Rust Removal with Baking Soda Mixture

I was watching the show Trucks this weekend and they showed how you could "chemically remove" rust with a baking soda wash and a battery charger hooked up with the negative clamp on the piece and the positive on a bar just dipped in the water charging at 2amps.I was wondering if anyone has ever done this and what are the results.

 

Yes it works. Make sure you use a non-conducting container. I use powered lye instead of washing soda. It raises cain with the paint better than the soda.

 

I've done this and it works however you don't want to use baking soda, it will work but Laundry soda works far better. Laundry soda comes in the same yellow colored Arm and Hammer box and you can find it at your local grocery store. If you're interested, washing soda is Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3), baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and borax is Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (Na2B4O7*10H2O), all different chemical compounds. You will want attach your positive lead to a peice tubing or something in the solution rather than just dumping it in the water alone. You'll want to create a grid that surrounds the parts of which you want cleaned for a more complete finish. As far as the battery charger bigger is better, the more amps only means it cleans faster. Go here for full technical details on this process... http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

 

more is always better ??

 

I do it all the time. I use a power supply vs a charger. It works and works pretty fast. However, it is not baking soda, it is washing soda.

 

How fast is fast?

 

Iv'e read about this but never tried it. Thanks for the tips. I will have to try it.

 

I can clean a set of tools one-by-one in a day. About an hour per tool (pretty good covering of surface rust).

 

How about cleaning the steel parts of an aluminum flywheel?
Or sould I just media blast it?

 

great info thanks guys

 

I would media blast it, I'm not too sure what it would do to aluminum and I wouldn't want to experiment with something like your flywheel. You could however use some scrap aluminum if you happen to have any laying around and just see if it pits the surface or anything like that.

 

Will the electrolysis process harm the chrome on a part?

I have used household vinegar to remove surface rust off of chrome parts but it can take hours for stubborn rust.

 

..Hi you say you use a power supply!..Can I saftely use a 12 volt DC charger putting out 10 amps ? My charger does not have any lower settings ! Thanks

 

I know everyone said that the Arm and Hammer washing powder, but when I was at the grocery, I couldn't find the words "Sodium Carbonate" (also known as Soda Ash) on that box.

However, if you look in the pool chemicals area, there is a product that is straight Sodium Carbonate. It's used to raise the pH of your pool, and is brand is usually called "pH UP" or "pH PLUS"

 

This is cool,...........

 

I use this process all the time. Washing soda works better but baking soda works fine since it is usally easier to find. I use enough to get half the amps of my charger. About 5amps. You can read an article about this in the last Ol' Skool rodz.

Kevin Thompson
Thompson's Garage Ltd.
Cincinnati, Oh

 

Where do you get powdered lye? I've done the baking soda number with my charger pumping 50 amps, but as you say it doesn't remove paint well and takes longer than I'd like.

Thanks,

Jan

 

I'm confused.
What do you mean by "I use enough to get half the amps of my charger. About 5 amps"?

 

Start with plain water and charger won't show much current. Start adding the soda and watch as the current goes up

(don't forget to stir )

Quit adding at about half the max on the charger to make sure you don't overload it.

 

I used this process about a week ago on 32 windshield frame that had heavy surface rust, it looked to be to far gone but I did not have anything to lose. I just used reg baking soda and 2.5 amps to start with. After hooking up my cables I started adding baking soda to bring the amps to about half the max output of the charger. I would leave it over night and in the morning brush it off with wire brush. I did this over a 3 day span and was very happy with the results. The only part of the process that I did not like was using a good 1/2 plate metal that was total destroyed process-another one of those hidden cost?

 

I use scraps of rebar as the annode. If you have construction going on near you, they have scraps of rebar laying all over the place. When the rebar is eaten up, just grab another scrap off the shelf

 

Here's an excellent website on electrolysis....

http://users.eastlink.ca/~pspencer/nsaeta/electrolysis.html

 

Great thread guys! I'll have to try this out sometime.

 

I use a stainless steel fork( garage sale specials) as an anode , leaves a nice finish on the part.

 

I wonder where I could get a container large enough for an entire Model A body.

 

http://antique-engines.com/stainless-steel-electrodes.htm

 

Just dug, I think you need to start digging. A big enough hole, lined with a tarp, would work. Of course, you'd have to find ground that isn't paved, which is scarce around here. You could also build a box and do the same. You'd need a lot of electrodes though, inside and outside of the body.

 

*****
I can't emphesize enough that aluminum requires special care. The polished housing on a motorcycle engine can be pitted and etched leaving a very poor mottled surface.
Other information on what you can clean is in Questions and Answers.

And...

If caution is used, it will help to remove layers of corrosion from aluminum. But if you are trying to free up a steel part within an aluminum casting, be warned, the aluminum will be eaten away much faster than steel. This could effectively ruin the machine. If you have no other choice, it may be worth a try.

So...it's going into the blast cabinet.

 

If you use lye it'll eat any aluminum or zinc on the parts.
Baking soda won't.