Molasses bath made me a believer !!

I have this 330 desoto hemi that i want to build for my 29' coupe and every time i moved the block around rust would pour out the water jackets , i tryed everything to clean this out but i was chunked up inside , the machine shop put it in the oversize dishwasher and baked it , i power washed it numerous times. So off the the Internet for a solution .....MOLASSES ! very strange solution but worth a tryand cheap .OK so after numerous half written articles from mainly people outside the USA i decided to try it myself ..and this is how it went .........first tracked down a feed store at the famous Belmont park

1. Molasses $22.00 usd for 5 gals
2. 50 gal industrial garbage pail $50.00
3. placed crusty rust 56' desoto hemi into pail
4. mixed solution about 10 parts water to 1 part molasses
5. waited one month
6. removed and power-washed the slime off of her
7. as long as the pail has a cover and the it is closed the smell of Fermentation is not bad at all.....

and the results are just shocking it's so clean that it started flash rusting by the time I rolled her back in the garage , make sure you lube her up very good and the water jackets are spotless !

 

That's Awesome!!! I have a 331 that could use a bath.

 

Next time get a used 55 gallon drum for less than $10.

 

Looks good!
Many machine shops offer a "Rust strip" for blocks and heads.
When I had my shop the product I used took from a hour, to a day for a very badly rusted block, to make it look like brand new. It also contained a additive to prevent the flash rust after cleaning.

 

Didn't want a barrel laying around the house the neighbors might talk !

 

So did it take the paint off as well or did you scrub that off yourself?

 

No i just powerwashed the loose paint off before it went in some of the paint is still on it ...

 

Bitchin! Love it!

 

phosphoric acid used in the manufacturing process got it done for you. good tech article

 

I'm gonna try that!

 

I had heard of this but I didn't believe it.....'til now. Wow! It removed the scale in the water jacket better than most hot tanks would have.

Ottoman, what's the additive to prevent flash rusting?

Great tip. Gotta bookmark that one.

 

Ya just never know....wow!!!.Thanks for sharing

 

does this work better than vinegar?

 

the "agitation" or effervessance (sp) caused by the fermentation process helps to work the molasses into the part being soaked. Kinda like soaking it in Coke, but better. You just need to exhibit enough patience, like the OP did, to allow the fermentation to occur.

 

Do a search, we have covered it many times here, lots of info. I first heard of it from Rocky 8 or 9 years ago.

 

I've done some T stuff and some off topic items, works wonders for the investment.

...but yeah, that smell, holy cow! I had to hide my barrel behind the shop and it still left an effervescent odor around the area, maybe I need to seal it better next time

 

On Long Island, the mega-barrels go under the radar since almost every house has one for trash pick up. Great tip though, glad it worked out. Is the soup still on hand? I could drift by with a block or two.

Bob

 

I derusted a bunch of window lift mechanisms, took 3 months, but they came out clean. I think if it was summer, it would have worked faster.

 

Yes shouldn't be a problem , i just put my heads in there so you have to give me a little time

 

Did you scrub it with a bisquit or corn bread?

Sure looks like it works good

 

How do you dispose of the molasses when you are done with it?

 

Call Cracker Barrel

 

i love simple green. molasses who would have ever thought it

 

I heard from an old racer that you shouldn't put cast iron in the molasses bath,
could be crap tho?

 

I am told there are 2 basic types of molasses, one is for animals and the other is used as the sticky component for spraying crops.
I use the crop item as I have assumed that there will be less of all the other additives added for animal health.

I dilute it out and pour it on the grass/garden which seems to thrive on it.

Hot rodding gone green.

 

molasses from a feedmill has been manufactured for flowability and a small nutritional additive package is added. It can certainly be used for soil fertility without concern. Would also be great on your compost pile. We use it for baiting bears.

The "pure" molasses we all tend to think of would have to be heated to flow through a pump and into your pails.

 

I believe the feed store molasses has sulphur in it.

As compared to the quarts and gallons you get at the SuperMarket.


You'll want to watch it with vinegar.

I put a nice moderately rusted 6" Lufkin calipe in a white vinegar bath.
Recommended time was 48 hours.

Came out really nice except the vinegar ate up the spring steel so bad that the calipers blew apart....

 

I think the feed store is made from red beets. The food store type is made from sugar cane. After soaking I wash the parts with Spray Nine or Simple Green, no flash rust. There's been several threads about this.

 

Going to have to try this, heard of it awhile back, but never seen it done.

 

Ive had alot of success with this method also...dump a heap of parts in a 44 gallon drum,hanging inside on wires clipped to the rim....a check periodically is carried out and the clean stuff is pressure washed,quickly dried and primed...
I couldnt believe the results and its perfect for getting into difficult spots,blocks,fuel tanks etc...Its a great method if you aint in any hurry..