When our home, my husband’s shop and its contents burned to the ground, my husband had some car and motorcycle parts in a shipping container. These items from the shipping container were the only items which didn’t melt beyond recognition. There was a fire within the shipping container which charred most of the items within, however. The question is : Some of the metal motorcycle parts were in plastic tubs at the time of the fire. The plastic melted onto the metal parts forming big blobs of plastic with metal parts within the blob. Is there anyway to separate the melted plastic from the metal that you know of ? Cold temperatures ? Any ideas ? The other question is if anyone knows what might remove the charred black off of the metal parts ( The ones which weren’t in the plastic tubs are just charred ). We would really appreciate your input. Thanks Barb & Al
We’ve tried oven cleaner ( no luck ) We’ve tried paint remover , muratic acid, and metal etching acid, all with no success in trying to removed the black charring off the metal
Wow, sorry to hear about the fire, a genuine concern around here too ( Gallup in northwest NM ).
Many metal parts will be perfectly serviceable yet not as ‘pretty’ as new after the fire burns the finish from them.
Cleaning as you’ve tried and with wire brushes is really all you can do. Some items could get a repaint but otherwise parts that are just all metal should still be servicable. Re-chroming is a possibility too for chrome pipes and brackets that weren’t painted. Their new coloration the least of your worries.
This is all relative to just which parts they are. some, like nuts and bolts hardware may need a splash of light oil to avert future rusting.
The parts entombed in plastic could be accessable just by cutting away the plastic, a little at a time just chip away at it.
Again, depending on the part within, re-heating the plastic could allow it to melt away.
A small soldering torch or an oven ?
Some metal parts could now be warped beyond recovery and aluminum parts too.
A one part at time analysis is all you can do now.
Don’t be overly concerned about their new color if they’re intact otherwise.
Gonna be a big job.