A bad note

Today turned out to end on a bad note.

After watching an interesting caponeauto video (warning, salty language mixed in with good info) where he used Clean-Rite's Purple Power De-Ruster with great effect.  After seeing people on YouTube using vinegar or molasses (not endorsed methods here) to remove rust from car parts, it was nice to see someone who knows what he is doing.  Phosphoric acid is the base chemical you want for iron rust removal, and Purple Power has it.  So does Naval Jelly.  Other acids, like acetic acid (CH3COOH) the active acid in vinegar, get down into the pores of the metal as well as into seams and other places, and continue to rust out the metal.  Phosphoric acid reduces the rust and leaves a protective coating that allows you a bit of time to get some primer on the otherwise bare metal and stop the rust.

So, I set about to find this stuff, or something similar.  After discovering neither Lowes nor my local Auto Zone carry the product, I took a peek at the Clean-Rite.Com product page.

So far, so good, and there are several Advance Auto Parts stores close to the house, so I stopped by the closest one on Western Avenue.  They didn't have any and did not remember ever hearing of the product either.  I stopped by another Advance on Kingston Pike.  They did not have any either and they checked their online catalogue and the product did not come up at all.  Seemed strange.

Later I checked Pep Boys and they did not have any, but that was expected.  They were not listed by the manufacturer as a retailer of the product.  An odd thing there, they were sold out of Loctite Naval Jelly (all varieties) and just about anything else that contained phosphoric acid for rust removal.

Checked home depot and they had Naval Jelly, and some other stuff, but nothing that one could spray from a squirt bottle, which is the preferred method for killing the rust on my 1972 Charger.

Now, for the really bad note.  When I got home, I emailed the good folks at Clean-Rite.Com informing them that Advance no longer has their product in their store catalogue. Their response:

Vernell May Vernell@clean-rite.com
3:10 PM (1 hour ago)
to me 

They used to carry it but do not carry it anymore. You can get it from Amazon.com or you can order from me. 

Its $26.78 per case plus shipping. You have to send a check or money order in advance. We do not take credit cards. If you are interested let me know how many you want and the address and I will get a total. 

There are 6 quarts in a case and we do not break cases. 

Thanks
Vernell May
Aiken Chemical Co.
864-968-1250864-968-1252 (Fax)

Well, no thanks Vernell, I don't need a case, just one bottle.  Sounds like you have known for a while that Advance does not carry your product, yet you still show them as a retailer for this product on your website.  I'll try some of that stuff I saw at Lowes and report on how it works.