1991 Lotus Esprit - 29 (Power washing the chassis and weighing it)

[@daveffs1935]

Vinegar and baking soda with distilled water, it's what I've used in the past for cleaning out old motorbike tanks. Never had an issue with it eating away at the steel, cleans it up pretty well.

[@Rick_D]

I’ve used white vinegar on a couple of Rochester 4 barrel carbs and it actually ate into the metal. However carbs are considered to be made of pot metal so not quite a noble metal as what the chassis is made of. I’ve got some time though so I’ll look into it. Thanks.

[@daveffs1935]

@@Rick_D Maybe do a small test patch on one of the non critical areas

[@colubrinedeucecreative]

Just looked this up for you but; Does bleach really affect stainless steel? Sadly, it does. Bleach is a very strong oxidizing agent. Even a small amount of bleach can oxidize steel. Steel’s major component is iron and as you should be knowing iron tends to rust. Stainless steel normally doesn’t, thanks to a few other metals that are added to the iron. Bleach is so effective when it comes to oxidation that it can even make stainless steel rust. The sodium hypochlorite in bleach reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to produce chlorine gas, a powerful oxidizer that will attack most metals, including the chromium oxide layer on the stainless steel. Once it has compromised the passive layer, the chlorine goes on to attack the metal itself

[@Rick_D]

Thanks to you both, Colubrine and MC202, bleach is off the table. Looking at alternatives….read in a few places that isopropyl alcohol would be effective.

[@SlippingTime]

You removed a few pounds in mouse house on that chassis. I still haven’t found an ideal galvanized steel restorer solution to remove stains. I am going to try ice blasting.

[@MC202zipper]

Please avoid using bleach! Even if diluted, it's very aggressive, and spraying it - power spraying, too! - inside the boxed intricacies of a car frame is definitely going to give you pass trough rust and mechanical failure in years. The good thing, here, is that, at least, your frame has a zink finish but I would be worried of bleach corrosion in corners, nook and crannies.

[@MC202zipper]

I knew that hydrogen peroxide can be used to stop bleach action: a recipe I have quickly found says that a ratio of 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide to 10 parts water is effective for neutralizing bleach (do you research as I am no chemist...), another recipe says to fill a bucket with 1 gallon of warm water and pour 1 cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide into the water. Remember to put on protective clothing, gloves and goggles. Googling " About Bleach Neutralizers | MedNet 2 will give you a PDF with more professional chemicals: the ascorbic acid seems a very viable and safe solution.