muriatic acid, OK for carb soaking?

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I was talking to a guy at a car show yesterday and I mentioned water spots (I have hard water) on aluminum and he said to get some muriatic acid and dilute it. He takes his chev cavalier (I know) to a car wash and they spray it on his aluminum wheels and cleans them right up.
No thanks.
 
JoePole1 said:
I was talking to a guy at a car show yesterday and I mentioned water spots (I have hard water) on aluminum and he said to get some muriatic acid and dilute it. He takes his chev cavalier (I know) to a car wash and they spray it on his aluminum wheels and cleans them right up.
No thanks.
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It might work but I don't think I'd trust anything a Cavalier owner says LMAO. Mag wheel cleaner in a spray bottle is acid-based, works fantastic on cast aluminum but I want to say it's phosphoric not muriatic and it's also pre-diluted the proper and safe amount. Just need to quickly rinse with water though or it'll start to etch and eat through. Also if you touch the freshly treated aluminum with bare hands it'll leave fingerprints.

Fun fact, iirc from high school biology muriatic/hydrochloric acid is what's in your stomach that digests food. Obviously diluted quite a bit because fully concentrated HCl will dissolve pretty much anything very quickly.
 
Muriatic acid is good for etching concrete not cleaning carbs.
 
I gave you the best cleaner in post #20. Cheap, easy to use. Brush on leave, leave for 20 min, brush/hose off. Comes out natural colour.
 
Rapid Robert said:
saw a utube vid on this, either 4 or 6 to one with water/muriatic acid. is this stuff to stout for metal cleaning? it sure made the metal come out bare!. RR
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When I was in the Air Force, I was using the auto hobby shop at Clark AB in the Philippines. A guy came in and tore down his volkswagen engine block and put it into the large parts cleaner tank on a Friday, then came back on Monday to pull it out and begin the rebuild. When he opened the tank lid, there was silver floating on the top of the tank but no engine block! The auto hobby shop had to buy him a new engine. I used that same tank to clean cast iron parts, and that solution was wicked indeed.
 
When I was racing Go Karts, I used muriatic acid to hide illegal engine modifications. Lately, I have used it for sidewalks and to kill moles.
 
Do not know why anybody would use Mur Acid on a carb when there are other products, & easier to get too. MA eats metal.
 
I've had good results with SNO Bowl, which has dilute hydrofluoric acid. Not SNOW Bowl, which is a knock off.
It is especially good at removing electrolysis (white crust from chemical reaction between water and aluminum). Leaving it in the SNO Bowl too long will darken the metal.
It does nothing to remove varnish and other petroleum products.
 
I put muriatic acid in my swimming pool and then swim in it!!!
 
It's true, muriatic acid is used to adjust swimming pool water's pH. I might put in a quart in a 12,000 gallon pool to lower the pH to where it needs to be. It is severely diluted and I suspect one could dilute HCl acid enough to be safe for dipping a carb because I could throw it in my pool and it would last for a long time.
 
The problem with diluting HCL to preserve the metal is....that is now so weak it is ineffective at cleaning.
 
Brooks James said:
I've had good results with SNO Bowl, which has dilute hydrofluoric acid. Not SNOW Bowl, which is a knock off.
It is especially good at removing electrolysis (white crust from chemical reaction between water and aluminum). Leaving it in the SNO Bowl too long will darken the metal.
It does nothing to remove varnish and other petroleum products.
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are you talking about sno bol (brillo brand) and snow bowl (lysol brand) toilet cleaner?

the active ingredient is Hydrochloric Acid which you don't want anywhere near aluminum due to the chemical reaction that produces.
 
junkyardhero said:
are you talking about sno bol (brillo brand) and snow bowl (lysol brand) toilet cleaner?

the active ingredient is Hydrochloric Acid which you don't want anywhere near aluminum due to the chemical reaction that produces.
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Spelling error, I have cleaned many a carb with the SNO Bowl, never had a problem, or complaint from a customer. It is a weak solution of HCl, so weak that I don't need to wear gloves. If the carb has any electrolysis, it gets a 3-5 minute soak,
Pressure washing, then blown out with compressed air.
Yes , if left in the SNO Bowl, it will eventually dissolve the carb. I put an
Outboard engine carb in once and forgot. several days later the carb was partially dissolved.
 
Syleng1 said:
Is it good for bodies? Where do you buy it? I mean car bodies, car bodies. Lol.
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I soaked a fender once in the acid, due to lots of surface rust. Could not stop it from rusting after removing the fender from the acid. I tossed it. I have used it for cleaning stainless tools with good results.
 
You guys are making this way to hard, simple green, tap water, crock pot, boil it over night, done.
 
junkyardhero said:
if you don't want to pony up for the 5gal of real berrymans' a decent option is pinesol. just don't leave it too long or it will ruin the finish of the plating.
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I left a Carter booster in pine sol overnight and it came out spongy the next day. The reason I left it in overnight was because in 6 hours the pine sol didnt do **** to that Carter. I left a holley in the original Berrymans for 4 hours and it stripped the cad plating clean off. The video of the guy with the clean silver holley used a 9.6:1 ratio of 15% acid (pool supply strength) so total acid strength was somewhere close to 1.5%...did I get that right? 10 minute dip cycles, pull and look, dip back in or dunk in water with some lower ph baking soda in it to neutralize the high ph acid. I'm gonna whip up a batch of 2% and dunk an Aluminum Holley 5200 weber copy and ill post back on what happens....can't come out worse than this specimen.
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Rapid Robert said:
Ok what would you guys recommend? I want the best. RR
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I use muriatic acid on some things here and there.
It wont damage plastic or most rubber when diluted, and it kicks *** for cleaning rust and corrosion.

But as you have noticed by now, it is something you have to be very careful with.

I sometimes use it for carbs, but diluted and only leave it in for 2-3 minutes.
Then there’s the fumes.
That **** will give you terminal lung issues.

Not really worth it for most people to use.
 
pishta said:
I left a Carter booster in pine sol overnight and it came out spongy the next day. The reason I left it in overnight was because in 6 hours the pine sol didnt do **** to that Carter. I left a holley in the original Berrymans for 4 hours and it stripped the cad plating clean off. The video of the guy with the clean silver holley used a 9.6:1 ratio of 15% acid (pool supply strength) so total acid strength was somewhere close to 1.5%...did I get that right? 10 minute dip cycles, pull and look, dip back in or dunk in water with some lower ph baking soda in it to neutralize the high ph acid. I'm gonna whip up a batch of 2% and dunk an Aluminum Holley 5200 weber copy and ill post back on what happens....can't come out worse than this specimen. View attachment 1716258446
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2% is kinda lite, but I’m looking forward to seeing the results you get.

2% for 10 minutes, or 10% for 2 min. :D
 
Bewy said:
Do not know why anybody would use Mur Acid on a carb when there are other products, & easier to get too. MA eats metal.
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Ah true, but not all metals.
Nor does it clean everything.
That’s why it’s use has to be so specific.
 
TrailBeast said:
2% is kinda lite, but I’m looking forward to seeing the results you get.

2% for 10 minutes, or 10% for 2 min. :D
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10:1 Walmart "Klean strip" (2% final acid concentration) for the win! 10 minute soak followed by a dunk in 1/4 cup washing soda in a 1/2 gallon water neutralizer bath and then fresh water rinse. Follow up all unplated steel with WD-40 as they will flash rust. This was a 1973 Pinto Aluminum Weber design carb body that was heavily oxidized as weathered aluminum gets and was full of gas varnish. The copper mineral traces in the bowl won't come out even with a scraper. This is proof that it can be used to clean a carb safely at a SAFE CONCENTRATION.

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The biggest thing I can thing of muriatic acid is used for is the etching and cleaning of tombstones and in the marble industry. Something that strong would be a real bad choice for aluminum. lol
 
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