Cleaning steel

[Steve E]

I am going to be back oxide coating some steel parts and am unsure how to clean them well enough. The parts will be made of carbon steel bars that will have an unfinished surface in a few areas which will not start out too clean. I was planning a charged sulfuric acid process but wondering if there is anything easier and better. I do not have access to a sand blaster nor do I want to scrub all the parts with comet by hand. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[mcaswell]

Haven't tried that method but it sounds like it would work just as well, if not better than sand-blasting etc.

[dburke26]

Sulphuric acid is a good choice to remove rust and scale, but dangerous stuff, muriatic acid (HCl alias hydrochloric acid) is cheap, and a lot safer to use (has serious fumes, be careful), also easy to neutralize, use lye with caution, the result is just salt water. Dennis