Rusted screws

Lucy in the sky
by Lucy in the sky
Can anybody tell me what's the best way to remove rust off of these screws and also make them look cleaner ?
I took these screws off a table I'm refurbishing
  24 answers
  • Sandy Logan Sandy Logan on Aug 13, 2013
    I am a great believer in WD40. Spray it on the screws on which you have laid a plastic sheet. Make sure they get good and wet. Let them set or roll them around with your hand. You will definitely see a difference. Another product that works great is called Liquid wrench. You can purchase these at a car parts store like NAPA or Pep Boys. I hope this helps.
  • Hilary Ross Hilary Ross on Aug 13, 2013
    Soak them in cokacola for a week, the rael stuff, not the sugar free, works a dream.
    • See 1 previous
    • Yair Spolter Yair Spolter on Aug 13, 2013
      @Hilary Ross My father in law is a mechanic and he swears that nothing cleans a car battery or an engine like Coke! (Scary to think we're drinking it...)
  • Thomas Thomas on Aug 13, 2013
    Use a can of regular Coke. It will take about and hour of soaking to get most of the rust off.
  • Lucy in the sky Lucy in the sky on Aug 13, 2013
    Oh my Gee....I never heard of such thing using coka-cola but I must try also thank you @Larissa ~ Prodigal Pieces and @Sandy Logan I will try all to see which is best for future use......Thanks a bunch guys !
  • Deborah R Deborah R on Aug 14, 2013
    Skin so soft (yes Avon bath oil) is a great rust remover. I use it on pruners that I have forgotten and left in the gaden...Coke is also good
  • Jo Goughnour Roof Jo Goughnour Roof on Aug 14, 2013
    When I was in jr. high school our science teacher put some chicken livers in coke and when we came back after the week end they were GONE! I would think it would work great on rust, however I had never thought about using it!
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Aug 14, 2013
    The "active" ingredient in coke is Phosphoric Acid. When I worked in Biotech we had an automated cleaning system for our equipment. The first cleaning step used a Sodium Hydroxide based cleaner, the second cleaner was Phosphoric Acid. The Acid helps with neutralizing the high pH of the NaOH.
    • Lucy in the sky Lucy in the sky on Aug 15, 2013
      @KMS Woodworks I'm not really a coke drinker but after reading all these comments I think I'll stay away from the stuff.......that's scary
  • Linda Linda on Aug 15, 2013
    Go to You Tube, click on-"Broadcast yourself". Next, at the top type in, "Remove Rust From Screws". You will find so many ways to remove rust from every thing. Good Luck !
  • Dee Moreland Jones Dee Moreland Jones on Aug 15, 2013
    I have used coke but for fast results I use dollar store ( or any cheap) oven cleaner.....the strong stuff with lye I think. spray on .. let set 15020 ( per directions) the pressure wash off ( I use this on wood furniture too to removed paint.. much easier than striper). s the rust will just run off ( remove paint with plastic putty knife)
  • Lynn Lynn on Jun 02, 2014
    One of the greatest and easiest and safest uses to remove rust and grim is vinegar and baking soda and a steel brush, takes a few minutes but it's well worth the risk to environmental and physical hazards. Then soak in a bit of oil or spray with WD-40 to prevent more corrosion over time and make them easier to use when it comes time to that they are actually chosen to be the best screw for the job (no pun intended).
  • Peggy Rickard Peggy Rickard on Jun 02, 2014
    Soak them in vinegar!
  • Ella Ella on Jan 07, 2015
    put them in a container and spray them with WD40 and let them soak
  • Linda Linda on Jan 20, 2015
    I recently found an old rusty pair of scissors, and read where you put the rusty "thing" in white vinegar over will take the rust off. So I did and WOW it worked! I was shocked!
  • Judy Steffen Judy Steffen on Feb 19, 2015
    Naval jelly removes rust. Or you could use them to make junk signs.
  • Stp1309848 Stp1309848 on Apr 06, 2015
    I had a bunch of rusty nails, put them in a plastic jar with a lid, soaked them over night in regular white vinegar shook it up in the morning - - they were done, but I left them in while I went to work, dealt with them when I got home they are great!
  • Marilynn Gillespie Marilynn Gillespie on May 03, 2015
    Nicole Curtis on Rehab Addict(HGTV) says she just cooks hers in her slow cooker!
  • Kaye Usher Kaye Usher on May 14, 2015
    drop them in coke and let set
  • Meem Kaplan Meem Kaplan on Aug 19, 2015
    Yup. CocaCola is a great rust remover as it has phosphoric acid in it. great stuff for nearly everything except drinking....
  • Sheila hester Sheila hester on Aug 24, 2015
    Soak any screws, nails, tools, garden shears, or an metals items that's has rusted in a container with a lid, covered with apple cider vinegar, leave for a week. Wash with hot water & liquid soap 0r any soaps, scrub. You will be so surprise!!!!!
  • Louise Louise on Sep 26, 2015
    put in gasoline over night. be careful where u put it .
  • Tricia Lee Tricia Lee on Oct 01, 2016
    Coke
  • Elizabeth Diaz Martinez Elizabeth Diaz Martinez on Nov 18, 2016
    I collect old keys and cabinet hardware. I shall them in white vinegar. Soaking time varies.A gallon of the stuff is 99ยข. I reuse the same dirty vinager over and over again. At some point, I do use clean vinager. Keep checking your items, because I did leave some really rusty screwdrivers in there for a couple of days and when I retrieved them they had become toothpicks..lol
  • Len Chapelle Len Chapelle on Nov 18, 2016
    Draino will give you amazing results but be very carefull.
  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Jan 19, 2018

    Saok in WD-40