Technical TOOLS, Rust Removal, the easy way...

I finally decided to look into setting up an electrolysis rig just to see if it really worked. I had two spindles from the Corvette rearend that I am using for my Merc, both were rusty and I didn't relish the thought of spending an hour or so with the wire wheel on them. Here is the one that I have yet to dip, it is not as bad as the one that I finished but you can see the rust on the yoke and spline...

 

This is the other spindle, it sat in the electrolysis dip for about 6 hours. As you can see, the rust is gone and the metal looks almost new. I hope that the pics show the detail...

 

This may sound dumb but I was on a vintage truck site that showed some guys using molasses I think it was heated. The parts they had put in homemade vat came out like they had been sandblasted. I have been trying to find the site to post here.

 

Molasses trick has been discussed hundreds of times here. Do a search.

Cool! So, that's the outcome with the ole battery charger and sodium carbonate? I'm definately going to use that technique!

 

Looks like it worked pretty good.

 

I've messed around with the reverse electrolysis before, but it takes too long. I prefer to use muriatic acid to strip small parts. It's like $3 a gallon at the pool store and works really fast.

 

This was just too damn cheap and easy...
Take one plastic bucket, kitty litter bucket in my case...
Add enough water to cover the piece (about two gallons for me),
Add a tablespoon of laundry soda per gallon of water,
Hook a wire (coat hanger in my case) to the rusty part,
Get another piece of metal to act as the anode (1 inch tubing worked good for me),
1 battery charger...

Mix the soda into the water, hook the wire to the part and suspend in the liquid until completely covered, place the anode into the water so that it doesn't touch the part, hook the positive lead from the battery charger to the anode and the negative lead to the wire holding the part. Turn the charger on, check that it is drawing current (about an amp in my setup), and let it cook.

Here's the setup I used....

 

That's great.

Do you have a photo of the electrolysis set-up?

 

Here's what the water looks like AFTER the process was completed...

 

Here's the laundry soda I used. I used just a few cents worth of the soda, some scrap metal, a coat hanger, and some electricity...how simple is that!

 

Potentially dumb question… Does the electrolysis process eat away at aluminum parts like the molasses solution will?

 

Great Post!! any safety precautions?? can't wait to try this out.

 

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Potentially dumb question… Does the electrolysis process eat away at aluminum parts like the molasses solution will?


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Another potentially dumb question: You have rusty aluminum parts???

 

Yep, I'm so gonna do this. What amp setting did you put the charger at? Mine does 6 volt 2 amp, 12 volt 6 amp and 12 volt 10 amp (if I recall correctly). The best part is that we have a million of those kitty litter buckets laying around, heheh.

Is it possible to use any non-metallic basin? If you use more water/soda do you have to up the amps to get the same effect?

 

LMAO sorry couldn't resist . Just so you all know I'm not laughin at the procedure it was the comment about rusty aluminum

 

Nice setup. Just a word of precaution : Do this in a well ventilated or open area if you can, no flames and no smoking. The bubbles that arise are hydrogen gas , when they mix with air they are flamable. Also, don't hang over the brew too long, not good for the long range health plan.

 

If you have softer metals embedded in the steel, like alum. or brass or copper, these will be eaten away at a fast rate. If you let your battery charger terminal slip in to the mix, it will be eaten as well.

 

i have used this stuff called blue lightning rust remover. its expensive ($25 a gallon), but you put it on and less then 20 minutes your rust free. its so strong that it will eat up your asphalt, and bleech your concrete.

 

Great post!

 

Now if I get about ten or fifteen of you guys to help me get my car bck out of the swimming pool!

 

All smart ass comments aside, I enquired as to the safety of aluminum in this solution as I have an aluminum intake with a rusty carb adaptor that will not come off for love nor money.
Not that I feel the need to explain myself or anything …..

 

Hey we need to drop some bodies in Sinners pool.
Tim
MBL

 

To answer a few questions:
Set the charger to 12 volts, 6 V will work but it takes longer.
Adding more soda does not help the process, the salt molecules in the soda provide a path for the rust particles to travel, so just a small amount does the trick.
I pulled the anode out of the solution (turn off the power first) after about 3 hours just to see if there was anything going on, it was covered with gray sludge. I wiped it off and replaced it back into the solution and turned the power back on. I believe that the cleaner the anode is, the better the electrolysis process.
This setup can be used in almost any size...I saw one website when I searched for "electrolysis rust" where a guy made a plywood box big enough to put a trailer frame in it. He lined it with plastic to hold the solution and used multiple current sources and anodes but it still worked well.

lik2writ posted a word of caution about the hydrogen gas that is released in the bubbles. There is some hydrogen gas released in this process but much of the hydrogen combines with the carbonate in the soda and becomes carbon dioxide. HOWEVER, if you use stainless steel as an anode (the rod that you stick into the solution to draw the rust away from your part) or use a stainless steel bowl to put the solution into which also becomes the anode...then there are chromates released into the water (it becomes yellow) and this solution now becomes toxic. DON'T USE STAINLESS STEEL unless you have the facilities to dispose of the chromate solution that is produced.

 

I assume the parts need to be cleaned of grease, wax, paint or any non conductive covering?

Paul

 

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lik2writ posted a word of caution about the hydrogen gas that is released in the bubbles. There is some hydrogen gas released in this process but much of the hydrogen combines with the carbonate in the soda and becomes carbon dioxide. HOWEVER, if you use stainless steel as an anode (the rod that you stick into the solution to draw the rust away from your part) or use a stainless steel bowl to put the solution into which also becomes the anode...then there are chromates released into the water (it becomes yellow) and this solution now becomes toxic. DON'T USE STAINLESS STEEL unless you have the facilities to dispose of the chromate solution that is produced.


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Is the chromate solution useful for anything else?

 

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I pulled the anode out of the solution (turn off the power first) after about 3 hours just to see if there was anything going on, it was covered with gray sludge. I wiped it off and replaced it back into the solution and turned the power back on. I believe that the cleaner the anode is, the better the electrolysis process.


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I anodize titanium and niobium pretty regularly, and here is the Shape of the Anode that I use. I use stainless, but you could use any kind of sheet metal. Just bend it to fit inside the bucket, then cut a strip like 1" wide, about 3/4 of the way up one side, then bend it up so it will stick out of the electrolyte, so you can hook your charger to it. Oh Yeah... the reason for this setup is a larger Anodic surface area will make the process go faster, and you will not have to clean the Anode as often!

 

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I assume the parts need to be cleaned of grease, wax, paint or any non conductive covering?

Paul


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Paul - No, you only need to clean a spot to hook up the charger lead. The paint, grease, and rust will all come off, it just takes a little longer and you will need to clean the anode.

I have a 55 gallon plastic drum that I have been cleaning everything that I can fit at least half way in. Wheels, axles, driveshafts, crossmembers, etc.

It works good, give it a try.

Neal

 

Am I the only person who is scared of mixing electricity and water

 

Chuck, one word. TECHOMATIC! That's great. Kudos for not sandbaggin' until the next tech week. This is very cool. It's nice to see something I can do with stuff that's out in the garage and not a bunch of trips for supplies. BTW, I figured out the tranny, thanks for your offer.

 

Dan, it's not a problem. The process is actually called reverse electrolysis. Electrolysis involves splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen binds to the metal, making it rust. My wife performs electrolysis experiments in her middle school science classroom. It's not dangerous. This process is reversing the polarity so the oxidized metal particles return to the water from your rusty piece of metal, leaving pristine clean metal. My wife's students asked her why they needed to learn about electrolysis and she told them about this application.