I've read through every thread I can find on here about doing small parts, and some good tips about what to NOT use as an anode etc. It seems hydrogen embrittlement might be a concern, or maybe not, if I did something like a door or a hood? I'm interested in building a tank large enough to do some good size panels, and am curious if anyone has done rust removal on large items via electrolysis, how they made their tank mostly. Also, once the metal is stripped, it has absolutely zero anti rust coating on it. What is the best thing to put on the metal so that it can then receive filler/paint and hopefully not rust under the finish?
Ijust built a tank a month or so ago out of plywood ,2x4,s and lined with plastic. I was doing model a quarter panels. It was working o.k. but the cold weather stopped it. I would like to try it again in the summer months. I used 3/8 rebar for electrodes
I started out using a 39 gallon garbage can as an experiment and did a pair of cylinder heads, that had been sitting in water for years and had about an inch of rust and scale. A couple of cycles in the tank, pressure washing between cycles to remove the loose crud, and heads were unbelieveably clean when they were done. I couldn't believe how simple and easy this process was after using vinegar and molasses, sanding, blasting, and other commercial products for years. A couple of years sitting in the garage and the heads still look about like what they did when they came out, clean and rust free with only a few freckles from being left bare.. My next step was a 270 gallon poly livestock tank. I use new re-bar for the sacrificial electrodes because it is cheap and easy to cut. I install the electrodes vertically around the perimeter of the tank and space about 10"-12" apart. These electrodes just free hang on the tank wall and are secured at the top rim of the tank by a wire tie secured through holes drilled in the tank wall. To connect electrically use a water pipe grounding clamp available at your local hardware store. It clamps solidly to to re-bar and then has a screw terminal for the wire. I used 12 gage solid copper wire and just daisy chain the electrodes around the perimeter. Your maximum current load will be about 1.0-2.0 amps, but this will ensure good current flow all the way around. To suspend the parts I just use a stick of heavy wall PVC pipe across the top of the tank and suspend the parts with cable ties, or nylon rope depending on the size and weight. You can make your own hooks to loop over the pipe or some of those garage organizer hooks. The 270 gallon tank will allow me to do engine blocks, lots of mounting brackets, some body parts, wheels, etc. I just picked up a 440 gallon tank that will allow me to do complete fenders, doors, and even hoods a half at a time. Some day I hope to dig a hole in the back yard, install a pond liner, and do an entire body shell. One fellow HAMB'er has done a full body shell with fiberglass produce bins, and has a thread going detailing his restoration project. The keys to success are not so much in the tank, but in keping your electrodes clean, not skimping on electrodes and maintaining good electrical connections.You can monitor your electrodes and connection quailty with an ammeter. As they build up with rust, the current flow will diminish, making the process less efficient. You can wire brush off the scale to restore them, or just replace. Probably the single biggest key to success is how you wire your parts before they are put in the tank. In the case of a simple small bracket, you may only need to attach a single wire to act as the cathode. In the case of an engine block, I might have an insulated cathode (also re-bar) stuck in each bore, one running through the cam tunnel, one through the main caps, and maybe one in the valley, all tied together. On severe cases, I have even installed them in each individual lifter bore. After parts come out of the tank, I pressure wash to remove left-over crud, sometimes a scotch brite or wire brush is needed, blow dry with compressed air, and that's usually it for cast parts. Parts don't immediately flash rust like in vinegar, but you can use Gibbs, gun oil, or just apply a sealer or primer coat. I don't think, nor have I read about any long term lasting effects related to adhesion characteristics regarding this process than any others. I doubt that hydrogen embrittlement would be a concern since we are not exactly re-arranging molecules with this process, or operating at anything much above ambient temperature. Larger tanks need to either be outside, or vented well if indoors, as this process does generates a lot of nitrogen gas. I used to run my tank year round, outside, and in the winter used a livestock heater to prevent freezing. These tanks also serve as a great conversation piece, because everybody that comes to the door sees it in the driveway and asks the same question, "what in the hell is that thing?"
This is a great reply. thanks very much for the info-I hadn't really thought about the possibility of digging a (car) body sized pond and doing it that way. That would take out the potential problems with paint getting chewed up that an acid dip can have (read some horror stories here on HAMB about acid dips that weren't properly neutralized). I will have to start browsing craigslist for large poly feed tanks (I already have plenty of rebar to use that is left over from a concrete project from last summer).
Do a search on here for Big M. He had a thread on here showing him dunking a whole 58 Plymouth in a tank. I was there and saw him doing it, big tub with a Pymouth in it and a battery charger hooked to it, wow.
I sincerely hope John doesn't mind me adding this info here. I found it compelling and hope it will help someone else have the same success on their project as he's having with his. I don't know where you're gonna find a tomato hauler though.
I did the door for the T bird I'm working on in a little kids pool. The hard plastic kind. Worked great. Like everyone said you have to get creative with the cathodes, as it is line of sight to some degree. (the rust has to have a pretty direct path). I still blasted the inside of the doors when I was done (pressure wash & dried first) but it was quick and easy. And the kids stay out pretty well after they get "bit"!
Would it damage glass and stainless? I'm thinking of doing my doors and fenders with this process and my window regulator is rusted stiff on one side so I don't want to "force it" or drill the bolts out and I'm wondering if I can put the doors in whole.
Hmmm, don't think I would do it with the glass and stainless in place..........Throughout the threads on the topic, I remember some warnings about the stainless, although that could have been "using stainless as an anode", that was a no no...........( or was it a cathode?......)
The Jalopy Journal
