Restoration Tip: Electrolysis Derusting

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Terry

Best bet is a recycled plastic 45 gal. drum.....cut off the top with a jig saw.... no it will not explode...... allows you to dip bigger peices.... even full axle housing if you do one end then the other....

You will need some cheap yellow nylon rope for hanging things.

Washing soda is readily available in rural Home hardware stores.

Remember the bigger the sacrificial plate is ....the faster it works and the more currant it takes. I used a strip of Stailess steel ( 40 x 18 in) from a recycled restaurant counter..... and curved it to fit inside the barrell..... all around the perimeter.....

Just hang the pieces from the centre.... direct line between SS and parts to be cleaned is best.

I used a mild lye solution.....also from Home hardware..... but it is caustic and the drum can only be dumped on a heavy rainy downpour.

I cheated and made my solution very strong..... it removed rust.... grease and even paint form cast surfaces.....also drained two large batteries in a few hours...... careful with just an average size battery charger.... you can easily over load them..... some will have a safety shut down//// cheaper ones will just fry themsleves.

Really workes wonders......

Small parts...... screws and bolts..... I usually replace them with new stock... but if I had to clean them I would be inclined to screw them in a thin sheet of SS and hang it in the barrell.

SS as a sacrificial plate will not alter color.... but .... if you use a cast iron plate it will color the part being cleaned jet black......

I usually scrub the cleaned parts with a hose and a 3M pad... sun dry.... and spray with diluted Phosphoric acid....... available as metal prep in body shops..... sun dries to a flat grey...... makes for an ideal surface prep for any kind of paint......

Do your process outside..... as the fizzling is actually hydrogen..... as in KABOOM......

Bob

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

...

Washing soda is readily available in rural Home hardware stores.

...

I used a mild lye solution.....also from Home hardware..... but it is caustic and the drum can only be dumped on a heavy rainy downpour.

...

if you use a cast iron plate it will color the part being cleaned jet black......

...

What brand is the washing soda? Arm & Hammer is "So Clean, Super Washing Soda", and supposedly Walmart, Zellars and Canadian Tire sell it. Pfft! None on the shelf or in their on line catalogues. I was planning on visiting Home Hardware and Tractor Supply Company next.

So you make a solution of lye and washing soda? Sounds like a chemistry hazard in-waiting.

The colour is a good tip. The plates I have are ordinary carbon steel. Colour is not so much an issue because the parts will all get painted over. But removing the old finish and surface rust is secondary to getting the rusted swivels unseized. I will try lying them in a shallow pan with holes for solution circulation. Saddly, most of them are crusty with wood fibre or pits. The hardware is important to the project because some are odd little short and coarse thread woodscrews. [I'm stripping circa 1946 C No.7 .22LR rifle chest hardware from derelict chests for resale on the collector's and No.15 sniper rifle chest reproduction market. Special deal for any MLU'ers who want a set.]

I am going to politely decline using stainless steel. A few of the forums I read talk about hexavalent chromium compounds released by reverse electrolysis of stainless (anyone remember Erin Brockovich?).