Most of us with teenagers are familiar with the term “Acid Washing” which is the process of taking a perfectly good pair of blue jeans (which sell for $ 29.99) and turning them into a ragged discolored pair of jeans (which now would sell for $ 79.99) to enhance our young people's style points.

However I wish to address the Catalytic Converter scam which involves treating the scrap catalytic converter by washing or submerging the WHOLE UNIT into an acid solution in an effort to strip / remove the precious metals from the ceramic substrate. This process WILL remove some of the metals contained, thus making the units scrap value far less than the untreated unit of the same type.

Once the unit is treated some converter resellers, ones without the integrity to do business in a straight up fashion, will try to sell these units to unsuspecting buyers in a normal mix of converters (some of these units have been traced back to the southern USA). This results in the end buyer / seller suffering unsuspected losses and hard earned money going by the wayside.

How do know and what to watch out for and avoid the problem.

1. Acid washing sometimes will leave a smell / odor.

2. Washing will leave the catalyst with a higher than normal moisture content – some units look as though water / fluid is
still coming out and the unit will feel heavier than normal.

3. Washing will sometimes leave than inside of the converter extremely clean – no exhaust system residue (carbon build up)
on the inside area of the converter.

4. Sometimes a green residue (oxidation like) at the edge of the catalyst where it touches the metal of the converter hull.

5. External appearance of the converter is not normal. The outside of the converter hull is streaked with a tarnished
appearance. This is not a normal rusted look as the units from areas where road salts and de-icing materials are used in
cold climates which cause all over rusting of the unit. The unit sometimes will look corroded as automobile battery terminals
do when not maintained – greenish / white coloration.

Unfortunately this practice is real but one can use common sense to avoid getting caught up in this SCAM. The people who have done this generally pick higher metal content units i.e. foreign (X-2’s , Fat Toyotas , Round Camry , Nissan 4 cross, BMW), high grade GM and some stainless steel units so be suspicious of unusual mixes containing more than the normal ratio of high grade to lower grade units. Inspect the converter body – look for the streaked hull, look for the unusual corrosion, look for an extra clean interior of the unit. If you practice these things hopefully you will avoid the nasty acid washing people in this business.