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One of my mate has been using citric acid to clean chrome/metal parts for his vintage cycles, having seen the results I thought I'd give it a go on the rear quarter windows from my '63, the car had been stood for some time and they were in a bit of a state.

I picked up a packet of citric acid from a local Asian supermarket, but apparently home brew shops sell it too. I used a very large garden seed tray, big enough to take a window and pored in the acid granules mixed with hot water, then left overnight in the garage.

These are before and after pics, the first window I did was in worse condition than the second (I forgot to take a photo) but has come up the best. I'm really impressed with the results, a good polish and they should be good to go...

That's great.

Impressive - no hard work either!!

impressive results .. thanks for this i will also give it a go .. Q will Citric Acid also it clean alloy parts (carbs) ?

I use citric for most of my rust removal. You do have to watch it, if you forget a part and leave it in the bottom of the container it will eventually etch it completely away, also parts need a good wash (I use a mildly caustic detergent to neutralise the citric and get the soot off) and they will flash over with rust very quickly unless you oil them.

It is surprisingly hard on your hands if you mix it up as a strong solution.

It works by chelating the iron. It's no good on alloy parts, and it does odd things to brass.

Tim

Genius!

you can buy it from wilko too

Very useful stuff, good for de-scaling the kettle etc