How do I remove battery acid from inside battery tube?

[Rommul]

I hav an old 4D mag that I want to "resurrect".

I loned it to a friend when he gave it back it had some dried battery acid inside. I needed to clean most of this from the bottom of the switch before it would work again. It works now but I need to know how to get all of it out.

Thanks

 

[Handlobraesing]

I hav an old 4D mag that I want to "resurrect".

I loned it to a friend when he gave it back it had some dried battery acid inside. I needed to clean most of this from the bottom of the switch before it would work again. It works now but I need to know how to get all of it out.

Thanks

Depending on the material used, the contact can already be ruined. If it's something soluble in potassium hydroxide, the plating is already dissolved and often results in increased contact resistance.

To get the remaining out, warm water rinse is really your only way.

 

[savumaki]

I had a similar situation and soaked the barrel in a strong solution of water and baking soda for a day and it cleaned up fine- what there was to clean that had not been corroded by the acid.
I like to go by the adage 'borrow it; if you f--- it up, you just bought it'

Back to my mag- it has a severe corroded area in the barrel but doesn't affect the operation. (BTW it was my own doing)

good luck

 

[metalhed]

I would try to use a baking soda mixture to neutralize the acids. Just flushing with water is liable to leave acid residues that will continue to corrode the aluminum.

Had this happen to my ElektroLumens TriStar, and baking soda seems to have stopped the damage from the battery acid. As long as all contacts are still present (not corroded away), you should be able to clean them up just fine.

Let us know how the treatments work...nothing like real world proof of these things.

 

[smokinbasser]

Use a brake cylinder hone with WD-40 or the rust penetrant of your choice. Almost all cyl hones will fit a 3/8 drill chuck. This is assuming the corrosion is on the inside of the barrel that your wanting to "clean up"

 

[AshA4]

!Black Krylon spraypaint!

 

[WNG]

careful using WD40 or any similar solvent. It will eventually lift the plating off the reflector is any of it gets on it, directly, or by vapor.

 

[Blackbeagle]

If the dried substance is from a corroded battery, then it is likely to be alkali, not acid. Energizer and Duracell both recommended using vinegar to disolve the acid.

 

[kennyj]

It is important to keep the difference between acid and alkali in mind. While alkaline substances are thought of as acids, and behave similarly, they cannot often be neutralized in the same way.

You might want to try some DeoxIT instead of WD-40, at least on the contacts (it's specifically made to remove corrosion, while WD-40 is made to repel water.) Also, if you're concerned about the reflector or bulb being affected by vapor or overspray from anything you use, just remove the damn things and make sure to completely wash/dry out any solvent before replacing.

On that note, CAIG's other products are worth using for flashlight maintenance - ProGold for keeping contact resistance down, and ShieldIT for protecting against severe corrosion (like battery leaks.)

 

[Rommul]

Just to update you guys I have tried both methods and niether have worked.

I soaked in both baking soda and vinegar for 24 hours (not at the same time) with no noticeable change.

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

I've cleaned up corrosion with a grit blaster. Harbor Freight sells some really cheap ones that'll work for a small project like that.

You're way more forgiving than I. Someone would be buying me a new flashlight.


Cheers. :buddies:

 

[IsaacHayes]

you can disasmeble the mag, take otu the switch and give it a through cleaning. If needed put in a new switch.

 

[Rommul]

you can disasmeble the mag, take otu the switch and give it a through cleaning. If needed put in a new switch.

Oh its fully disassembled.

But cleneing how.

This stuff is caked in rock hard.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Were the offending cells alkaline? I don't have any pearls of wisdom -- I'm just curious.

 

[SuperNinja]

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=14033&strPageHistory=search&strKeywords=&numPageStartPosition=1&strSearchCriteria=any&PT_ID=all

 

[Rommul]

Were the offending cells alkaline? I don't have any pearls of wisdom -- I'm just curious.

Yes.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=14033&strPageHistory=search&strKeywords=&numPageStartPosition=1&strSearchCriteria=any&PT_ID=all

Geeze, they need a cookie just to tell me that? No thanks.

 

[Rommul]

http://www.mtmc.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=14033&strPageHistory=search&strKeywords=&numPageStartPosition=1&strSearchCriteria=any&PT_ID=all

I'll try to source something similar locally

 

[g36pilot]

If it's just the tube, the previously posted wire brushes are available in sporting goods stores under gun cleaning equipment. Various sizes are available.

 

[SuperNinja]

Various sizes are available.

Do they make civilian guns around that size? (38mm diameter) :eeksign: