One Simple Solution to Remove Rust from Bike Chain

I lucked out to catch on this used bike for a portion of its price on eBay. And it was worth of extra trouble, the rusty chain, rusty cassettes and some rusty bolts.

Remove rust from bike chain with citric acid solution

To get rid of the rust I used citric acid solution – a universal solution for descaling (getting rid of hard water deposits) and removing rust. The solution consists of 2-3 tablespoons of dry citric acid mixed with very hot water. That`s so simple: to remove rust from bike chain just stir citric acid into hot water and apply it onto the rusty surface! On the video I used boiling water – the hotter the water is the better the solution works.

*Caution: use hot water proof spray bottles because most of the plastic spray bottles melt, and rubber gloves for hands protection because You might get scalds and have rusty hands like me in the video. Yeap. . . my poor little hands. . .

Then I applied the citric acid solution to all the rusty parts of the bicycle and cleaned it with a toothbrush. Take an ordinary used toothbrush you were going to throw out.

*Tip: don`t throw away Your old toothbrushes, use them for cleaning instead.

Saving time with merging the bike chain into the citric acid solution

For removing all the rust off of this bike and cleaning it I used around two hours and, frankly, a pile of an effort. So, in the end, I thought maybe it would`ve made sense just to take off the chain and merge it into the citric acid solution. I cleaned the rust off of lots of rusty stuff, including stainless steel. It really works, as long as You use hot water. The solution is the most efficient with the hottest water. It could`ve taken less time and the efforts only to take the chain off of the bike and then put it back on. So, if You know how to take off the chain from the bike, I`d recommend You to save time by taking it off and merging it into the hot citric acid solution for about half an hour (then repeat, if needed) instead of using the spray bottle.

Then I washed thoroughly the whole bike with soaped water and a toothbrush.

Finishing touches

When the bike was dry, I applied some WD-40 to strip away the small rest of the rust left on the bike chain and provide some small amount of lubrication until I get to the hardware store and purchase some bike-specific lubricant.

Here is a video of the full process of cleaning the rust off of the bicycle chain, cassette and some bolts:

You can find citric acid in grocery stores or here; and heat resistant spray bottle here.

Conclusion

This is how the bike looked after two months of riding: