Hard Water on Diamondplate Tool Box.

[George M.]

What is a good product to get the hardwater residue off of my diamondplate tool box. I have every bit of chrome and aluminum sparkling like new.. All except for the tool box on the back. :rolleyes:

Any good products.. That will not scratch it all up????

Thanks

-Rob

[2wheelsx2]

All kinds of metal polish will work. EO NeverDull, Luster Lace, and the one I use Mother`s aluminum polish. All are pretty mild and with elbow grease, will shine everything up to better than new.



Oh, I forgot to add. If you don`t want to shine it up, but just remove the water spots, you might just want to try using vinegar, but make sure you rinse well.

[George M.]

thanks. i saw some of that mothers polish at shucks today. i will pick some of that up after school tomorrow.

[jrush]

If you want the easiest route, go with wheel acid. It`s very strong but if used right will not hurt anything else. spray on, rinse off. waterspots gone.

[Steve @ Guru]

Oooo - becareful with the wheel cleaner; my neighbor stained his paint with Eagle One A2Z overspray around his wheel wells...



I`d recommend wheel cleaner as a last option - just b/c I`d hate to see the paint on the back of the cab or box get stained.

[jrush]

Yeah, you have to be very carefull with the wheel cleaner/acid. If you can pull the toolbox out of the truck, then it will be ok. Just try not to get any on the paint or any bare aluminum.

[Lowejackson]

I agree with 2wheelsx2, either some gentle metal cleaner or vinegar. Wheel cleaner sounds to harsh to me.



Steven

[BradE]

I would stay away from anything acid based, you can ruin the toolbox very quickly that way.



Vinegar or a mild metal polish is the best way to go. If you don`t have any metal polish you can try a cleaner wax on it, that might do the trick.



Good Luck!

[jrush]

I don`t want to sound like I`m defending the acid or anything but..



If you use it like you would any other product, be careful, spot test, etc. you could use it with no problems. Sometimes using acid vs. polish will even give you better results becasue it does not etch or dull the surfice of the steel.



If the waterspots are really bad, you can save so much time with the acid method. I would still reccomend taking the box out of the truck first, and spot testing.



Does anybody else use a wheel type acid for cleaning chrome, glass, wheels? It is wonderful, works really awesome. I have used it on ym shower doors, it is an awesome tool, and i did take the doors outside for this.

[2wheelsx2]

That`s what the vinegar does. It`s a weak acid. Acetic acid to be exact. In dilute quantities, acid should be safe. But some of the wheel cleaners have fairly strong acid which etch very quickly.

[BradE]

Most acid based wheel cleaners contain olaxic acid, that is VERY strong stuff. It can even burn the crap out of your skin. Not something I would want to be using. :down

[jrush]

To support your argument even more, the wheel acids I am talking about are used in 50/50 solution of water to acid. I would not reccomend using them on a day to day either, I have about a quart of the stuff that has lasted me about 3 years. I only use it when I have extreme cases of water spots.



These are the products I am talking about:

http://www.pssales.com/products/wheel.html



If you hit bare polished aluminum it will brighten it and require polishing. for Chrome, steel it will only clean.