How to Use Oxalic Acid on Weights
If you want to remove rust and keep the original paint, try Oxalic Acid. I first heard of Oxalic Acid thanks to Eric Stanek. He saw it being used by the BMX community on their bikes and tried it on weights. His experimentation with it and guidance provided the starting point for my own trials with it. I’m very grateful to him!
Oxalic Acid can be used to remove rust from weight plates, barbells, dumbbells, and other weights. It hasn’t harmed original paint or chrome plating in my experience. I’ve used Oxalic Acid in many project videos, but I’ve linked a few specific project videos below the supply list that utilize Oxalic Acid.
Supplies - Purchasing through the links helps the website. Thank you!
Directions
Step #1: Find a bin large enough to submerge the weights you’d like to restore.
Step #2: Add your weights to the bin. If soaking weight plates, I use painters triangles to separate them. This allows the solution to reach all parts of the weight. I also find it helpful to place smaller plates to one side of the bin, then lean a larger plate over them to maximize space.
Step #3: Wear long protective gloves and glasses. Add about 3 tablespoons of Oxalic Acid powder per gallon of water to the bin. It doesn’t have to be exact to the gram, but generally that ratio works well for me. If this is the first time you’re doing this and you don’t know roughly how many gallons of water your bin holds, use a bucket with gallon markings to add one gallon at a time. If you’ve now filled the bin with water and added the Oxalic Acid, use your gloved hand to swish the water a bit in locations where the Oxalic Acid powder has not dissolved.
Step #4: Let the weights soak for 8-10 hours.
Step #5: Remove each weight and scrub with a nylon brush. If there was very light rust, some weights may already look clean. Set them aside. Place any weights that are not clean back into the bath. With any weights that are rust free, skip to Step #8 and follow the directions.
Step #6: After another 8-10 hours, remove the weights again, scrub with a nylon brush again, and evaluate each plate. If there is persistent rust at this point, use a brass wire brush to lightly scrub at it. The goal is to retain original paint. So I don’t use anything other than a nylon brush unless I absolutely have to. Set aside any weights that are clean and skip to Step #8 and follow the directions.
Step #7: Repeat the scrubbing and 8-10 hour soak until the weights are clean. With most weights, the longest I’ve had to go was about a day and a half. There have been strange cases though that took some time after this.
*Note: It is normal the longer you go to see the water turning green or a light haze on the plates that easily scrubs off. If you wait beyond the 8-10 hour time frame for each cycle, you may find a greenish haze on weights that will not easily scrub off. Be careful not to wait too long!
Step #8: At any point once you have determined that a weight is clean of rust and you set it aside, do the following. Spray the weights liberally with baking soda solution. I use one teaspoon of baking soda in a 32oz spray bottle.
Step #9: You can either let the weights air dry or dry them with towels. I tend to let them air dry, because it makes the process more flexible. If I can get them cleaned the first day, I let them dry overnight. A fan near them will help dry time. However, if you let them air dry, do not be alarmed by the chalky white appearance once dried. That will disappear with the next step.
Step #10: Place the weights on cardboard or plastic sheeting. Make sure to do this in a well ventilated area. Wear protective gloves and glasses. Apply 3inONE oil to the weights with a nylon brush. If working on a large amount of weights, I like to use nylon brush drill attachments. I typically squirt one single thin line of oil around about 1/3 of the plate. This is usually enough to cover that side when spread around with the nylon brush.
Step #11: After letting the weights sit for 12-24 hours with the oil, dry them with a microfiber cleaning cloth. The microfiber cloths soak up the oil much better than regular rags. Let the weights sit another day.
Step #12: Dry again. At this point, you can probably put the weights into use, but I have found that some paint on weights reacts differently with the oil. You may need to wipe down again later that week.
Considerations and Advice:
I like the protective gloves that I’ve linked, because they are 22” long and made of chemical resistant rubber. The longer gloves make it much easier to reach down into the bottom of the bin. One tip though is to be careful not to get a finger pinched between plates. You’ll get a hole in your glove!
The small nylon brushes I linked are my favorite, because I find that gripping them is quite easy with the handle and my hands don’t fatigue as quickly as a typical scrub brush.
I use the lid that came with the bin to set weights on and spray them with the baking soda solution.
If there is still a small bit of rust that just will not come off after two days, I sometimes make the judgement call to sacrifice this little bit of original paint and use a steel wire brush or wire wheel to remove the rust from that area. Sometimes my time and a plate that is 95% original paint is more valuable than a plate that is 100% original paint that I had to take three extra days to get the last 5%.
If using the nylon brush drill attachments, it is helpful to set up a barrier beyond the weights with cardboard or plastic sheeting to block any spray. I pay attention to the direction the brush is spinning and direct it away from me. I then begin with the weight closest to me so that any spray lands on the weights beyond it.
Sources:
Eric Stanek can be found on Instagram as @stanek.eric
CAUTION: This video is intended for inspiration only. There is an inherent risk to using the tools and materials featured in the video. Do so at your own risk. Safety gear such as gloves, mask, and eye protection is highly recommended.