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Author Topic: do you de-rust your building pins?  (Read 1506 times)

Offline Scott Richlen

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do you de-rust your building pins?
« on: March 24, 2021, 09:48:32 AM »
I love these building pins but notice that they often get rusty, and once they get a little bit of rust on their shafts they get very hard to push into the balsa.

I'm sort of a "waste not, need not" guy, so I don't want to throw them out (and they are not that inexpensive.)

I sand the really bad ones to clean the rust off, but there must be an easier way of getting rid of the rust.   How do you guys handle this issue?

Offline Brett Buck

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2021, 10:16:52 AM »
I love these building pins but notice that they often get rusty, and once they get a little bit of rust on their shafts they get very hard to push into the balsa.

I'm sort of a "waste not, need not" guy, so I don't want to throw them out (and they are not that inexpensive.)

I sand the really bad ones to clean the rust off, but there must be an easier way of getting rid of the rust.   How do you guys handle this issue?

   I would dump the rusty ones into a cup of Evaporust, and leave them in there for a few days. It won't hurt anything, just rinse them off afterwards, then take some scrap balsa and poke them into balsa to wipe off the rest of the oxide.

     Brett

Offline Norm Furutani

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2021, 11:25:33 AM »
Not exactly an answer to your question, but related. I too like those pins, very fine, sharp points, available from FAI Model Supply. I keep them in a flat, wide mouth jar with a packet of desiccant. Another problem I have with them is the points are so fine, they sometimes break off when pinning to a wood building board. For those reasons I only use those pins for building light indoor models. See: https://www.faimodelsupply.com/product/super-modeling-pins-sharp-point-is-spring-steel-50box-bent-tab-to-lock-pin-in-head/

My solution was to switch pins. Midwest Products offers a similar pin without the rusting or brittleness. The molded plastic heads are not quite as nice, but they seem to be very sharp and the bit molded in the plastic is bent over so if you managed to break a head, the shaft shouldn’t go through your finger. See: https://midwestproducts.com/products/grip-pins-50-pins?_pos=1&_sid=8f543f5f2&_ss=r

NormF

Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2021, 11:34:43 AM »
Quote
You could get some better pins, cut the heads off and glue them into the handles after pulling the rusty pins out.

Well, I am already thinking I'm wasting too much time sanding the rust off - but now I'd be going into a full-blown pin re-manufacturing operation?  Oh well, I asked....

I'll have to find me a cup of Evapo-Rust.....

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2021, 11:43:42 AM »
  Evapo-Rust works well. I learned of it for cleaning out rusty vintage dirt bike tanks. It is safe and doesn't hurt paint or plastics. A quart costs close to 20 bucks now I think and can be found at some auto parts store.  I use and advocate just plain white vinegar for the same problems. Your wife probably has some around the house for mixing up cheap window cleaner. It's about 3 bucks a gallon or so.  It won't bother paint or plastics either. I use it to clean rust out of fuel tanks tyhat I can't get into either. Available at your grocery store in gallons and small bottles also.
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Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2021, 11:47:44 AM »
does the white vinegar work as well as Evapo-rust or just so-so?

Offline Brett Buck

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2021, 11:54:34 AM »
does the white vinegar work as well as Evapo-rust or just so-so?

 
   It will work, but you have to concern yourself with how long you leave it, since vinegar is acetic acid. Evaporust is not an acid and differentially affects only rust, not the metal underneath.

    Brett

p.s. this does appear to be one of those "life's too short" situations, given the price of pins.  But I have to admit I would probably do the same in this situation.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2021, 02:39:40 PM by Brett Buck »

Offline Norm Furutani

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Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2021, 04:30:19 PM »
does the white vinegar work as well as Evapo-rust or just so-so?

      I bought a quart of Evaporust when it was first available and tried it on some small parts and it works. No one locally carried the 5 gallon buckets for doing gas tanks, and I couldn't see paying 20 bucks a quart for the three gallons I would need to do a tank, I had heard my boss at the hobby shop talk about using white vinegar to clean up rusty civil war relics. I had read on line that some guys were actually using to V-8 juice to do the same thing. A little research show that an ingredient of that is vinegar. So that was all I needed to know and bout three gallons of white vinegar. It worked on small parts just as well as Evaporust. It worked very well on gas tanks, and I never saw and negative effects in a gas tank.  It doesn't bother paint but does react with cad plated parts like a fuel petcock if left for a long time. I fill the tank with white vinegar and a handful of gravel, like aquarium gravel and turn the tank and shake it to let the gravel scrub the rust as it softens. I have read where some guys rig up a tumbler using a BBQ rotisserie motor and a 2 by 6 and that that run for a couple of days. After I clean a tank, I pour it off and if not too bad looking I can reuse it. Then I rinse it out with a garden hose and some baking soda to help neutralize any left over acids. Then I flush it with some isopropyl alcohol, and after I pour that off, I slosh around some gasoline with premix oil in it. I have never had a tank start rusting again as long as I have some premix in it. On a model airplane metal tank built into an old model,, I fill it and let it soak for a day r so, then plush it out with some old fuel. I run the engine a time or two to see if any rust accumulates in the filter. If it does I repeat the process until it stays clean. Running the engines acts like a ultrasonic cleaner, and the vibrations shakes all the rust loose after the vinegar softens it up. This is how I cleaned the tank in Mike Gretz's Fierce Arrow. The castor in the fuel keeps rust from reforming as long as you fly the model from time to time. For something like a pin as described, I would take a fine scotch brite pad or steel wool soaked in vinegar and wipe the pins down with that. Storing in an airtight jar with some desiccant in it (save old ones left over from products that you buy like electronics and such) Should slow things down. A dehumidifier in your building room will help also. I would think that a common pin rusting in the pen air is a sign that the humidity is really high in your building room. I have a bunch of these pins and have never noticed any rust on mine.
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Offline Scott Richlen

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2021, 06:00:43 PM »
The cause of my pins rusting is probably that I dilute my aliphatic glues with either 10% water or in the case of Weldbond with 10% ammonia so they penetrate better.  The rust is never spread evenly over the shaft but always nearer the tip where the glue interface would be.

It's probably less hassle to just buy new pins and throw out the old.

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2021, 10:21:22 PM »
  After checking out that link for the emery stuffed pin cushion, that sounds like a cheap option to try. You can probably find ne local to examine and not have to do the Amazon thing. Lots of sewing supply and fabric stores around. Stick about 50 to 75 pins in it on the next project and evaluate. I hate throwing anything away that can still be useful.
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   Dan McEntee
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Offline Dave Hull

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2021, 11:22:00 PM »
I just use a scrap of red (coarse) Scotchbrite. I think most of the pins I use are nickel plated brass? Just common sewing pins.

But Norm's comment got me to thinking....   I also keep a set of silicon carbide embedded "eraser blocks" around for use on tools. Never thought to try it on pins. For the kind with the plastic buttons, you could just jam them in?

https://garrettwade.com/product/wonderbar-rust-eraser?utm_source=rakuten&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=3624890:Bing+Rebates+-+Core&utm_content=10&ranMID=43460&ranEAID=msYS1Nvjv4c&ranSiteID=msYS1Nvjv4c-G86kRRiN5rAKQGk4cLun4w


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Offline fred cesquim

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Re: do you de-rust your building pins?
« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2021, 06:58:28 AM »
i hardly use any pin at all, most of my construction is pin free. and when i use them "T" sig pins, they hardly get any rust as i use mostly CA and titebond here and there. my favorite pin-less method is to use masking tape and CA.


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