How to Remove Cement from A Cone Top

[Conehead]

Here are some recently acquired cones that were found with cement on the can body. I did some research but really didn't find very much information on how to remove the cement. What I did find out, is that distilled white vinegar will do the job. So I thought you guys might like to see the results.

-I mixed 1 cup of distilled white vinegar with about 3/4 gallon of luke warm water.
-Soaked cans for about 1-1/2 hours.

The solution didn't remove all the cement, (especially the really heavy crusty stuff), but it did loosen the cement's grip on the painted surfaces just enough that I could gently rub my thumb nail over it and the cement came right off without damage to the paint underneath. Even though there was some prior (to soaking) paint loss, the vinegar was gentle enough that no more paint was removed. It took some time but I was pleased with the results.

After the vinegar solution, the cans went through a quick oxalic bath and a wax job.

Here are the results:

Front, before/after:

Left Side, before/after:

Right Side, before/after:

Back, before/after:

[mountainrust]

Nice job, Jim. Good info. I was going to recommend a hammer, but your technique seems to work fine.

[Flat_Top]

You did a great job

[Conehead]

I was going to recommend a hammer....

That does sound like a time saver...........

[idigrust]

Great info.

[Beamer]

Nicely done!

[Mike S]

Nice job, Jim. Good info. I was going to recommend a hammer, but your technique seems to work fine.

Yeah but a bench grinder wont dent the can like a hammer would!

Mike S.

[foreigncanman]

tHANKS FOR THE INFO.

[clevelandcanman11389]

Very nice!

[CMD]

WOW!

[ILLINICANS]

Mason contractors use muriatic acid to wash off the bricks when done. Maybe for experimentation sake on the small tough spots. Obviously, ventilation and neutralizing solution should be close at hand. Don't walk away from it, it should have almost instant results. Maybe something like Vaseline could give a short lived protection to surrounding paint. Just sayin....