rust remval bath

A couple of years ago, on the Military Vehicles list, some guys were talking about a way to remove rust by using a 12 volt battery charger with the electrodes connected to metal strips put in a bath of water and Drano. Does anybody remember that, or have they done it and can tell me how it works?
Thanks,
Ted

This link will help you. http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

Ahhh, so that's how it works. Thanks! Anybody used it and have pros and cons on the process? I have lots of small items that have surface rust where they have been banged around and had the paint chipped off. This seemed like it might be better than using the wire brush on the bench grinder.

rust removal bath

I do it the easy way. I have a large plastic tub I fill with water and lye. Depending upon how much lye you put in, it takes one to several days and it will strip parts down to bare metal.

Re: RE: rust remval bath

tedstrucks said:

Ahhh, so that's how it works. Thanks! Anybody used it and have pros and cons on the process? I have lots of small items that have surface rust where they have been banged around and had the paint chipped off. This seemed like it might be better than using the wire brush on the bench grinder.

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I know some guys that have done this inside the barrels of their rifles and have had great success. It takes a time or two to get it to perfection. But fortunately, it doesn't cost much of anything and isn't an exactly extensive process to repeat a couple of times to get it down to an art.

I tried a similar process in the past and used an old arc welder for the power source. I was not impressed with the results. It was a mess and dangerous. Last weekend I had to deal with repairing a rusted interior of a 35 gal tank from the Ingersoll-rand compressor I got through GL last month. No holes in the tank, but gunk and surface rust from sitting a long time. After a little research I ordered the POR-15 kit and made a few modifications. Basically - clean the surface with a degreaser such as marine clean (and pressure washer) then I used 3 gal muratic acid for a couple of hours giving each surface about a 30 min. exposure to the acid. Rinse the tank and use the phosphoric acid included in the kit (which I didn't think was strong enough for the major work). Dried her up with a blow drier and it was rust free. Took a weekend but did a nice job. Painted with POR-15 and will give it a try this weekend.

The problem with liquid anything is that it gets into places hard to reach in order to rinse like the insides of doors, seams and layered metal panels. All chemicals strong enough to eat rust can eat metal, though at a slower rate-- and unless neutralized, will keep coming out of seams for what seems like a long time.
I've had the best luck with a wire brush for loose particles then a rust conversion product like 'Rust-Mort' or any of the others out there. You want one that actually converts the rust instead of just sealing it in. These products change the iron oxide to iron phosphate or iron manganese which is more stable and locks out the oxidation (rusting) process.

Cool. Never thought about removing rust that way. That would work good for small solid parts like nuts and bolts. I've used the coat hanger, battery, ammonia method for deep cleaning grungy old rifle barrels before and it works well.

They did the same process on Hotrod or Trucks on Spike TV. It only took a few hours to transform the rust.

When I restored VW beetles a few years ago I used to put the rusted nuts and bolts as well as other small parts in an old pot (I used another one once and had a highly upset wife and a high priority order to buy a new pot) together with a small amount of citric acid and water and let it cook for a short while. I then let it cool down in the bath over night and in the morning the rust was gone.
A friend once gave me some HEDP-60 (see http://www.hastand.com/specs-hedp.html ) to try out, which had spectacular results, but it was hard to get by back then. They used that to restore old weapons or parts of uniforms and equipment they dug out somewhere.

It is pretty nasty stuff, but all the little parts in my hemtt restoration that needed de-rusting got a dip in a plastic bucket of muriatic (Hydrochloric) acid.

It works great on any steel, but definitely not aluminum or pot-metal alloys, unless you want a hydrochloric acid volcano in your garage..... (ask me how I found out about this....)

I wouldn't want to keep more then a gallon of it around at any one time just because of how corrosive it is, so it wouldn't work for doing anything big, but for fasteners and small fittings its great stuff. I rinse parts THOROUGHLY with water and baking soda to neutralize, and then dip it in a phospating solution like metal-ready or Ospho for a few hours afterward.

On small parts, I have built an oversized tumbler. Probably a 30" bed. I built a cylinder out of 4" or 6" PVC pipe with a screw on cap.
I collect all the ball bearings, ect that I can find for the tumbling medium. I throw in about a coffee can of low volitile parts washer solution and tumble for about a 1/2 an hour. Job done. However you have to be carefull to plug small areas where a ball bearing can lodge. Tom @ Snake River

Always Great to have something else in the rust arsenal. I have used the blast cabinet, a small sandblasting pot(gravity) navel jelly and a tumbler used for ammo cases. For the small nuts and bolts I used the tumbler with varsol to remove the excess crud then coarse blast media and finally wuth a degreaser.
I may still have some parts left I can try the electrolisi thing on.
littlebob

I've done it a few times. I use baking soda and a PLASTIC 55 gallon drum. If you use a metal container, your container will be consumed and that is a bad thing. Its very easy to do and I usually only let it go for 24 hours. You do have to wash the parts off after you're done and dry them or rust will start again. You can use costic soda if you want better results, but its very hazardous, so I went the tamer route. I highly recommend the process in general.

I used the same website as in the first reply above to set up my system, BTW. I heard of a guy that used an above ground swimming pool and a DC welder and used the process to clean a trailer frame.

For rusty nuts and bolts, drop them in a plastic coffee can and cover them with "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner. Let them soak a 1/2 hour or so, swirl them around a few times during that time. When the rust is gone, rinse them in hot water, put in another plastic coffee can with a couple of spoons of baking soda, swirl them around, let them soak 10 minutes or so, and rinse them in hot water again. Works great, and the toilet bowl cleaner is cheap.

I have done the electrolysis before with good results. I started out with the battery charger which was just a waste of time. Switched to a DC welder set@ 5 -10 amps in one hour intervals, and got much better results. I did some snow plow parts that had areas that were impossible to wire brush. Got to be careful, the water will get hot, and it produces hydrogen in the process, so outdoors, or near the open shop door is best. I found it works great for parts that have chips in the paint, and the rust is undercutting the paint. If the part had surface rust on it when it was originally painted, the paint will come off in sheets. The best part is the process ONLY removes rust. So if you have a thin part, that sanding or blasting would destroy, you can strip it this way. The same goes for powder coated parts. IF they had surface rust on them, the coating comes off in sheets.

I made a frame from some round 3/8" stock to fit a kitty litter bucket, welded it together, and I hang the part to be stripped in it. That way the part is surrounded by "electrodes" and removal is much faster. Rebar is good for cheap electrodes. I also have the bottom of a 55 gallon plastic drum I cut off, and use for larger parts. For lye just use a scoop of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda available at most grocery stores. It's cheap too. Yes it can be messy, but better than the rust and paint dust all over the shop from the brush on an angle grinder, and it gets into places you can't. I just rinse the part and use a maroon scuff pad to clean it up.

Hope the info helps!

Here is my first attempt at it: Electrolysis - Rust Removal? - Snowplowing-Contractors.com - Let's Talk Snow.com Discussion Forums

~Chuck

so i wanna do some larger parts.

i have a iron bathtub,insert style...no cracks or exposed metal.. coated with ur typical porcelain?(sc)



would this constitute a "conductive" tank...that should not be used?

ChuckSmith said:

For rusty nuts and bolts, drop them in a plastic coffee can and cover them with "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner. Let them soak a 1/2 hour or so, swirl them around a few times during that time. When the rust is gone, rinse them in hot water, put in another plastic coffee can with a couple of spoons of baking soda, swirl them around, let them soak 10 minutes or so, and rinse them in hot water again. Works great, and the toilet bowl cleaner is cheap.

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Here is a before and after of a 1/2" pipe plug I soaked for about an hour tonight. I sat it in a starting fluid can cap so I could use less of The Works.

rivired I'd just buy a cheap kiddie pool.

~Chuck

HHHMMM? Could one use a big tub to suspend a "ring stuck" engine (upside down--just the cylinder bores and piston assy) to clear some of the rust BEFORE resorting to the 2x4 and BFH process? Jim