Does anyone know if Evaporust is safe to use on trunk and hood latch mechanisms? I don't know if they were originally plated or not but if they were I don't want to risk any damage to the plating. The parts aren't rusty, just sort of dingy looking and I heard that Evaporust will brighten them up.

I know evaporust is supposedly eco friend and doesn't hurt paint or plastic parts so I doubt it will hurt plating, but I cant say that I have tried it. Take a latch you don't care about and throw in the drink for a few days and report back and you can tell us. IF not I might do it when I get home to get the intel, I have extra latches and some evaporust so not a biggy.

A few days?

I leave stuff in Evaporust for the afternoon or over night maximum if it is bad or the stuff is getting used up.

I have not used it on a hood latch, but on a large assortment of vintage tools and haven't had it hurt the various finishes on them.

Actually yea, I have left stuff in there for a couple of weeks before when I was out of town, never created an issue, man was it clean but it does seem to collect a residue you have to wash off when you leave it a longer period of time like that.

I am in too much of a rush with stuff to leave it for a week, let alone a couple...

Gotta remember I work outside of Philly 2 weeks a month and live in Florida. I think I have a racket in the drink right now that I found in the bone yard. Craftsman so if I get most of the rust off and it doesn't work I can trade it for a new one, 1/2 inch at that.

plating it seems to be ok with.
it will destroy galvanizing and it will destroy/melt vinyl
plastic i'm leary about...

it eats cad plating

overnight is all I have done... love this stuff

good to know
i would imagine then it would eat thru any type plating
it is alot harsher on stuff then advertised,
thats for sure.
i was lucky that alot of my latches were
in mint shape so i never had to do much
but clean them up a little if anything.

Well, I don't know about using it now if it is that harsh. Anyone have any other suggestions for something I can dip the hood latch in that will brighten it up?

Others have reported here that Evapo Rust can remove galvanizing. See:

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1506951/re-evapo-rust-who-uses-it.html

Safest Rust Remover is less aggressive than Evapo Rust but might remove galvanizing or plating also. See same link.

You can try vinegar. A 1-2 hour dip in inexpensive vinegar should show significant results without hurting any zinc plating. After an hour, try physically removing rust with a brass wire brush and dish soap. If any rust remains, dip for another hour.

I've used vinegar a lot and never damaged anything.

I don't feel that evaporust is harsh at all I put some interior trim screws (they look played to me) in for three days with no issue pulled them out this morning and they look just fine to me.

This had rust all over it when I dropped it in the drink and it is still intact...

Actually, no, it does not eat Cad plating. But it will remove galvanizing. AFAIK that's a the only thing it will remove, I've tried it on just about everything.

It will remove black oxide, cad, and galvanizing. I've used on many parts, you have to be careful on the strength you use it in. On galvanized window channels and such, I let soak, diluted, for not much more than 30 minutes, rinsed, then coated with a protective coating (wd40, etc)

I've also soaked a pair of windshield wiper mechanisms (aluminum/pot metal) and forgot about them. They had some corrosion from the evaporust.

Soaked door mechanisms, etc, with plastic inside them, not issues at all.

Soaked a 3rd member and it came out great, showed paint markings, grease markings,etc. Once I rinsed it with the garden hose, it all washed off. So take pics, if your looking for details.

Soaked a pair of leaf springs (assembled) for 2 days, full strength, and it had a reaction with the spacers. but the springs looked fantastic!