T-16 S/N 5399 T.D. 97377 Restoration

[Philliphastings]

Very interesting posts Lynn and David. It has got me thinking. Years ago when I first recovered 2 pounder Carrier 6146 from rural NSW I filled up the hull with warm water and molasses and left it to work for a week or two. I seem to remember that the result was pretty good but not perfect.

I am thinking of trying citric acid in the scout carrier for two reasons:

1/ we use it almost daily at the Military museum and so far has provided some fantastic stripping results and at a very moderate cost (as well as environmentally and persaonnaly safe)

2/ Surprisingly enough the interior of the Scout hull is actually very good - in parts where the original finish of the armour can be seen it appears almost like new - it's just that almost everything else has a thick layer of rust and many of the original bolts have become compromised.

The outer and especially the upper armour is in good condition save for a thick rust encrustation and I might consider the old trusty wire wheel (or a few of them) if the citric acid works well enough. It might sound very slow and labour intensive but when you are 300km's from the nearest industrialised city you have to make-do

Wish me luck

Cheers

Phill

[Lynn Eades]

There are many products on the market that are based on phosphoric acid.
you paint the stuff on and it kills the rust. I'd do that, and then blast it.
Forgive me for preaching here, but what you have in the scout is unique, and needs a good job done of her. No half measures. If you do it well, you will be proud of her, and she will be worth a pretty penny.

[horsa]

Yep, I live by the wire wheel mounted on a 4” angle grinder as well. Even tried sections of the hull that way but found there were too many places it couldn’t get into and they were usually the most in need. Plus like I’d mentioned before, my floor was deeply pitted after air chiseling the top crust off and the wire wheel wasn’t very effective getting into the moguls without excessive pressure being applied which reduces the life of the wire wheel or wire cup, plus the motor on the grinder.

I experimented with phosphoric acid when trying to figure out a good way to get my tracks freed up. They had been rolled and stored for a long time before I got them and required a breaker bar to force unroll them due to heavy rust. I broke them into sections and made my own chemical bath to test two sections. Results were visible after a few days but it was going to take a lot of work to free up each link since they would need to be moved back and forth a bit and then soaked again. This would need to be repeated over and over until the section was good again.

After getting the two test sections done, I looked back at the stack of waiting sections and decided to seek out a more cost effective solution. The molasses trick is an old one that most people have had good results with. But I couldn’t find an affordable source for bulk molasses here in Texas, even checking with the cattle feed and supply stores. Basically it was by the gallon like the phosphoric acid and wasn’t cheap. Space and a way to deal with the mess was also a concern for me working in a residential neighborhood. The ideal thing would have been a large galvanized metal horse trough for placing both tracks in with the chemicals. Then they could be worked on and off while flipping them around inside.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by horsa

Yep, I live by the wire wheel mounted on a 4” angle grinder as well. Even tried sections of the hull that way but found there were too many places it couldn’t get into and they were usually the most in need. Plus like I’d mentioned before, my floor was deeply pitted after air chiseling the top crust off and the wire wheel wasn’t very effective getting into the moguls without excessive pressure being applied which reduces the life of the wire wheel or wire cup, plus the motor on the grinder.

I experimented with phosphoric acid when trying to figure out a good way to get my tracks freed up. They had been rolled and stored for a long time before I got them and required a breaker bar to force unroll them due to heavy rust. I broke them into sections and made my own chemical bath to test two sections. Results were visible after a few days but it was going to take a lot of work to free up each link since they would need to be moved back and forth a bit and then soaked again. This would need to be repeated over and over until the section was good again.

After getting the two test sections done, I looked back at the stack of waiting sections and decided to seek out a more cost effective solution. The molasses trick is an old one that most people have had good results with. But I couldn’t find an affordable source for bulk molasses here in Texas, even checking with the cattle feed and supply stores. Basically it was by the gallon like the phosphoric acid and wasn’t cheap. Space and a way to deal with the mess was also a concern for me working in a residential neighborhood. The ideal thing would have been a large galvanized metal horse trough for placing both tracks in with the chemicals. Then they could be worked on and off while flipping them around inside.

Dave..
Light a big fire and drop the track in to heat them up for an hour or so..Pour the coal to it and get them nice and hot.....Then Hook a chain to them and drag them around the back 40 for a while..That will loosen them up..
Comes with a money back guarantee...

[Lynn Eades]

I soaked mine in free 2nd hand hydraulic oil, for weeks. Then I used two pry bars, between adjacent links, to get them moving. Most freed up. The worst , I used the gas on, and sacrificed every 2nd link. It uses a lot of gas.

[pzrwest]

diesel oil(or furnace oil) mixed with used tranny fluid might work as well

[Snowy]

I haven't tried it but this interesting thread reckons Automatic Transmission Fluid mixed 1:1 with acetone makes a top-class penetrating oil, comparable to the expensive offerings:
http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14602

Steve.