👍 grrr matey, I like your avatar

Thermal reaction. Excited particles don't hold together well, and sudden temperature changes break them apart. Think heating up a glass cup, and then pouring cold water in it to shatter it, which is why pyrex glass is used in glass cooking tools. The drastic temperature change is likely the reason why scrubbing isn't required, since essentially the hot metal touching the water in the acid solution causes countless tiny steam explosions across the metals surface, thus providing the agitation instead of agitating the surface by scrubbing it. The vinegar, as an acid, would cause a chemical reaction though. This would require leaving the copper wire in an acid for some amount of time, but would clean more of the black stuff off. Warning: Acids including vinegar or orange juice(citric acid) dissolve copper, albeit very slowly. A stronger acid such as muriatic acid(available as a swimming pool chemical) would increase the speed it dissolves at, which means you're dissolving the copper away, but would also clean the residues and black marks off faster. The salt, while neutralizing the acid mildly, is most likely used in this video as an abrasive in the acid, but I doubt is completely necessary, and is a physical reaction rather than a chemical reaction(like a sand blaster). Shaking or swishing the copper in the mixture for longer would likely clean the copper more than he showed here. Agitating the copper wire is likely the most important step for getting it spotless, but the acid and heat break down the insulation. One last tip is, instead of rinsing with plain water after the acid bath, mix an amount of baking powder in the water rinse. The goal of this is to make the water alkaline, which will neutralize the acid on the surface of the copper. This is important because if you don't neutralize the copper it's surface is more prone to oxidizing, which will devalue it's price as scrap metal. This method of cleaning works on pretty much all metals that don't dissolve easily in acid, but for metals like iron or low carbon steel, neutralizing with the alkaline rinse is more important, since if you don't the metal will start rusting(oxidizing) within a few days. It is a good method to clean rust off of old tools though, and heating is not required if you leave them in the vinegar/acid for a day or so, but will then require scrubbing. Also, one last warning. Burning copper wire is illegal in most states due to burning the rubber/plastic insulation, and scrap yards often won't accept wire that looks burnt. A work around to this could be to put the copper wire on a baking pan with a wire rack, and putting it in an oven or kiln at around 200-300*F to allow the insulation to melt off into the bottom of the baking pan. Don't do this inside without *excellent* ventilation though, since it will still create fumes, and rubber/plastic fumes and smoke are toxic. If it's enameled wire though, it needs to be 400*F or more to break down the enamel coating before cleaning.

Unless your an atheist like me ......then none of that stuff means anything

I think this is a methaphor about cleaning copper,isnt it?

EXCEPT IT 😊😂😂😂😂😂

Jesus came to Earth to teach us that we are all children of God. Not that he was God's only son.

Those who speak of him all the time dont know him. And make up for it by projecting this image that they do.

You need to add baking powder to the water rinse to make it alkaline to neutralize the acid on the metal. Rinsing with plain water leaves a thin layer of acid, which increases the oxidization(rust) rate.

Except in 90+ degree weather!

The fire is to burn off the insulation?

Use muratic acid from Home Depot it’s cheap

Thanks for supporting me, I'm working on starting a cartoon, these are are just the first takes, still figuring it all out, but i have a good plan!( coming soon!)

@@TropicalBoneFlorida superbbb which country are you from? I'm Ram from India. doing my graduation in accountancy

Yes, works best if wires are RED HOT, then dipped, that's why I cooked them over a fire! Magical if done right! If you succeed you are on the right path to becoming a real wizard!

​@@TropicalBoneFloridaLet's gooo

It would be all custom made but could work if you found some type of chrome to add around the lights to get that look, good luck

Enamel breaks down at ~400*F, so heating and then rinsing would probably be enough. That's why you can run a piece of enameled copper wire through a lighter flame to make it connection ready.

No, when copper is "quenched" it actually becomes soft again. It hardens when being bent or worked. Took me 45 years to learn this... You can reuse copper gaskets by making it cherry red with a torch and quench it in water.

Sure*

The insulation could be melted off at 2-300*F.

Burning it is illegal

​@@jimbobcletusgive me the worldwide statute please, and how it eve applies to every country.

Yes, after cool & dried add some oil like baby oil so it doesn't oxidize

@@TropicalBoneFlorida Adding baking powder/soda to your rinse water would do the same thing by neutralizing the acid left on the surface.

Looks like he just went from #1 copper to bare bright copper. Bare bright is around $3 a pound right now.

​@@Mr.NiceGuy80 that's almost entirely multi strand wire so it can't be bare bright. You almost have to clean it if you burn it though. Most yards don't buy burnt copper.

For bare bright.. it has to be roughly 1/16th of an inch wide strands depending on the scrap yard

Nerd comment

My scrap yard doesn’t care if it’s burnt. And he definitely increased the amount he will make. He went from #2 to bare bright. At my yard that’s a .40 cent difference.

Yes, but they recommend you remove the underwear off the person first.