My 1925 Chev Roadster after a Molasses Bath

I think I read somewhere that it will attack alloys, so I would be very wary of putting aluminium near it.
Michael

 

Liquid/gel like substance, it is a by-product of the sugar refinement. It is an excellent way to strip parts

1/4 panels were in excellent condition with no pitting, the cowl on the other hand had pitting on the top but was still in good nick.

Don't put cast iron in molasses. I tried it on a Chev gearbox cover/shifter plate and it ended up like chalk. Also don't dip brass in Molasses.

I have heard it does but I have dipped a couple pieces and they have been okay.

Yep that is it, cheers Mercmad! It does strip paint sometimes, depends on the type of paint.

It is relatively good shape, and I'm still stoked with the results from the molasses.
Same thing as when you take a bath, you clean yourself, Molasses bath is the same but with car/metal parts.

Molasses is beautiful I love the taste and smell of it & no Bees that I know of.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

jimmy b
you are correct- (read previous post)
the cast thing does take rust off- but you gotta wire brush the sedement off, it will eat away alloy- I don't know why but it will- okay so I've used mollassas a fair bit before- I do scrap metal sculpture at use it to clean off bits and pieces- give them a wire brush, weld and clear coat. I've also done a blokes 20's truck door- it just fitted into the blue plastic 44 gallon drum i use- note they work really well- they're mate to hold chemical.
anyway it works well - it does smell a bit- and it's cheap

tyler

 

sorry i just couldnt stop laughing at this..i gotta tell my daughter this one

 

Yeah, I understand that, but what does the bath contain?

 

Valvo he said a 1 to 7 mix of molasses and water

 

The bath contains a 7:1 mix of water and molasses. I think Flatoz used a 5:1 mix in a 44 gallon drum to do his flathead block and he sped the process up a bit by using an old fish tank heater to keep it warm. Two weeks in the drum and the block came out niceand clean.

BTW can you get molasses in Sweden? It is too bloody cold there to grow sugar cane so molasses may be in short supply.

 

Fwiw - I understand that you need feed store molasses because it has sulphur in it.

Grocery store molasses is sulphur-free from what I can find out.

Feed stores carry molasses in 5 gallon drums which would be a help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another fwiw, a while back some posts were made discussing how well white vinegar worked as a rust stripper.
Recommended to leave the part in for only 48 hours.

I gave it a try with a nice, but mildly surface rusted pair of US made 6" outside calipers.
Lufkin I think.

Pulled the calipers right at 48 hours and found them to be rust free and white metal about like they'd be if they were new.

Bad part was, the vinegar attacked the flat spring that holds the calipers together at the top and it fractured.

A discussion on that brought out that vinegar will attack spring steel with a vengeance, but not be too hard on regular alloys of steel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excellent post.
Amazing how well the molasses treatment works.

 

re: vinegar

have use it with pretty good success, have heard that cider vinegar wont allow the part flash rust as quickly after as white vinegar? have also gave my parts a baking soda bath after removing from vinegar as I heard this was supposed to help?
never studied a day of chemistry in my life so I dont know any of the science behind this...

 

the baking soda neutralises the acid in the vinegar

 

have you guys tried the electrolysis method?

 

AH! I first didn't get what "molasses" was, but now I understand. Funny, because we call it "melass" here, but I thought nah, that would be TOO easy.

 

Yeah, I used the electrolysis method. It works great, just a little bit slow for some people liking, but it doesn't eat away or remove any base material like acids can.
Darren

 

ya know i found a 30 "A" 5 w a week ago and showed pictures of it on here..If i dipped it in Mole-asses there wouldnt be a thing left after 1 week

 

damn!!that came out pretty clean i thought you were just kidding about the whole molasses thing.

 

Molasses? that might be one of the coolest things I have learned on the hamb....

 

I can buy liquid molasses in bulk from a feed mill here for about $1 a gallon. It does not smell very good but I keep my 100 gallon vat covered anyway. I always have a batch of wheels and small parts soaking. I use a 10 to 1 mix. Best results after 2 weeks soaking.

 

How long is the mixture good for? Can you keep reusing the same mix until it fills with sediment, or does it have to be "recharged" with more molasses?

I'm asking because I was going to use the electrolysis method to clean my '27 T piece by piece, but this looks to be more effective and thorough.

 

Yea for you guys in areas with hard water, and the shower head gets all nasty, and the holes get plugged up. Take it off and soak it in vinegar water solution, about 1/2 and 1/2 for a few hours, works like new. ice man

 

I spent twenty years working in the feed business. Yes, molasses is cheap. Did you know many feed dealerships can deliver it in bulk? I would guess it would be a fairly large quantity...200 gallons or so. Otherwise, take your containers to a manufacturing facility, see the dust coverered guys that run the place and ask if they can fill your containers. You will save a bunch of money over buying it prepackaged and even more versus buying it at the grocery store.

Here's something else...buy dry molasses in fifty pound bags and use it in your media blaster on small, rusty pieces that won't stand much. You will be amazed.

Take it from an old dusty feed guy that loves hotrods