to keep it from etching shiny surfaces. Iron parts can be soaked in lye for weeks with no harm to them, but lye absolutely destroys aluminum. My vinegar tank usually removes most all rust in 24 hours (sometimes even less), at normal room temperature with no circulation. I don't do things larger than 55-64 Chevrolet pigs mainly because I'm too lazy to drag them up and down stairs, but the process has worked quite well for me for many years.