Rust on cans in cabinet

[Eric D Matson]

I have a cabinet that I store all my various finishing products in. I have caulk, spray paint, poly, BLO, stripper, and muriatic acid in there. Last night I noticed all my exposed metal on the various cans as well as a few screws are completely surface rusted over. There is rust starting to show on top of the powder coated finish. It hasn't gotten into the metal of the cabinet just on top of the powder coat. I am wondering if any would know the sure fire cause of the rust. I have done some research and found muriatic acid can be used to give a rust patina finish on metal. That is my gut instinct. I am guessing the acid is off gassing a little and causing rust inside a contained cabinet. Has anyone had similar experiences? ThanksEric

[Greg R Bradley]

You can't put muriatic acid in a cabinet at all, even by itself.

[Doug Garson]

No experience with muriatic acid myself but I read a posting recently of someone who was using muriatic acid in their driveway to sharpen files and ended up with rust on all the metal tools hanging in the garage. I'd look up safe storage of muriatic acid if I was you.

[George Bokros]

Not really connected to this but my wife had toilet bowl cleaner stored in the bathroom vanity and all the hinges, the chrome plated trim around where the plumbing entered had all the plating eaten off and had started rusting. The toilet bowl cleaner as in a closed container. This happened in about 18 months.

Caustic stuff

[Bruce Page]

You can't put muriatic acid in a cabinet at all, even by itself.

I agree. It's cheap enough that I buy it when I need it, I won't keep the stuff in the shop.

[Prashun Patel]

Are your metal components in other cabinets getting similar rust? If no, then I agree the first suspect would be the muriatic acid. Even the vapor can cause minor etching in the surface of most metals. Once this dirt, oil, zinc plating, or what have you, is compromised, the 'fresh' iron underneath will rust when exposed to the slightest amount of moisture in the air.

The rust that forms on acid-etched metal is usually even and light for me.

[Eric D Matson]

This find was a learning experience for me. It could have been a lot worse. Muriatic acid will not be stored in the wood shop anymore. I have read some stories of guys leaving a bowl of muriatic acid open overnight in their shop to wake to every bare metal piece having a surface rust on them. I'll give up a few paint cans and even a cabinet if I have to. I did get most of it cleaned up and neutralized. Thanks for everyone's info.

A day spent without learning something is a day wasted.

[Roger Feeley]

This is slightly off topic but as we move to more and more water-borne finishes, the metal can should be a thing of the past but it's not. I had a problem with water-borne stains rusting through the cans because I didn't use them fast enough. The solution was an order of quart cans from the Cary Company. The containers work like regular paint cans, they seal really well and you can wash them out and re-use them. I had to do sort of a special order but they were willing to sell me a couple of dozen cans.

http://www.thecarycompany.com/contai...t-cans/plastic