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Removing Rust from Beer Bottle Cap Collection

I have a collection of beer bottle caps that have recently rusted a bit. I was wondering how to remove the rust from each bottle cap in a quick way (throwing them into a bucket, etc.)... If you could help that would be wonderful!

Thanks!

Ryan Portenga
Student - Muskegon, Michigan, United States of America
2005

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Hi,

Go to your local supermarket and buy some lemon juice - soak the caps overnight and your rust should be gone. They'll rust again afterword though, so rinse them well and dry them fast.

Also - I have no idea what if any effect the lemon juice would have on the paint on the bottle caps: I would suspect that it would be very little to none, but I make no promises.

Good luck.

Jim Gorsich
Compton, California, USA
2005

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You can use 5% citric acid [on eBay or Amazon] solution(or mixture of 50 gm citric acid /1 lit water/+add some ammonia [on eBay or Amazon] to pH3,5)!

Good luck!

Goran Budija
- Zagreb , Croatia
2005

Bottle caps are made for one use, and then the rubbish bin. So any rust removal is going to have to be dellicate, I can suggest one or two different thing to try, one would be a mild solution of citric acid (not hard to find), mild ferric chloride [on eBay or Amazon] solution (sold at RadioShack as PCB echant), or elbow grease. If it is valuable to you, put the time into it. Hand polish them and spray on a clear lacquer to keep them from oxidizing again.

Marc Banks
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina
2005

9 year-old boy with Science Project idea using bottle cap collection. What metals are used in making bottle caps? Is it iron/steel? I am supposing this is the case because they rust so badly. Can you clarify this for me as I think up my project?

Derek F.
student - Denton, Texas
October 1, 2008