After getting my new sharpener, I found myself going through my shed, pulling out a ton of old, rusty bands. Anyone would consider them useless, red/orange in color, certainly beyond anything you could send to a sharpening shop. My son was with me, and he convinced me to try using Muriatic Acid on them. I've never used MA on metal to remove rust, but what the hell, it was worth a try.
I went down to Lowe's and picked up a gallon for 10 bucks, and proceeded to brush the blades with the acid. I was surprised at how quickly and easily the rust came off. I followed up with a dry cloth, and am going to oil them tomorrow.
If you decide to use this method, make sure you are outside in the open air; wear a respirator, and of course rubber gloves. I also had some baking soda nearby in case it got on my hands. It did make the metal a dull color, but I'm not after pretty blades, just sharp ones. I have about 20 bands to clean, and hopefully it all works out okay. Has anyone else tried this before? Any suggestions?
I'll keep you updated on how it turns out.
Kojba